My mother, Maria Reizis photographed for her student's certificate when she entered a grammar school. It was taken in Belaya Tserkov, photo studio 'Cabinet-Portrait' in 1903.
My mother Maria Reizis was born in 1893 in Belaya Tserkov. My mother was beautiful and smart. She was one of the best pupils in the grammar school in Belaya Tserkov. She finished grammar school with honors. When in 1915 the Pale of Settlement was abolished my grandfather Meyer decided to move his family to Kiev. He wanted his son Moisey to get a good education and arrange successful marriages for his daughters.
My parents were raised in religious families, but they were not religious themselves. They thought there was too much suffering in life and if God existed he wouldn't allow things to happen. They attended synagogue when they were children, but, as my father and mother stated it was a 'childish faith'.
