Sonya Varenburg and Meyer Shubinsky

These are my sister, Sonya Varenburg, nee Shubinskaya and my brother Meyer Shubinsky. The photo was taken in 1930 in Zvenigorodka. We were three children. I was born on 14th January 1907 and the eldest son; one year later, in 1908, my brother Meyer was born and in 1911 my sister Sonya, or Bidona followed. During the war my brother worked as a nurse. Then he moved, after Doctor Sigalov took him as his assistant. When World War II broke out, my brother had a special red paper in his military ticket, which meant that at the first call-up he should come to the military enlistment and registration committee. He went there before any call-up. He was assigned to a military unit on the second day of the war [see Great Patriotic War]. We never saw him again. Neighbors told us he had come to say goodbye, but we weren't home. In May 1941 he got married. His wife went into evacuation; she was a teacher. After returning from evacuation she fought with us for our apartment, so we didn't communicate with her much afterwards. I think she got married again. My sister Sonya worked at a sewing factory. Then she got married and worked as a manicurist at the same place where her husband worked. Then they moved to America. She has a daughter and grandchildren. She even has a great-granddaughter. Sonya recently celebrated her 90th birthday.