My husband took this photograph of me at our home. I talked with him about something, and he photographed me. This photo was taken in Tallinn in 1962.
I looked forward to the liberation of Estonia from fascism until finally this day came. It was clear that the war was coming to its end. I arrived in Tallinn in fall 1944. At first I worked as a dentist in a children's clinic, and later I got a job in the clinic for adults. The clinic was far from my home. There was no transport, and I had to walk to work. This took a huge effort. When I got to work, I had to take a rest. However, I was young and it didn't take me long to restore my energy. My husband arrived in 1946. He demobilized from the army and went to work in a hospital and then in a polyclinic. When he arrived I had no utensils at home, and we had lunches in the canteen at the Ministry. Life was gradually improving. A few years later we received an apartment.
My husband and I led a Jewish life even during the Soviet regime. Saturday was just another working day, and we couldn't celebrate Sabbath, but on Saturday evening, when he wasn't busy at work, my husband went to the synagogue to pray. He worked as a doctor in the higher party school. They knew about it, of course, but they pretended that they didn't. I had dinner ready by the time my husband came from work, and we sat down to eat together. David was a very religious man. He was well-respected in the town. He had the reputation of a decent Jewish man. On Jewish holidays we went to the synagogue together. We were sure to celebrate Jewish holidays at home. I did my best to follow the kashrut, however difficult it was in those years. We always had matzah on Pesach. When it wasn't sold, I baked it myself. I also cooked traditional Jewish food: gefilte fish, chicken, strudels and puddings. I covered the table with a white tablecloth and laid it with festive tableware to create the feeling of holiday. We didn't celebrate Soviet holidays at home. We liked to have another day off, but that was all. Neither my husband nor I were members of the Party.
