מאגר סיפורי מורשת

My grandmother – Julia, was born on August 1, 1943 in the USSR.

Her last name was Erlichman, and now it is Kaplan.

My grandmother has a brother- Victor, who is 3 years old older then her, and a sister- Marina, who is 12 years younger than her.

My grandmother was very close to Victor and his friends.

Victor died at the age of 42, of a heart attack. My grandmother remembers her parents' home, being a large, and one storey house. She remembers UU playing with her friends in the garden. In the winter, she enjoyed running in the hills, skiing and skating.

They spoke only Russian at home.

Because her parents and Victor went to live in another city, she lived with her grandparents in Voronezh until she was 8 years old.

My grandmother does not talk much about her parents, but speaks mostly about her grandparents, who she loved very much because they believed in her and gave her respect like an adult.

One childhood memory that stays with her is of herself – skiing at the age of 6.

Between the ages of 6-9, she used to skate a lot with her friends.

During her time at she lived with her grandparents, she used to travel with her parents and Victor to Sochi to spend time at the black sea.

At the age of 10, she was accepted to a political organization for children named Hehalutz, for good behavior.

Later, her parents took her to the city where they lived, where she went to school. When she was 11, her father was sent to live in another city – because he was an engineer and had to work in a factory that repaired trucks.

A year later, when my grandmother was 12 years old, she had her little sister – Marina.

After hearing the story of my grandmother childhood, I began to appreciate her even more.

On the one hand, I was a little sad to hear that my grandmother had undergone such a complex childhood.

On the other hand, I am happy and proud of my grandmother, who was a wonderful girl who managed to combine the almost impossible- family, friends, studies and leisure.

The school my granny went to

My grandmother remembers well her childhood in school. She remembers well the time she was in first grade.

When she was in third grade, Stalin (a Soviet leader and statesman and the second ruler of the USSR, one of the greatest mass murderers in history) died, and her entire class cried because they did not understand what was happening to the state.

She told me she was the only one who did not cry at the event. From this event you can see how mature she was!

In the third grade (when she was 10 years old), she was accepted to a political organization, named "Hehalutz".

My grandmother had a lot of classmates.

She remembers that she would be out of class in the mornings to take a walk and watch movies at the cinema, which opened at 8:00 am.

She and her classmates learned and played together.

My grandmother was an outstanding athlete who practiced art gymnastics and light athletics.

Pupils from kindergarten through high school could register to spend the whole summer vacation at a youth village, where they played, picked mushrooms and enjoyed themselves!

My grandmother believes that schools were run completely differently then compared to today- in structure and education.

A huge difference was the respectful attitude towards the teachers compared to the contemptuous attitude shown to teachers today.

My grandma believes there was an advantage in the past, in the fact that then there were no phones that prevented friends from meeting, traveling, playing, reading, performing, dancing, singing…

She says it was more interesting to go to school in the past- to study and spend time with friends, as there was nothing that prevented people from meeting!

The war

Although my grandmother did not take part in World War II, some of her family did. It was important for me to interview my grandmother on this subject even though she did not take part in the war.

When the war began, my grandmother's father was at the front as a tanker in the war against Finland.

At that time, in 1941, her grandmother, grandfather, mother and her brother victor, who was only a year old- lived in "Voronezh".

As the Germans approached the area of Voronezh, they forced my grandmother's family to leave the city.

In addition, my grandmother's grandfather, who was a pharmacist, was forced him to move to another city. He moved to "Upha".

As a result, my grandmother's closely-knit family, followed him to "Upha". Actually- my grandmother had being born in Upha in 1943, during the war.

It was a very difficult period as my grandmother's mother was still young- her husband was at the front and it was very difficult to live, as there was hunger, cold, food shortages, etc.…

My grandmother does not define herself as having survived the war, since she was so young. On the other hand, she defines her family as survivors.

That same year (1943), the family returned to the house in Voronezh.

My grandmother says that no matter what your status or what you have, you helped anyone you could. People who could, would give shelter and food -did so. Everyone expected and hoped for victory.

My grandmother thinks that being a person on either side in the war is difficult; On the one hand, being on the war front is difficult, frightening and dangerous because you can be killed. On the other hand, the people at home are anxious out of concern for their loved ones.

הזוית האישית

My grandmother- Julia, was born on August 1, 1943 in the USSR. You probably ask why I did the story about my grandmother.

Well, I love my grandmother very much and I was very interested in her story and wanted to know more about her details. And that is why I asked, interviewed and questioned her.

I really liked doing the work and learned a lot.

I love you Granny.