I have a twin sister, and we live together, my mother, father and my sister.

We live together.

We had very good life because my father was very hard worker person.

And we had piano.

We played we studied to play piano before World War II.

We did not because I was a child.

When war started I was ten ye anti-Semitism or something.

I don't remember it.

It happened.

We know we know we are Jewish.

We know, but it was not so hard.

So nobody talk about this.

We in the family, we knew it.

Former Soviet Union, it was they did not accept religion, especially Jewish religion And almost all of synagogue was closed.

Maybe our parents knew.

But we as a children we did not know about something about religion exactly as a religion to go to to synagogue, to No, no, no.

It was not.

It was not.

But I, I think because was an adult enough adult, we were second family.

His first family was killed in World War I in pogrom.

He had wife and son.

He lost them.

And he was married when It was his second family.

Jewish people lived in the shtetls.

It was small places.

And the Ukraine people, maybe ten, mayb people made to them and killed all family.

All family.

It is a reason why my father lost his first family.

My father was a barber.

Barber, barber.

He worked very, very hard.

He did not know weekend.

His weekend, he went to some other places and clean people in other and received some money from this.

He did not have vacation.

Did not have weekend.

All the time he work, work, work because he had a family.

My mother, she had a problem with her heart when she was young and it was reason he have to to work a lot to as he saw, he wanted his family have to live good.

My father didn't believe what happened Nazi with Je in World War I in his shtetl stay Germany army.

It was intelligent, very smart people.

He did not believe.

He told, it is a communism propaganda.

It was the reason why did not we did not evacuated in some time.

We waited in the city before Nazis came to city.

And in that time, when my mother went to buy some some food, she saw on the wall, it was a some paper.

Jewish people with children, with gold and what they had, with the old and the young people have to go, it is a, it was a tractor factory far away from from downtown, in special day, special time.

In that time, my mother understood what exac She put us hand by hand and moved to east from city.

It was very big panic.

And people talked to one another, where it is transport to go to east of country.

An We went with our mother and we found some trains.

It was very cold and sometime somebody opened a door, saw woman with two children and moved us in.

We did not know where is our father.

We did not know.

And the [train] no in time went very, very slowly.

Maybe maybe 100 or 100-half kilometer from Kharkov.

People in the wagon, it was a lot of people.

They hear sound about Messerschmitt.

It was airplane of Nazis.

Messerschmitt.

They had special sound.

Hoo hoo hoo.

And we knew it people in this time [train] stop.

It was filled around.

And some of people say, we have to go out from wagon because if they bomb it, all we die.

But it was wrong decision because we saw in [Russian word] small piece of wagon we saw how pilot from Messerschmitt flew down and killed by one by one killed children, killed people in the in the field.

And we saw with my mother we saw one woman lay on the ground and two children run around her.

In this moment, my mother put us to her, held us and say, if we have to be killed we have to be together.

I don't want to live without you and I don't want you will live without me.

But thank God, in this time our [train] very slowly move.

Nobody was killed.

Only people who move out.

And the second bomb it was it was close to Belgorod and close to [Russian name] it was close to Moscow It was second, second time when we hear Messerschmitt airplane.

But in this time our [train], I remember it was yesterday.

They bombed [train] before us because we saw wagon and killed people.

Hand and head and legs around.

We saw it.

It was [train] before us and thank God they moved out but I remember how hot it was because [Russian word] station yes was fire.

Fire.

And when our [train] moved in fire from it was sometime it was very, very hot in our wagon.

Very I remember this.

We move we move to east, to north northeast.

It was cold enough.

In 1941 it was very, very cold summertime, wintertime, I'm sorry.

Wintertime was very, very cold.

And we came to Moscow.

It was a lot of snow.

And we move In this wagon it were special from wood.

Special places from wall where people sit or lay.

And it was a special metal [Russian] [Russian] [Russian] Fireplace.

Fireplace because it was cold and people have to prepare something.

And when [train] stay and some of people in some station brought some food and maybe for five minutes for ten minutes my mother move and brought something to eat.

Because we went we were maybe two, two more months.

Yes.

It was very, very hard.

It was very hard, not only physical, but morale, because we did not know where father is, what happened, who was killed.

It was very very hard.

It was a very hard before And he worked in this factory maybe for for 16 hours a day.

And he was not prepared for the job because he was a barber.

But he worked.

He was very very hard worker pe Very very hard worker.

He brought from factory and my mother start to work in the factory and I remember how they brought us with a metal box some soup from factory.

It was just a small place for living in.

People had houses and the government move owner of this house and give us one room in their house.

It was government decision and people could not say, no, I don't want to send some.

And it was very big room with five windows.

And this room did not heat because they use it only in summe They have a small part of wall and heat was was in other room.

In this wall, small part of wall some kind of bed for us for my sister and me.

And we came to this place.

I was sick.

I was sick more than three months.

It was no doctor because all doctors and nurses they was all they were in front.

And nobody knows what happened with me.

But I remember I could not accept light.

It was very, very hard time to liv We did not have enough food because we had in the time, no in this, when we came, maybe in three months, in three or four mon we received a ticket for bread, for sugar.

For some for some food.

Some food.

Some of.

Bu Very, very hard.

And they and because he was barber, director of this [factory] knew he is barber and ask him to clean people because it is sanitary.

[Russian] This have to be after his job without money.

But they give him bottle with vodka, with wine.

And I remember how my mother sold it sold it and It was my father, We did not see him.

And now in this city where I living, it big city, in that time they had several factory for buses, they produce buses, and airplane.

And when Nazis came close to Moscow, it was in 1941.

And this Novgorod was very close, 400 kilometer from Moscow.

And Nazis start to bomb this factory.

It was not so close to us.

But in this moment when they bombed, we were student.

I was in fourth grade, fifth grade, I forgot.

They move us from school to outside.

It was cold.

It was snow.

And we did not have enough clothes, enou My father received from factory, received An d he gave me.

I was 11 years old.

And when we go out from school it was snow and we run.

I fall down to snow.

And I could not move out.

And after this, I [Russian] Yes, it was frozen.

My hand was frozen.

When I move to school they put my to school and start under and start my hand under cold water.

Cold water, it was so painful.

And from this time I was very sensitive for cold.

When our city were liberated in 1943, in in August 1943, my mother start to talk, we have to go back.

Because we have here very bad life.

Maybe in our house in Kharkov will will be much better.

Yes, but my father could not move because it was war and the factory worked for war, produced motorcycles.

When we came to our city we live before war we live in 200 building.

We found big [Russian big, big hole.

We did not have our house.

She support us.

She gave us money and we feel themselves as a family for military.

Family for front person.

And it was a reason why government give us some room.

And the room in some neighbor, five neighbor around it, is corridor.

We had a room and five neighbors, one toilet and one sink in the kitchen, five table in a kitchen, and one toilet for 15 people.

Yes, it was life after, start life after war.

In 1946, after war, after war, my father was in the in Nizhny Novgorod.

He became sick.

Malaria.

Malaria is the same, the same it is.

Sometime it is very high, and sometime it is low temperature.

He was alone and my mother went to him and put him home.

He was very, very skinny in this time.

And we start to live, start to go to the school.

And after war, maybe 20, 25 years, nobody say any word about war.

Because because it was not family.

The somebody lost my family lost I lost two my cousin.

No one cousin.

He was only 22 years old.

And second my cousin came from front blind.

Without eyes.

But in this time I was 15, 16 years.

We were young.

We were very, very happy after war, very happy.

Even there I remember my blind cousin with his friend who was without hand without legs, they dance, they song because they was happy after war, they were, they were alive.

Anti-Semitism in Ukraine, we feel more and more harder after war.

After war.

When I graduated in university and wanted to have a job and I was a doctor.

And I knew in some hospital in some organization they need my specialist.

And I had interview and they say me, okay, tomorrow you'll bring you documents, your diploma, and then we'll hire you.

But when I came they saw in my passport in paragraph number five I am Jewish.

Oh, we are sorry.

We are sorry.

Yesterday, we hired another person.

It was several time.

After war it was very, very hard and it was harder and harder.

I could not find job as a doctor.

I was a nurse.

Several times.

I work in hospital.

They killed a lot of Jewish doctor.

Very smart, very it was academic.

It was professor.

It was very, very smart.

It is what happened with Jewish doctors in that time and the antisemitism grows and grow and grows.

Especially in Ukraine.

And my children, my daughter married and children grows and in 1990 were open first time after long time was open synagogue and Jewish school.

And sometime my oldest grandson, children say him, kill him.

And say, go to Israel.

Very often some people say, mov move to Israel, and this antisemitism We came here as a [Russian] as a refugee and government, American government he And I came here when I was 65 years old, when my husband passed away.

And my daughter came one year before me and we sent document to America.

And he, when my daughter came to America in my in one months, my husband diagnosed with lung cancer.

In this year when came document visa to come here.

He died.

I was alone.

And his ash I brought here.

I buried it here in cemetery with a rabbi because I want my children have to know they have grave for their father.

It was a very hard time for me because I came here without any English word.

I was 65.

I could not work.

Nobody.

I receive all in one moment I receive all this aside all all what I have to live.

And but for me it was a very, very hard time because I came as an empty place without without lifestyle, without friends and relatives.

And I start to study in college, a little study.

We did not know this about what is meant, Holocaust survivor.

We did not know this.

Even this we did not know.

No, nobody say nobody say.

We, we knew about people was killed in Poland in Auschwitz in Auschwitz in Kiev Babi Yar, we knew about this.

But, what does mean, Holocaust survivor, I didn't.

Only here.

Only here.

Close to 100 people, Holocaust survivors from from Poland, from Hungary, from French, from from Greek, from Norway, from all of Europe, east of Europe.

And they don't believe from Russia it is a Holocaust survivor in Russia.

It can't be.

They don I was only one all this time, it was 2000.

And the director of this program asked the Claim Conference, and the Claims Conference confirmed confirm.

I could not think about war, about what happened all the time, because I had I grew up I was a student in university then medical schoo and I married.

I had children.

I have grandchildren.

I could not think about this all the ti But when I came here I have to talk to the military, to the schoolchildren.

We went everywhere.

It was very hard because, as is right now I have to remember all.

This night I could not sleep because I all as a movie I see before my eyes.

It is important for me, exactly.

I feel oh, yes.

When I came to this group, I feel or synagogue even even a synagogue, I feel myself as I am my people with my people around.

It is very good feeling, you know, because I came here alone.

And I feel Yes, exactly especially in in Jewish Family Children, people and yes, I feel myself with the people as I am.