Abram Breizman

This is my older brother Abram Breizman. The photo was taken in Zhytomyr in 1961. On 22nd June 1941 we heard on the radio that Germany attacked the USSR and the war began. My brother was sent to study in an artillery school in Podmoscoviye. During the war we corresponded with my brother Abram. After finishing artillery school he went to the front. My brother was a mathematician and was very good at calculations that were necessary for artillery troopers. At 23 he was promoted to captain. Thank God he wasn't wounded at the front. He was slightly shell-shocked once, but it had no negative impact. After the war he returned to Moscow to continue his studies at university. His lecturer of mathematics, Berezanskaya, who was the author of a school textbook in mathematics, also taught at the postgraduate school where she took Abram after he graduated. He began to work at university and simultaneously studied at the postgraduate school. In 1948, during the campaign against cosmopolitans Berezanskaya lost her job - she was of the retirement age, as they explained to her - and my brother got a [mandatory job] assignment to work in a village. He worked as a teacher of mathematics in a school in Kaluga region. He came to Zhytomyr on vacation and married a local Jewish woman that he had known before the war. His wife Rachil, nee Gotfrid, was an English teacher at school. Rachil followed Abram to Kaluga region and they worked at school. Their daughter, Alla, was born in 1953. Rachil's parents took the girl to Zhytomyr. Their twins, Alexandr and Boris, were born in 1956. My brother's assignment was over and they returned to Zhytomyr. They lived in a room in Rachil's parents home. My brother couldn't find a job in Zhytomyr and went to work in a village in Zhytomyr region. He rented a room from an old woman. My brother sent his salary to Rachil in Zhytomyr. In due time an affiliate of Kiev College of Light Industry was open in Zhytomyr. The director of this affiliate liked my brother and employed him. Besides working at college he gave private lessons in mathematics. Abram had a good reputation as a teacher of mathematics, whose students entered colleges with no problems. Later he worked in senior classes at school. Alla finished Kiev College of Public Economy. The boys also got education. Alla got married in Zhytomyr in 1970. They had a Jewish wedding with a chuppah at home. There was Jewish food and music and guests danced Jewish dances. My brother didn't want to go to Israel. He had three heart attacks and was very ill, but he understood that his children and grandchildren had no future in the USSR. In 1990 his family and Rachil's father moved to Israel. My brother's condition has improved significantly and his children are very happy to live there.