Tag #155889 - Interview #78262 (sophia vollerner)

There was only one Jewish family in Alopaevsk before the war, but during evacuation many Jewish families came to town. Local people were jealous about their wealth. They were also angry that many local men were recruited to the front while so many Jewish men were staying in the rear. They didn't understand that only highly qualified employees were left to work in the rear and the rest had to go to the front. Those people believed that almost all the Jewish population of the country came to their town. They had a negative attitude towards us. I think this might have been the origin of postwar anti-Semitism when people believed that Jews were hiding from the war in the rear. I don't know whether my son faced any anti-Semitism at school. He never told me anything the like.