Raissa Makarevich’s husband Semyon Sokolianskiy and his sister Maria Sokolianskaya

My husband, Semyon Sokolianskiy, and his sister, Maria Sokolianskaya. This was taken in Kiev in 1930.

My husband had finished his service in the army and graduated from the Institute of Trade. He was the director of a store. We didn’t have a big wedding. We just had a festive dinner. Although my parents insisted on a religious wedding, we didn’t have any religious rituals. We didn’t even want to hear about it, as I was a Komsomol member and my husband was a Party member.

My husband was part of the front-line forces. He was wounded in a battle around Rostov and sent to the hospital in Oufa. I needed a special permit to visit him, and I managed to get it because he was severely wounded. His leg was damaged and he became an invalid.

My husband's sister, Maria Sokolianskaya, perished in the Northern Caucasus. She was a nurse in the kindergarten and they evacuated with the children to the Northern Caucasus. They were captured by the Germans there, and Maria was shot because she was a Jew.