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In the beginning my parents rented a small room in Podol [3]. In 1912, after my older sister Genia was born, they moved to a small apartment. I was born there on 22nd July 1915. Our apartment was on the first floor of a three-storied building, owned by Karolina Korotkevich, a Polish woman. Karolina occupied a big three-bedroom apartment in the building. She owned a few houses in Podol. She was an older woman and had an executive manager to resolve all issues. They were small and shabby apartments that were rented by people with low income.
In the bigger room of our apartment there was an ancient wardrobe, a carved cupboard, a table and chairs, a sofa and a couch, where my sister and I were sleeping. In my parents' bedroom there were two beds. This furniture belonged to Karolina, but my father bought it from her piece by piece. There was a big stove in the kitchen. My mother cooked on it and baked bread. There was also a huge table there. My father worked at it. The Singer sewing machine was also there. After Abram lost his shop my father began to work at home. He became a highly professional ladies' tailor. He had many clients. My mother was helping my father with the ironing, lining and basting the parts together. I still have an image of it in my head: my father and mother working in the kitchen under the light of a kerosene lamp. We only got electricity in the middle of the 1920s. After the revolution the Soviet power dispossessed our landlady and forced her to move out of her apartment. The big family of a Bolshevik called Mikhailov moved into her apartment. Old Karolina got a small apartment in another street. Our apartment became state property.
In the bigger room of our apartment there was an ancient wardrobe, a carved cupboard, a table and chairs, a sofa and a couch, where my sister and I were sleeping. In my parents' bedroom there were two beds. This furniture belonged to Karolina, but my father bought it from her piece by piece. There was a big stove in the kitchen. My mother cooked on it and baked bread. There was also a huge table there. My father worked at it. The Singer sewing machine was also there. After Abram lost his shop my father began to work at home. He became a highly professional ladies' tailor. He had many clients. My mother was helping my father with the ironing, lining and basting the parts together. I still have an image of it in my head: my father and mother working in the kitchen under the light of a kerosene lamp. We only got electricity in the middle of the 1920s. After the revolution the Soviet power dispossessed our landlady and forced her to move out of her apartment. The big family of a Bolshevik called Mikhailov moved into her apartment. Old Karolina got a small apartment in another street. Our apartment became state property.
Period
Location
Kiev
Misto Kyiv
Ukraine
Interview
rachel persitz