מאגר סיפורי מורשת

My great grand-mother Yelena Diment, a physician after living through WWII and seeing horrible things was forced to live through Stalin’s Doctors plot, threatening not only her profession but her very life. She not only persevered but during that time was responsible for helping 36 Jewish women give birth to 36 children. Her strength and talent as a doctor have inspired many generations of women to become physicians, the ones displayed here were all named Yelena after Yelena Diment.

My display centers around the common matryoshka nesting doll, consisting of two displays in one. The Matryoshka is by far the most common souvenir most Russian- Jewish immigrants bring with them to remind them of their homeland. It’s a symbol of family, generations, and renewal. One of my display commemorates my great- grandmother and the four women who were inspired by her to go into medicine and obstetrics. The second part of my display centers around the 36 Jewish children that were born between 1952 and 1954 during of the Doctors Plot. Yelena Diment was responsible for getting their mothers through full-term pregnancy even though she was under extreme duress by the Soviet Government. Each small matryoshka has been 3D printed with the names of each child, the girls in blue, the boys in white.

To me, the display represents my wish to have the opportunity to have met my great grandmother and my aspiration to be a physician and focus on women’s health.הזוית האישית

My display connects to the Jewish collective memory of perseverance and recovery and Jewish Peoplehood.