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Different Lives, a Common Story

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Different Lives, a Common Story Different Lives, A Common Story BOOK 5 1 CONTENT This book was published as part of the Experiential Learning Practicum offered by the Russian Studies Program at Brandeis University in partnership with the Brandeis- Introduction.................................................................................................................... 4 Genesis Institute for Russian Jewry. The publication is supported by the Adam and Matan Student.reflections.......................................................................................................... 5 Adelson Multigenerational Program at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Roslindale, MA, and a grant from the Genesis Philanthropy Group. Iosif.Naumovich.Boguslavsky........................................................................................... 8 Mira.Borisovna.Krupkina............................................................................................... 20 Naum.Grigorievich.Hayut.............................................................................................. 28 Raisa.Samoylovna.Chigrinskaya.................................................................................... 34 Zoya.Grigorievna.Ofengeym.......................................................................................... 46 2 n.the.fall.semester.2015,.a.group.of. Eydus,.and.Alena.Gomulina...The.oral. students.from.Brandeis.University. histories.recorded.by.these.students. Iparticipated.in.a.project.called. include.tales.of.a.pre-war.childhood,.of. “Individual Lives, A Common Story”: “Individual.Lives,.A.Common.Story”.at. the.Great.Patriotic.War.and.evacuation,.of. Hebrew.Rehabilitation.Center.(HRC).in. life.in.the.occupied.territories,.of.hunger. participating students share their reflections Roslindale,.MA...This.is.the.5th.year.of. during.and.after.the.war,.of.return.to.the. the.project;.since.2013.it.is.run.as.part. demolished.cities.after.the.Victory,.of. of.a.special.course.led.by.professor.Irina. life’s.joys.and.challenges,.of.the.births. Dubinina,.the.director.of.the.Russian. of.children.and.grandchildren,.of.anti- In.the.fall.semester.2015.we.had.a.unique. Yan Shneyderman language.program.at.Brandeis.University... Semitism.and.friendship.between.people.of. and.valuable.opportunity.to.learn.first- The.practicum.is.based.on.principles.of. different.ethnicities,.of.love.and.dedication. experiential.learning,.which.emphasize. to.one’s.profession,.and.of.emigration...A. hand.about.the.lives.of.the.generation.of. connecting.the.knowledge.received.in.the. major.theme.that.is.visible.in.all.stories.is. Russian.speakers.who.survived.World.War. classroom.with.real-life.issues.that.exist.in. the.Great.Patriotic.War.(the.part.of.WWII. our.society,.and.inviting.students.to.reflect. fought.largely.on.the.Soviet.territory),.and. II,.experienced.hardships.in.the.USSR,. on.the.knowledge.gained.from.real-life. many.of.the.interviewees.divide.their.lives. and.eventually.emigrated.to.the.United. experiences...During.the.semester,.the. into.two.unequal.parts.-.before.and.after. States...We.had.weekly.meetings.with. students.who.grew.up.in.Russian-speaking. the.war...For.the.students,.oral.histories. families.in.the.U.S..were.engaged.in. told.by.the.elders.serve.as.illustrations. our.elderly.friends.when.we.talked.and. an.intensive.language.practice.while. to.the.dry.historical.facts.they.learned.at. shared.experiences...We.hope.that.the.life. interviewing.the.elderly.residents.of.HRC. school,.but.often.these.stories.teach.them. about.their.lives...The.interviews.were.then. something.new,.something.they.were. stories.we.present.in.this.collection.will. “Throughout.my.visits.to.HRC.and. discussed.with.the.instructor.who.helped. not.even.aware.of.before.the.start.of.the. conversations.with.Raisa,.I.have.learned. help.bridge.the.intergenerational.gap.and. students.understand.the.historical.and. project... how.essential.respect.is..Respect.for.others. cultural.contexts.of.some.of.the.events. We.are.grateful.to.all.participants.of. foster.a.better.understanding.of.the.older. is.a.foundation.of.human.decency,.but.self- mentioned.by.the.elders,.analyzed.and. the.project.and.hope.that.this.collection.of. generation.by.college-age.readers.. respect.is.equally.important..Raisa.taught. transcribed...This.collection.features. life.stories.will.serve.as.a.proof.of.Yevgeny. me.that.one.should.live.the.way.he.would. five.oral.histories.collected.by.Brandeis. Yevtushenko’s.words.that.“there.are.no. be.fond.of.recollecting.later.in.life.and.that. students.in.the.fall.of.2015. uninteresting.people.in.the.world;.the. one.should.never.lose.self-respect.in.the. The.following.students.participated. life.of.each.individual.is.like.a.history.of.a. face.of.obstacles.” in.the.project:.Shahzoda.Nasimi,.Yan. planet.” Shneyderman,.Idelle.Vaynberg,.David. 4 5 Idelle Vaynberg. David Eydus. Shahzoda Nasimi Alena Gomulina “The.Oral.History.project.at.Hebrew. “The.project.was.important.for.me.in. “The.experience.of.learning.about.a.very. “Oral.history.has.sustained.cultures.and. Rehabilitation.Center.was.a.very.enriching. several.ways..I.had.a.chance.to.learn.about. difficult.life.of.a.person.who.overcame. traditions.across.the.globe..Through.the. and.interesting.learning.experience.. a.family.with.a.story.similar.to.my.own,. unbearable.difficulties.cannot.be.taken. centuries.we.have.lost.many.stories,.forgot. tracing.events.back.to.pre-revolutionary. lightly...I.had.the.honor.to.record.a.story.of. many.details.and.rewrote.things.we.could. Listening.to.and.understanding.the.stories. Russian.Empire..I.now.better.understand. a.woman.who.survived.horrible.tragedies... not.recall..To.capture.the.story.of.a.life. of.the.older.generation.was.eye-opening. my.parents’.decision.to.leave.Russia.and. Our.conversations.brought.me.closer. lived,.a.love.lost.or.an.adventure.had.is.a. for.me,.and.allowed.me.to.have.a.sense. only.wish.my.great-grandparents.did.it. to.her.and.to.her.family...Listening.to. privilege.and.an.honor..My.experience.is. of.‘living.history.’.I.have.learned.so.much. before.the.cruel.events.of.the.20th.century.. Mira,.I.was.imagining.my.own.ancestors. a.profoundly.humbling.one,.turning.the. about.my.own.history..This.project.added. I.also.better.understand.the.complex. whom.I.never.knew..Participating.in. mirror.on.my.own.privilege.to.never.have. greatly.to.what.I.already.know.about.my. personal.relations.at.the.turbulent.time.of. the.Oral.Histories.project.had.a.great. to.find.my.home.town.erased.from.the. grandparents’.stories.” emigration..I.feel.the.joy.and.pain.of.those. impact.on.me.and.ignited.my.desire.to. map..Reading.about.Jewish.struggles.is. recently.settled.in.the.new.land..And.of. work.on.preserving.memories.of.the.older. not.the.same.as.putting.a.face.to.them.. course,.my.Russian.moved.up.to.a.new. generation.” Thank.you,.Naum,.for.sharing.your. level.” memories.with.me.” 6 7 which.passed.from.hands.to.hands.during. beautiful.girl.and.left.America.for.her.. the.Civil.War:.first.the.Whites,.then.the. From.there.all.traces.of.him.are.lost. Reds..When.the.White.Army.captured. Naum,.Iosif’s.father,.decided.to.study. Iosif Naumovich the.town,.they.took.my.grandfather. engineering.instead.of.being.a.hat.maker,. as.a.hostage..They.shot.him,.and.my. Boguslavsky grandmother,.who.loved.him.immensely,. committed.suicide.because.of.this..I.only. Recorded by Idelle Vaynberg saw.my.grandmother.in.photographs..A. stout.lady,.with.necklaces...” Iosif’s.parents.were.originally.from. Ukraine;.his.mother.was.born.in.Vinnitsa,. Childhood and.his.father.–.in.the.city.of.Lubny. (now.the.Poltava.region.of.Ukraine).. In.his.father’s.family.there.were.8.sons. and.one.daughter;.all.the.men.were.hat. osif.was.born.in.1930.in.Leningrad. makers,.and.in.Iosif’s.words,.they.were. into.the.family.of.a.military.engineer. ‘typical.shtetl.Jews.’.Iosif.knows.that.one. and.a.music.teacher..He.was.an.only. I of.his.father’s.brothers.went.to.America. child:.“at.that.time.it.was.fashionable.to. Iosif, 1938 in.1912.and.lived.for.some.time.in.New. have.one.child.”.Iosif.was.named.after.his. York..At.some.point.Iosif.even.had.a.list.of. mother’s.father,.Iosif’s.grandfather. passengers.from.the.ship.that.arrived.in. .Iosif.did.not.know.his.grandparents,. New.York.that.year,.and.saw.his.uncle’s. except.for.his.grandfather.on.his.father’s. name.there..However,.after.a.year,.Honan. and.attended.the.Leningrad.Polytechnic. side..Parents.on.the.mother’s.side.died. appeared.again.on.the.passenger.list.of. Institute..By.that.time,.he.had.already.met. tragically:.“They.lived.in.a.provincial.town,. a.different.ship..Iosif.says.that.his.uncle. his.future.wife.–.Dina,.and.they.moved.to. and.my.grandfather.was.a.very.famous. Iosif, 1948 moved.to.London.because.he.met.a. Leningrad.together. man,.a.merchant..The.town.where.they. lived.was.called.Vinnitsa,.a.small.town,. 8 9 .From.his.childhood,.Iosif.remembers. on.the.radio.that.the.war.began..I.was.11. can.talk.to.you.today..I.could.have.died. predict.many.important.events...By.some. most.of.all.how.his.mother.made.him.learn. years.old.and.I.already.understood.what. under.those.bombs..We.were.hiding.in. random.chance,.he.came.to.a.forsaken. to.play.the.violin..He.went.to.a.music. war.is.”.Iosif’s.father.did.not.fight.at.the. bomb.shelters.until.we.were.evacuated.to. Yurga.to.give.a.demonstration.of.his.skills.. school.with.a.music.folder.on.strings.and. front..He.was.an.engineer,.and.during.the. Siberia..It.was.1941..I.remember.this.time. This.is.what.it.was.like:..he.would.take. felt.very.embarrassed.before.his.friends.. entire.war.he.worked.at.a.military.factory. very.well.” a.‘recipient’.by.the.arm,.hold.his.pulse. 1 He.only.played.the.violin.for.4.years..His. ‘The.Bolshevik’ .which.produced.heavy. It.looks.like.Iosif.spent.about.a.year.in. and.learn.his.thoughts!.A.colleague.of. childhood.memories.also.include.various. artillery. Stalingrad,.but.according.to.him,.they.did. my.father.wanted.to.test.Messing.and. Iosif.and.his.mother.were.evacuated. not.live.there.long..This.time.the.entire. wrote.some.questions.on.a.piece.of.paper,. political.events.from.that.time.period:.“It. from.Leningrad.at.the.beginning.of.the.
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