INTERVIEW WITH POLINA ASHKENAZI
Italics denote translator's comments
Interviewer: Good evening, Polina. We are currently in the apartment of Polina Ashkenazi of the address 2115 Astor Avenue, Columbus, Ohio. This interview is conducted by Galina Dashevsky. Today is January 31, 2000. Again, Polina, good evening, and thank you for agreeing to give this interview of your very interesting life.
Ashkenazi: Good evening, Galina. I am very happy to see you today as a guest in my home. Today is a very important, festive day in my life. Sixty years ago today was my wedding. That was the happiest day of my life. Now I am in America, and for twelve years already my favorite person (in reference to her husband) is not by my side. Such is life.
Interviewer: I am very glad that I am with you this day. I congratulate you on this date. Once again, thank you for your agreement to give this interview. Tell me please when and where were you born? Who were your parents, grandmothers, and grandfathers? What did they do?
Ashkenazi: I was born in a very interesting time: during the unfinished civil war and the beginning of the October Revolution. November 2nd, 1917. I was born into the family of Solomon Cohen and Mother Emka Gooserman (maiden name). Their eldest son was Milya Cohen. I was born a very desired child because my parents wanted a second child very much, especially a girl. My grandma and grandma became grandparents for the first time when my brother was born. He was the first of the boys. I was the first granddaughter loved by all. Truthfully my grandma and grandpa I never saw because they left the city very early. Now I will explain why and the story of my family. My father at the age of fourteen, with he brother Khaim who was thirteen years old, was left without shelter because his father got married, and their stepmother kicked them out. My father went to seek a job and a place to live. He met a very kind Jew who owned a mill. His name was Lyov, and his last name was Husserman. His wife was Leah Husserman. He (Husserman) already had then, well I don't know how many... He probably had three children then. Three or four children. He gave my father a small place in which to live to live in his home. My father began to work. He was very hardworking. He was very skilled, kind, and well wishing. He quickly became social with his co-workers and with his boss. The owner understood also that my father was an outstanding person. He saw that he would grow up to be a good person so he treated him very well. Later on, my father befriended the owner's children. Later he fell in love with his daughter, Ella, and she requited his love. But the tradition then was simple. It was necessary to marry a rich man even if he is old. She had many proposals, but Ella's family refused everyone's proposals. When Ella and Solomon understood that they couldn't live without each other, her father informed her that, "The richest man will come, and if you do not give your agreement, I will forcefully give you into marriage." Solomon's co-workers told him about this, and he fainted. This was brought to the owner's attention. He asked, "Why did he faint?" They told him, "Because he is in love with your daughter, Ella." And the owner said, "Let him marry her. I am not against it." In 1910 a new, young family was created: Cohen. In 1911 a son was born to them: Ilya Cohen. And almost in seven years they at last gave birth to a desired girl whom they named "Polya". They loved her dearly.
Interviewer: That was you?
Ashkenazi: That was I. I think that I grew up very early. But I understand that only from my parents' words I understood what situations reigned in this world and especially in that city.
Interviewer: Please talk about what you remember from your parent's stories about the revolution, the civil war, and maybe about Jewish pogroms.
Ashkenazi: I heard a lot, and I remember it all as if it were yesterday. I heard and knew that the city in which I was born, in Ukraine, stood on the boundary with Poland. And mostly Jews, Ukrainian, and Polish people lived there. It was called Proskurov. It was infamous for it's pogroms. Now this city is called "Khmelnitzky". I knew that a horrible civil war was going on, and it had not yet finished. I knew that a revolution took place, and the soviet government was established. This date coincided with my birthday. Near our city stood a large division of Budyoni. This did much good and bad to the city. The city was closed (required clearance for entry); a person could not enter it without a passport. From my parents' words I knew that pogroms often too place. Petlyoora, Denikin, and others were gangs that came there. In 1920 there was a terrible pogrom conducted by the Petlyoora gang. My grandma and grandpa went to America with their eldest children, but without my mother and one sister. My mother did not go because I, during that time, was ill from pneumonia. This was in April. We were supposed to leave in September, but leaving the country was prohibited. We stayed forever in Ukraine, and my grandparents left. My parents exchanged letters with them. They sent me many gifts.
Interviewer: What do you remember about the details of your life during your childhood? Tell me about the house in which you lived, about your lifestyle, about vacation, traditions, and any remembered events?
Ashkenazi: I remember everything. I remember that I was born in a
house that was located on the main street of Proskurov. It was a private house
that was nationalized. My father, as a worker, was given a very good, large
apartment in that house. This was one of the most beautiful houses in the city.
It had a large fruit garden. I loved this garden very much. My childhood was
good. I began to become interested in theater very early. With my peers I
started to act in a theater. We used everything that would could for decoration,
even sheets and blankets. I had another hobby. My mother sewed and
needle-pointed, and I, too, needle-pointed very well. My third hobby was fruit
trees. I was very sporty and climbed trees. I tore off fruit, I soiled my
clothes, and my mom scolded me. Years went by, and I grew older. Children were
accepted into school starting from the age of nine. Before school my mother
decided to improve my health, and she took my brother and me to Odessa. There I
again fell ill with pneumonia. Medicine was scarce; there were few doctors
there. On one of the nights I felt awful, and I said, "I am dying." My
brother went to seek a doctor and found some young doctor. He, too, was
vacationing there. He came and offered two syrups. But I felt better and did not
take them. Soon my mother invited a very famous professor. His last name was
"Tsiguiss". I still remember him. He arrived in an army uniform. He
examined me, examined the medicine that I was given, and he asked whether I had
taken them. I answered, "No." My mother explained that I was very
stubborn. But the doctor said, "No, she chose well. She saved her own life.
From these medicines she would have already died." The professor found out
that the young doctor was a doctorate student. He examined the functions of the
medicine and apparently decided that I was already dying. If I would have lived,
it would have been his accomplishment, and if I would have died, that was the
way it was supposed to be. I lived and decided that I would definitely become a
doctor. I would treat children so that they would not die.
Interviewer: That is an interesting story. It is the beginning of the story about your wonderful profession. Please talk about your studies, the events of those years, and maybe about the Jewish youth of that time.
Ashkenazi: Not far from our home was a synagogue. But by the time I grew up, it was no longer there. It was destroyed. Not far from there was an almshouse. Old ladies resided there. Every Friday they came to my mother, and she gave them food to last the week. Then I went into the first grade in a Ukrainian school. The schools were Jewish, Ukrainian, and Polish. The Jewish school was hurriedly closed. Because the Army of Budyoni was nearby, and Russians were there, the first Russian school was built in Proskurov. I finished the fourth grade. I did not tell anyone, dressed beautifully (I loved large bows that my grandma sent from Brooklin), and came to the principle of the Russian school. I said that I want to transfer to that school and that I finished four grades. He asked, "Where are your parents?" I said that I came alone. He dictated me a sentence in Russian, and I wrote it correctly. He accepted me into the fifth grade. And o I became a student of the Russian school. Children from an army base studied with me. Some were the children of the famous General Gorodovicov, some were the children of the chairmen of the Revolutionary Military Council: Milanovsky, and others. Jews began to become oppressed. The so-called "Zolotooha" company began.
Interviewer: What is "Zolotooha"?
Ashkenazi: Later I'll explain in more detail. It was the 1930s. Gold was taken away from people. This was the time during which the collectivization of agriculture began. Those who had property or businesses were expelled. Gold was taken from the elderly. This did not affect me because my father was a worker during that time. Later he remotely finished the Odessa Flour-Grinding College. He became the senior engineer of the mill. But I worried with other because near me sat the children who were affected by the "Zolotooha". I think that they were ashamed. I finished the first ten-year school in Ukraine.
Interviewer: The first Russian School?
Ashkenazi: Yes, but there were no other ten-year schools. There were only seven-year schools. I finished school successfully. This was the first and most famous graduating class. Everyone studied well. Our parents and the Department of Public Education gave us a gift: a tour to the new Dneprofskaya Hydroelectric Station. We rode from Proskurov to Kiev, and then to Zaporojye. We were in Zaporojye for a few days. Later we went to Odessa by steamboat. There we were also for a few days. We attended the breathtaking Odessa Opera Theater that I remember to this day. And then we returned home. In a few days I went to Leningrad to live with my brother. I enrolled in the First Medical University that existed even before the revolution.
Interviewer: Before we talk about your time at the University, would you like to add anything about your brother and his roll in your life?
Ashkenazi: Yes, I am proud of him. He is no longer with us since 1989. My brother was a gifted person. His name was Milya. He was much like my father. Our father was a gifted, excellent mathematician. My brother graduated from a seven-year school with excellence, and then a technical school. Then he enrolled in the Odessa Institute of Communications. He graduated from it in 1935 with an "outstanding" diploma that was specially made for him. He was invited to Leningrad. There he enrolled in post-graduate school and worked there for his entire life. I went to Leningrad because he was there. My parents were very upset about my leaving. All of my friends who wanted to be doctors enrolled in the Kiev, Odessa, and other institutes of Ukraine. But I, a Jewish girl, was accepted into the most prestigious medical university of the Soviet Union. I learned from the best professors -- the founder of therapy: Lund, the surgeon: Janaritze, the gynecologist: Strovansky, the urologist: Tzerikovskaya. They were my teachers to whom I am grateful to this day and for the rest of my life. But how did it happen that I went to a medical university? Everything happened spontaneously. I had a pining towards acting. I played sports and always went to the theater when theaters traveled through Proskurov. Proskurov did not have its own theater. While preparing to apply to a university, I at first considered applying to a theatrical one. On my winter vacation I came to Kiev, and my friend and I went to the Theater College on Kreshyatnik Street. I made an agreement that after I finished school, I would come to study there. But everything changed. My father knew that I wanted to marry a sailor or a pilot. I always said that if I were a boy, I would be a sailor or a pilot. And my father gave me a very good suggestion. If you want to marry a sailor, you ought to become a doctor. If you be the wife of a sailor, you will travel with him. As an actress, you will be a housewife. But as a doctor, you will work even if the place to where you come only has two houses. I made an ultimatum: either I stay in Ukraine as my parents wanted and enroll in the theatrical college in Kiev, or I go to Leningrad to the medical school. And I left and am very pleased.
Interviewer: And so we continue your story about your years in Leningrad. Tell me please about your student years and your life there.
Ashkenazi: Yes, my childhood ended, and my young adulthood began. A week after my return from the Dneprofskaya Hydroelectric Station, I boarded a train to Kiev. There my friends met me and I transferred to a train to Leningrad where my brother welcomed me. He already had a small room in Leningrad on 9th Soviet Street. He took me there. He was preparing to defend his dissertation. He was a member of the "House of Scientists". This was very prestigious especially considering that he was very young. My brother said that not far from our house is the Second Medical University, but I should study in the First Medical University. The commute there was a whole hour. I really liked chocolate-covered nuts. My brother said, "I will give you one hundred Kopeikas with which you can buy one hundred grams of chocolate-covered nuts, and you will finish them in a hour." The first time that I needed to complete an interview with the head of the university, he (my brother) accompanied me. I did not need to take an exam. I came to the head of the university, and he was very pleasant and well wishing. I was of small stature, and I was very gregarious. We began to talk. He asked me, "Where are you from?" I said, "From Proskurov, a small town in Ukraine." He said, "You can write to your parents that you are now a student of the First Leningrad Medical University." This was on the fifth or sixth of August. My parents gave me a present, sent me money, and I visited them for twenty days in Proskurov. I arrived in a very happy mood as I was already a student. My peers were still taking entrance exams. But the times were very depressing. There was grief in the city.
Interviewer: What year was it?
Ashkenazi: 1935. Many Comsomols (members of a youth organization of the Communist Party, also known as The Young Communist League) who were Jewish were arrested, and they were accused of being Zionists. Spared were only those who were not in the city. Many boys even feared returning for vacation because everybody was being annihilated. That was a horrifying time, and it remains in memory. I returned to Leningrad. In half of a year, I already had friends. I was the leader of my group. There was a tradition in the university. There was an auditorium where Lenin once spoke. On the November 7th, the anniversary of the October Revolution, performers presented a concert there. I first met Arcady Raikin (a very famous Soviet stage performer) there. I met Schuljenko (a well-known singer), and Cherkasov (a famous actor). This happened every year. For my winter vacation I visited home for two weeks. Once, when I returned home for my vacation after my third year, I met my girlfriends. One of them said, "A guy is going to come now. He is older than we are. He attends the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. I have fallen in love with him, but I cannot introduce myself. Help me, Polya!" I agreed. My friend who knew him acquainted me with him. I introduced him to my girlfriend, and the whole group was together. When I was preparing cherry jam for breakfast, he came to me and offered a walk. Then he suggested meeting with him somewhere in the evening. I said that at eight o'clock in the evening, all of my friends are gathering at my home. He thought about it but came. On the fourth day of our acquaintance, he proposed to me. I agreed. We decided that until the next winter vacation he would return to study in Kiev, and I would go back to Leningrad. On January 20th he was scheduled to present his thesis and receive his diploma. On the 27th of January, I was supposed to come to Kiev. He loved the numbers 7, 17, and 27. At two o'clock we were going to get married, and then go home to Proskurov. Nobody knew anything of this at home. That's how it was. I came home. At five o'clock in the evening I began to get dressed fancily. My parents asked why. I answered, "Because my husband is coming." They screamed, "What?" My mother fell unconscious. My husband came at seven. Then there was a wedding that all of my friends attended.
Interviewer: Why did you not tell your parents that you were getting married?
Ashkenazi: That is a very long and interesting story. When I was five, I went to preschool. I recall that I took breakfast with me. Milk, a meatloaf sandwich, and an apple. Near the mill where my father was the senior engineer was a beer-brewery where the senior engineer was his friend. He had a son whose name was Micha Degin, and he was my age. We were friends, and so were our parents. We entered the first grade together and studied together afterward. When we were in the eighth grade, his father was transferred to Kiev to be the senior engineer of the Food Industry of Ukraine. But our friendship continued until I married another man. Micha was studying in the University of Kiev, and later became a physicist and a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Science. But we broke up.
Interviewer: Perhaps now I can ask you about your life during the war and your time during the evacuation. Apparently this was after your graduation. May we move on to this period of your life?
Ashkenazi: Yes, of course. After my wedding I returned to Leningrad. My husband went to work in the city of Nikolaive (in Ukraine) on the famous military plant. My mother came to Leningrad to visit her son. During that time the war with Finland began. This was approximately the 10th or 11th of January, 1940. Our surgeon, Janaritze, became the chief surgeon of the frontline of Leningrad. I was on my fourth year of college. All students of this class were transferred to obey martial law, and they worked in hospitals according to a schedule. Our schedule was such: until two o'clock I studied, then I lunched and went to surgeon duty. This disciplined us well. I immediately matured and began to be familiarized with nursing. We assisted surgeons. I cannot forget one event. They brought an eighteen-year-old boy to us. There were more contusions during this war than there were wounds. The temperatures averaged around
–41, -42 degrees Celsius. The distance from the frontline to Leningrad were rather great. And there were many frost bites. Both of this boy's frostbitten legs were amputated. I was an assistant during this operation, and only a few years older than he. This I will always remember. There were many similar episodes. Our class became legendary. We all became doctors and medical assistants. I was delegated to work in the city of Vyatka (later known as Kirov). Despite my being married, I was obligated to go work there by assignment. I was finishing physician department and was obligated to work there for five years as a doctor. Only after this was I able to go to my husband. I was only permitted to intern for a short time in Nikolaiv where my husband worked. In the year 1941, before my government certification exams, my husband came to Leningrad for a few days for a business trip. I became pregnant. During that time our head of the university to whom I once gave an interview went to prison. Everybody was devastated. One time at night in the gynecological department, babies were crying very hard. No nannies or nurses or doctors on duty attended to them. Morning came and it became apparent that a rat had chewed off a child's nose, another child's cheek, and yet another child's chin. How horrible! Of course on that day all of the doctors on duty were arrested and the respected head of the university was arrested, too. They were sent to prison. A new head came. He was the famous psychiatrist Azyrevsky who was known to the entire world. On June 24th, 1941, I was scheduled to take the final exam. On the 22nd of June, war was declared. A month before that when my husband came, and he achieved a change of my assignment. Instead of Vyatka, I was going to go work in Ukraine.
Interviewer: And so we have come to the beginning of the Great, Patriotic War (World War II). How did your life go during that time?
Ashkenazi: I will begin with the 22nd of June. On the 24th I was supposed to take my final exam. I was calm. I took the exam successfully, and I already received the assignment to the city of Nikolaive where my husband worked. On Sunday, the 22nd, when I was going by the "Finland Station", I heard the Molotov's (the minister of the government during Stalin's reign) speech. As my final exam approached, the entire sky over Leningrad was peppered with dirigibles. It was bright and frightening. On the 26th I received my diploma and filled out various documents. My brother was already in the homeland guard (opolcheniye – Russian word). On the 6th of July, my friends saw me through. I went to the city of Tula. We got off of the train. And in Tula, on the platform, I heard Stalin's famous speech (some of his most famous words included, "Our cause is right, and we will be victorious"). Afterward we traveled in teplooshkas (wagons for soldiers). The road was horrible because we traveled through Belarus and Ukraine. Many refuges surrounded us, and there was much fear and grief. I reached the city of Dnepropetrovsk. I left the wagon and awaited the boarding of the train, and suddenly saw a flying bomber. Everyone hit the ground. Somebody yelled at me, "Lie down!" But nobody was harmed, and I went to Nikolaive. Crowds of refuges walked on foot to Hyerson from Odessa through Nikolaive. I went to the military registration and enlistment office. I was pregnant. I was directed to work in the same hospital where I carried out my internship, and I ended up with the same supervising doctor: Dr. Hyersonsky. He was happy to see me, and transferred me to an emergency status (in which people live and work nearly at the same place because they are constantly on call). My husband worked in a factory and was also in such a situation. We saw each other on Sundays, but not for too long. Before my departure from Nikolaive, people were awaiting the German descent. Many were sent to dig military dugouts. But many did not return. This was the last Sunday of July, and my friends and I went for a walk. Everyone was suddenly notified at nine o'clock in the evening, "Everyone who can must immediately evacuate the city. In half an hour the German descent will be here." Those who went back home for their children and loved ones did not return. I was in high heels, and we left. We walked to Hyerson. Fields and haystacks surrounded us. The Germans were bombing. We already knew that the descent had landed. At night we hid in haystacks. We were very thirsty, but the people in the homes that we passed did not give us any water. I walked barefoot, and my feet were covered in blisters. Like this we came to Hyerson. This was in the middle of the day. We needed to reach the other side of the Dnyepr (river). We saw bodies near a bakery. We were told that a bombing had just occurred. We went to the shore. There were many people, and there was a costal guard. We were seated on three barges. We were stopped in the middle of the river because another air raid was overhead. Two barges were destroyed, but our barge was left untouched. We arrived in the city of Tzuryupi. There we needed to continue for another eighteen kilometers. We went through fields. We carried nothing in our hands. We reached the city of Junkoya. There awaited us open train cars camouflaged in branches and twigs.
Interviewer: Was your husband with you during this time?
Ashkenazi: Yes. His entire factory evacuated, at least those who made it. There in Junkoya was a registration for entrance into the train cars. We went farther. The train stops were lengthy. Like this we reached Stalingrad. We got off on the shore of the Volga for our transfer. A mass of people was there. Everyone was in line to go farther. We needed to go to Barnaool where the famous tank factory number 77 was already being constructed. We were seated in teplooshkas, and we departed. Trains were bombed, but our train survived. At one of the stations I began to bleed. My husband and I were taken off of the train, took us to the maternity ward, and I was given medical help (she had a miscarriage). We were sent to keep going. We began to catch up with our train, and we caught up with it not far from Barnaool. Everyone knew me as I was a doctor and helped many people. We were welcomed very warmly. We arrived in Barnaool at eight o'clock in the evening. It was dark, and I could not see anything. Only the ring of bells let us know that we arrived somewhere. They came to us in the morning and conducted a meeting, and they told us about Barnaool, the place where we were going to live, who we will be there, and how we will help. A lot was expected from us. An interesting story: I again met the 1930s; the same that I lived through in Ukraine when in the 1930s the intellectual community was sent away, mostly including professors, engineers, doctors, and teachers. We were told that Barnaool was a city of these exiles and a very distinctive city. Thecity is divided into four parts: the north, the south, the east, and the west. There is a small area in the center where a small, wooden hospital; the city hall; and a small club are located. Transportation is very limited throughout the city. There are a few small houses where the exiles, the doctors, teachers, and others, lived. The personnel: the guards, the police, and others lived in quarters. I became a resident of the western part in an apartment that was called a "zemlyanka" (earth house).
Interviewer: You mean dug out in the ground?
Ashkenazi: Yes, a dwelling dug out deep in the ground. There were no other places to live in Barnaool. My husband's parents came to us and we were given a separate, little room in the zemlyanka. Many lived with two or three families per room. A factory was not far. Many factories were evacuated into Barnaool from Harkov, Leningrad, and Stalingrad. I was on military registration. I still felt poorly after the miscarriage. I began to work in the medical department. The doctors were mostly elderly people from Harkov. Only I was a young doctor. We worked construction shifts in the morning, and then starting from ten or eleven o'clock, we began our doctor jobs. Towards the winter we began to build barracks. Our zemlyankas were filled in. This city was famous for its blizzards and sand storms. Blizzards in the winter and sand storms in the summer. Such dunes formed that they barred transport from one area to another. We needed to dig our way out, and then continue while holding on to a rope. Many could not reach their homes at night. Slowly we built our barracks. I became pregnant again, and in October, 1942, I gave birth to my first daughter, Alla Ashkenazi. I did not take my maternity leave. I continued to work. In order to give birth in a hospital, it was necessary to walk twelve kilometers. We left at night and arrived in the morning at six o'clock. I gave birth an hour after my arrival. I had nothing with which to cover her. Someone gave me a washtub. Someone sewed mattresses out of cotton. Someone gave me a blanket and some gauze. I nurtured my daughter on a stove. I was allocated an addition five hundred grams of bread for her. I produced no milk. I traded this bread for half a liter of milk with a guard who owned a cow. I nursed her with this milk.
Interviewer: What other details about your life in Barnaool do you remember?
Ashkenazi: I remember a lot. I lived there for almost ten years. I restored myself as a woman, a doctor, and a person. Life was difficult. The factory was built, and it was very important for the war. A good doctor's office was constructed. It was difficult, but we lived. A club was build, and houses were built. On the first floor of one house a polyclinic was built. This was already the end of the war. On January 1st, 1946, I became the head of this polyclinic. Here I met many interesting people who were exiled in the thirties. Many people who came to our polyclinic were hapless in life, professors, doctors, mostly those who were Jewish. They lived in zemlyankas, and then in small sheds. They were under the control of the police. Every month they went to check in with the police. I was able to take some of them in to my polyclinic. The polyclinic was not of the factory but of the city. From these doctors I received my second excellent wealth of knowledge after my wonderful teachers. These people were brilliant specialists. In 1948, I gave birth to my second daughter, Natasha. I again did not take my maternity leave. I gave my polyclinic report just before my births. This time we went to the maternity ward by car. In 1950, I was rewarded for my good work. I was directed towards a post-graduate medical school in Leningrad in a fantastic hospital by the name of "Lenin". I was there for a year. My eldest daughter, Alla, was with me. That was my husband's condition for his agreement with my departure. We lived with my brother, and all was well. Alla finished the second grade there, and I finished post-graduate medical school. I received my diploma, and in 1951, we returned to Barnaool. We were supposed to receive a new apartment, and suddenly in June we received a surprise. It did not hurt us too much because we had an apartment in Leningrad. But my husband was not released from Barnaool where he was the chief technical supervisor of the factory. Stalin gave an order, "Within the next few days, all Jews are to be removed from all military factories."
Interviewer: When was this?
Ashkenazi: In June of 1951. Jews were given opportunities to apply to other factories, but not military ones. We were fortunate. Near Moscow, at that time, a new factory was being constructed that made public city buses. The famous factory "ZIL" (Factory By the Name of Lenin) in Moscow was consigning the production of buses to the new factory. My husband was directed to work as the chief engineer of that factory.
Interviewer: This is the factory in the city of Dulyevo?
Ashkenazi: Yes, Likino-Dulyevo. My husband went and looked at it, and in a month I joined him there. I was already a doctor with ten years of experience who headed a polyclinic. But I understood that I was going to Moscow, and that I needed to measure up to their demands. I was on vacation at that time, my first vacation. I came to Dulyevo. It was a small town. It was solely Russian, but very interesting and historical. There once was a village by the name of "Likino" where Savva Morozov had a textile factory. On the other shore of the small creek was the village of "Dulyevo". There was a famous production of porcelain. A person who once worked for the famous producer of porcelain, Kuznyetzov, organized it. It was Likino-Dulyevo. In Likino there was a good, stone hospital with skilled doctors. Dulyevo had its own hospital. When I arrived, doctors worked there who worked even before the revolution. Again, I was fortunate. One of them was Iona Moiseyevich Rolnik. I had much happiness and sorrow from my work with him. He was the brother of the wife of the famous academy member: Cohen who was arrested in 1953 on account of the Case of the Doctors. I was warned by representatives of the KGB that I, too, might be arrested because we ware friends and co-workers. These representatives were all being treated by us so they watched out for what affected us. At home stood a small suit case with crackers and bare necessities in the case of an arrest. Alla was eleven, and Natasha was six. Alla came from school and said, "mom, they're saying that all of the doctors are being arrested." I said, "My sweet daughter, they are not arresting me." Truthfully, when the children went to bed, my husband and I went into the other room and cried over out lives awaiting the arrest every day. Again, I was fortunate. Stalin died, and we were not arrested. We continued to live and work. Soon I became the vice-head doctor of the hospital. I worked there for thirty-two years. I also managed the internship program of student of the fourth year of the Moscow Medical Institute in our hospital. There a dream of mine was also fulfilled. I began to organize the competitions "Come on, Medics!" I became famous to the entire community. Thousands of people attended my competitions. We held competitions in our hospital, between hospitals, and that was how we celebrated important dates. Like this I lived until I was sixty years old, until 1977. That was the year in which the hospital in which I worked celebrated its 100th anniversary. For my sixtieth birthday and the hospital's one-hundred year anniversary, we began to prepare in advance. I was acquainted with the niece of a famous movie director, Tatyana Leoznova.
Interviewer: The director of the famous movie Seventeen Moments of Spring.
Ashkenazi: Tatyana Leoznova lived with her mother. They worked together. She helped me to make a silent movie called One Day of Hospital Work. Many medical, governmental, and communist bosses came for the anniversary. I headed this evening. I have photographs. Leoznova was supposed to come with actors, but she had a toothache, and she went to get the tooth removed. She sent two actors and a pianist. These were: Zolotoohin, "Pan Gimalaisky", and suddenly an actress came in whom I knew in my youth in Leningrad, the actress: Telegina. The last time we had met was in a sauna as students in July, 1941. She arrived and immediately recognized me. This was so elegant and beautiful that we were even photographed. I have the pictures. The evening was terrific. It is in my memory to this day. Telegina was terrible ill, and she passed away two years after.
Interviewer: You interestingly connected two of your life's callings: your medical calling and your calling to the stage. Right now I think that you are talking about the moment in which you connected them.
Ashkenazi: I had another hobbie. For my entire life I enjoyed needle-pointing.
Interviewer: I see that in your apartment are still are many beautiful things you maid with your hands.
Ashkenazi: I can make a whole exhibit. Many blouses, dresses, pillows, and pictures. My last work I began to do in 1991. I finished half and fell ill with glaucoma. It remains unfinished still.
Interviewer: You'll still finish it.
Ashkenazi: It seems that I will not. Maybe my grandchildren might.
Interviewer: When and why did you leave Dulyevo?
Ashkenazi: We did our work there very well. I received two doctor's awards of the highest category as a cardiologist and as a public health servant. I was able to retire with pension 1972, but I continued to work to the last day. My last day in my hospital was in July, 1983, on the Day of the Medical Worker. Traditionally, on this day, I gave a speech at the meeting of the regional medical workers. I presented very well. I knew that in a week I would have to give notice that I wish to leave this city. Nobody knew of this yet. What was the reason? My children graduated from their Institutes. Alla graduated from medical school, and Natasha from mechanical school. They got married and worked in the city of Luberzy. That was practically Moscow. My husband was allowed to buy an apartment where our children lived. In June of 1983, the home was ready for occupancy. I came to the head doctor and told him that we would have to say good-bye. He said, "No. Go to the head regional doctor." I went. He asked me what happened. I said that I came to ask for permission to retire because I was leaving. He said, "I did not expect this from you. Are you really leaving like all the Jews?" I said, "I am like all of the Jews, but I am not going to where you think I am. I am leaving for Luberzy to be with my children." He stood up, kissed my hand, and said, "An entire era is leaving with you from the hospital." Then there were goodbyes, and I left. But I lived up to my promise to do my yearly presentation. In Luberzy I immediately began to work as a cardiologist, but continued to visit my hospital sometimes, and I gave my speech for 1983. My husband began to work as a teacher and a consultant at an auto-mechanical institute in Moscow. Soon I was struck by grief. My husband unexpectedly fell heavily ill. He did not want to go to a hospital. I continued to work, and I was brought cardiograms at home. I treated my husband. On March 30, 1987, at the age of 72, he passed away.
Polina Ashkenazi
Tape 2
Side "A"
Italics denote translator's comments
Interviewer: We are continuing the interview with Polina Ashkenazi. This is tape number 2, side A. When and why did your family decide to immigrate to America? With whom did you immigrate to America?
Ashkenazi: I want to speak a little about how I lived my last years in Russia. I already said that when my husband passed away, I buried him. It was very difficult. I was recovering poorly, but I worked very much. I remember that I completely turned my attention to the lives of my children and my grandchildren. I lived on my own. I had an apartment that was not too far from them. I lived through their lives, and we met daily. My first grandson, Igor, was born from my youngest daughter, Natasha, on the 27th of August, 1972. That was my husband's favorite date because if the "7" and the "2" of "72" switched places, they would become "27". You could not imagine our happiness. My second grandson was born in exactly one year. He was born on the same last Sunday of the month, but on the 26th of August, which was one day earlier.
Interviewer: Who was born?
Ashkenazi: Oleg was born from my eldest daughter, Alla. And in almost a year and six months, my youngest grandchild, my only granddaughter, Sveta, was born on the 20th of December, 1974. Well, when I moved to Luberzy, they were already more or less on their feet. They studied in school, they studied English, they were in a musical school, Igor and Sveta, and Oleg was interested in physics and mathematics. He was a very dedicated student. They were dedicated as well, but they were more diversified. When Sveta was seven years of age, a school of ballroom dance opened nearby. She was very beautiful, and still is beautiful, and we enrolled her in this school. She was very successful, but there was one problem; we needed to find a partner for her. Igor was in the third grade, and he strongly wished not to attend this school. I spent a lot of energy to convince him. Since he loved me very much, he tried it for me. He tried it, and he was very successful. Soon they sent these little dancers to the most important competition in Moscow. Their mother sewed them costumes. All of us attended, and they won the first prize. After that, they were transferred to the most prestigious dance school, and they began to practice there. Sveta and Igor were very delighted. They were thriving in musical school, dancing, academics, and English. They began to triumph in many different competitions. We attended all of their competitions, rooted for them, made their costumes, and they grew older. Igor was soon to graduate from school while Sveta continued to study. They always danced together.
Igor desired to be a mathematician. When he turned sixteen, Kishenyov held a national olympiad of physics. He went to the competition with his father, and he took the fourth place. When he returned, he had a chance to be enrolled in the Moscow Institute of Physical Engineers. He began to take tests in school, and his results were brilliant. Before he finished school, Gorbachev was elected to be the president. In his first year of presidency, Gorbachev gave everybody a gift. He allowed an olympiad to be conducted in which the fifty people who earned ten points (The highest possible score in an olympiad) could attend any university. Igor attented this olympiad, and there was an advantage of not having to record nationality and name (Igor's Jewish nationality could bar him from access to many universities in the former U.S.S.R.), but only a person's number. Igor earned ten points.
When he was finishing school, he had a gold academic medal (The highest echelon of academic success), the fourth place of a national olympiad, and ten points in the other physics olympiad, but he wanted to be a mathematician. He enrolled in Moscow University to become a mathematician. He successfully studied, continued to dance, but he said that it is time to change his partner. He chose a girl who also danced with her brother since the age of seven. Her brother left for the army, and Igor invited her to be his partner. He began to dance with her. Sveta found a new partner from another school in Moscow. He met her and invited her to dance with him. They also began to win prizes, but soon it became apparent that he was departing for Israel with his parents. Sveta was in the eighth grade, and they invited her to go with them. She stayed and found a new partner. They continued to dance with their respective partners.
In a year, Gorbachev announced a national mathematical olympiad, and Oleg, my other grandson, decided to participated even though he dreamed of being a physicist. He also earned ten points.
Oleg also had the advantages of a gold academic medal and a score of ten points in the olympiad, and he enrolled in the physics department. Both of my grandsons were very successful. Sveta was also finishing with a gold academic medal. She and her partner participated in a very large dance competition, and they took third place. A gentleman approached her knowing that she was finishing school with a gold medal. He knew that she wished to be a theater director. He invited her to meet with him to help her to become a theater director. He told her that if she finished school with a gold medal, she could study for free. Otherwise she would have to pay. She prepared a dance number, earned the highest grade, and she was accepted with a scholarship. She had almost been studying for a year, and Igor was finishing college. He was a straight-A student, and could continue as a postgraduate student after his graduation.
At this time, the family received an invitation to come to America. Before that, his father's sister moved to Columbus with her husband by the last name of Meksin. They invited Igor's father, my daughter's husband, to come to Columbus, Ohio with his family. My daughter refused to go without me. I was having problems because I had to leave my job, and nobody knew at work that I planned to move, and I would have to leave my other daughter. But I was convinced that she would follow later. We began to fill out the documents, I continued to work, and I came to my supervisor a month before our departure. I told him that I wanted to take a vacation. He was surprised that I wanted to go at this time. I told him that my children were moving and that I needed to see them through. I was not selling my apartment, my other daughter was staying, and I would return in a year, and maybe earlier. He believed me, and he let me go. We left on the 28th of April.
Interviewer: Of which year?
Ashkenazi: 1993. I worked in Luberzy for exactly 10 years.
Interviewer: So you are going with your family to America.
Ashkenazi: Yes. We are, on the 28th, with the family, in the airport in Moscow. Our friends are seeing us off, and the most important thing for me was my parting with my eldest daughter and her family. This was an extremely difficult moment, if not the most difficult moment of my life. But I had to leave with them, and to hope that soon this daughter would also come. On the 29th, we landed in New York. We needed a flight transfer in the airport to fly to Columbus. We sat there and looked around. Everything was unusual. I did not take the travel well. I did not feel well after the flight physically and emotionally because I had always been afraid of flying on airplanes, even though I always liked pilots very much. I did not feel well, but when we arrived here, the same Meksin family welcomed us. Abraham Michailovich, Victor, Asya, some of the children, and Abraham's wife were there. All together they welcomed us fantastically. They received us with a cordial welcome, rented an apartment for us, and everything was excellent. When I was riding home in a car from the airport, I remembered Ilf and Petrov's (soviet humorists) The One-Storied America (a witty account of their road trip across America). I even once wrote a composition in English about my impression of Columbus and America. I have it still, but now I have many other impressions as well. Well that was on the 29th. On the second day we went.... We needed to fill out some documents. I did not participate a whole lot. I was just present, and everything that they told me I filled out, and pretty much I only remembered that on the 5th, the 5th of May, I came to the Jewish Center. The children quickly found which classes to take, but I did not know a drop of English, and they were confused about what to do with me. My condition was difficult for me; the surrounding people probably did not even notice, and I was soon to turn 76 years old. This is already a significant age. But nevertheless, I maintained myself well. They told me... And immediately led me to a class, and said, "Here is a new one for you." I glanced the room over, and almost everyone was about the same age as I. A few were much older, and some were a trifle younger. He received me very well, like my own son. He saw that I was an old lady, and probably hapless in the given moment.
Interviewer: I think that you are very cheerful.
Ashkenazi: I will be grateful to Nikolai Grebelsky for my entire life. I forgot what her name was... I remember Sveta. One person was named Sveta, but I do not remember what the second person's name was. She also welcomed me very well. She was the one who brought me to the class. Immediately, as I sat down, he began to ask me questions as we doctors ask a new patient when he comes to see a doctor. "What is my name, what my your last name, from where did I come, what was my occupation, etc." When I told him, he said, "ok." "We have already been studying for three months. Please catch up." I said, "Very good. I'll try." I tried very hard to catch up. I am able to tell you that when I came he told me, "We are studying '(Said in English) continues'. This means '(Said in Russian) continues'. I said, "Ok. This will be my continuation." You know, to this day I still know "continues" better than anything else in English. More than everything else, day and night. I began to study persistently. I learned with pleasure. I encountered difficulties, and I overcame all of these difficulties. After two months I moved to the "Russian Village" (The name given by Russian immigrants to the Bexley Plaza Apartment Complex). I began to live independently. I still cannot completely express my great appreciation to Victor Meksin who supported me morally. During the whole first year of my life here, he did not forget about me. He knew me in Moscow, he knew my character, my liveliness, and he promised me that I would be happy here. I believed him, and I am truthfully happy. I am very happy that I am here and that I had such good teachers. I had many teachers, and I remember each one. I am grateful to each of them. I learned persistently. I studied persistently. Many would relax, walk outside, but I sat and studied. Many people would ask me, "Why do you study so much?" I would say, "I must know English well enough to become a citizen." I began to await my daughter. In three years my eldest daughter arrived. By then the chief doctor knew that I for sure would not return, but he still mails me greetings, and sometimes we talk on the telephone. Like this passed my life to that moment. Interesting and good it was. In a year I moved to this wonderful home. When I lived in Russia, I never knew that such good homes for elderly people like me existed. This is a comfortable home. This is a fantastic home. Extraordinary people live here. Here, wonderful Americans are neighbors and friends. This is a home in which everyone, even in a younger age, can dream about living. I have a garden that occupies me during the summer. I run it completely by myself without trusting anyone else. I work it, I harvest it, I treat guests, and I eat it myself. I am thankful for that. Well, what else?
Interviewer: Polina, I want to ask you if I may. How are the lives of your children and grandchildren coming along here in America?
Ashkenazi: Yes. I slightly sidestepped that. I talked more about myself.
Interviewer: That is very good.
Ashkenazi: That is not very polite of me. Ok, well, let us begin from the beginning. When we arrived, Igor, although the acceptance was already finished, was immediately accepted into post-graduate school to the mathematics department.
Interviewer: To the Ohio State University?
Ashkenazi: Yes, the Ohio State University. He immediately went to the dance studio. They also accepted him. I came to the JCC on the fifth, and on the ninth, the JCC held an evening dedicated to the day of victory (WWII). My grandchildren, Igor and Sveta, danced there for the first time in America. Here I became famous. I have this story. When I still lived with my daughter, they all left and told me not to leave the apartment. But I left and got lost, and could not go home. All of the apartments there look alike. I began to ask, I was near, "Where?" But nobody could tell me where this apartment was. They asked me, "With whom did you come to the United States?" I said, "With my daughter." "Anyone else?" I said, "With my grandchildren. The ones who danced." "Oh, the one who dance!" They brought me straight home. I did not tell any of the children that I got lost because I was embarrassed. But I was very proud that finally I was recognized through my grandchildren. Earlier they were recognized by people through me, but now they recognize me through them. He was receiving his degree at that point in time. In the end of 1999, in the month of December, at the final American Competition, he and his wife earned the first place for Latino ballroom dancing. The first place he won for the century and the millennium. This is of course very pleasing. Soon after he needed to defend his dissertation. This is my first grandchild. The second...
Interviewer: If I know correctly, he also works as a teacher here?
Ashkenazi: Yes, he teaches. He is very successful. His students also receive good places. Some of his student dancing pairs also earned a good... Yana's Daughter Ira with him also received a first prize. And then Tanya's daughter Vicka also received one.
Interviewer: Vicka Breydo.
Ashkenazi: Everything is good for them. They are living well. They got married. It was a gift to me for my fifty-fifth marriage anniversary of January 27th. I was married in 1940. In 1995, they asked my permission to get married on that day. Igor married that girl with whom he danced. He invited her to America from Kharkov. He danced with her and he dances with her now. She is his wife. Her name is Svetlana. Her maiden name is "Tatkova". I organized a wedding for them. The wedding was small as my apartment is not big. But the wedding was very pleasant. On the 27th of January, 2000, when I would have had my sixtieth anniversary, by the way my wedding was on the 30th, but I obtained my marriage license on the 27th, they came to me and the three of us celebrated that day.
Interviewer: Their fifth anniversary.
Ashkenazi: Yes, their fifth anniversary.
Interviewer: And your sixtieth anniversary.
Ashkenazi: Yes, that is when it should have been. It does not exist, but it exists in my memory. My second grandson, Oleg, came in three years. He was already a post-graduate student of physics. He also immediately enrolled in post-graduate school and also studies and teaches at the university just like Igor who teaches mathematics. Oleg is also preparing to defend his dissertation. Sveta is a little less fortunate. She strongly did not want to leave from there after having studied for a year in the department of directing. She was very successful, but she had to leave the country. No such department existed here (Columbus), and she did not want to go someplace else. So she went to study to be a computer programmer. She finished it well, continued to dance... At first they danced together (Sveta and Igor) before Svetlana (Igor's wife) arrived. In the year 1995 in Canada, they (The brother and sister Igor and Sveta) earned the second place for the United States. Well, they continued to dance here, study, and teach.... Afterward she was finishing college; she finished it well. And as soon as she graduated she got married. She wanted to set the marriage date for my husband's birthday, the 15th of August. Well, that did not work, but nevertheless on the 8th of August, 1998, we celebrated her wedding. She and her husband left for Chicago. They live there. He is a very pleasant, young person. He is a chemist who also has a Ph.D. They make a living there. She is a programmer, and he works his in line with occupation. Now they even own a house. I visited them on Thanksgiving, and ate the turkey that they prepared for me.
Interviewer: What is his name? What is Sveta's husband's name?
Ashkenazi: Bert (?). I forget his last name. He has such a beautiful last name, but I need to look it up for next time. They recently visited me for my eighty-second birthday. They were at my home. The New Year we brought in together. The new year of 2000... We call each other often and see each other often. Here everyone also works. One of my daughters, the younger, works in the department of... It is, you know... She is currently studying for her Ph.D? How do you say? Her master's degree.
Interviewer: Natasha?
Ashkenazi: Natasha. She works in a very large company. She is in the field of accounting. My second daughter is a doctor. She is already fifty-six years of age. She works as a hematologist in a company that collects blood. Everything is going well, and I am continuing to study. I passed the test for U.S. citizenship.
Interviewer: I wanted to ask you. I know that you recently became a citizen of the United States. What does this mean to you?
Ashkenazi: It was my dream. Overall I had two dreams. One was to find my ancestors, be it even at a cemetery, but I wanted to find them. But I haven't completely accomplished that yet. I decided that first I need to become a citizen of the United States. I studied a lot, and I prepared a lot. This was especially difficult for me because I suffer from glaucoma. I see very poorly. I almost do not see in one eye. But I knew that I must pass. When everyone went to take the written test, I though, why do I need to worry twice? First I needed to write, and then go to the interview.... I decided to combine the two, and I decided correctly. I studied night and day. And I consciously went to the interview without fear. My teacher remembered me because Igor once called him about a daughter and returned upset (jokingly). "Grandma, everyone tells me that you are my grandma, but he said 'oh, you're Polina Ashkenazi's Grandson'! I was very upset with him." (Polina had always been recognized through her grandson Igor, but this man recognized him through her) But he calmed down. I successfully passed the interview. I then took the oath effectively that I would be an honest American. I will fulfill everything, and I honestly for the third year volunteer at the home where I live. They call me the "policewoman". First I was troubled, but now I enjoy it. Every day during the same hour, I check everybody's "okay" (a sign that all residents must hang from their doors every morning that a person on duty checks). I created order. I am very proud of that. I worry if I spot an absence of an "okay" sign, and I always report it. This satisfies me very much. I feel like I am going to work. I always go happily, cheerfully, and with discipline.
Interviewer: Polina, right now you are talking about the home in which you live. This is the home where elderly people reside. Apparently this is returning you mentally to the story of your parents, and you wanted, in the process of our interview, later to talk a little about them and about these thoughts of yours. Perhaps now is a good time to do so? Thank you.
Ashkenazi: Galina, Thank you. Oh, yes. When I was talking about all of the worries and hardships of the Jews, I said that later I would continue to speak about everything. I want to begin with the commencement of World War II. On the 22nd, I lived in Leningrad. I was finishing college. It was the day before my graduation. On the 24th of June, 1942, I took my final governmental exams, and on the 26th of June, 1942, I received my diploma and was directed towards the workplace of my husband. I was allowed to go work in Ukraine, in the city of Nikolayev. Well, about that I already talked, and now I want to talk about my parents. I went to Nikolayev. This was already the beginning of July. Where my parents were, Proskurov, Ukraine, there were Germans already. My parents lived their entire lives in Proskurov. My father worked all of his life at a mill. At first he was only a miller, and afterward had a higher post. When the war began, they did not have time to finish... Neither my brother nor I was with them. They were in poor health, and were not able to do anything by themselves. The director of the mill told them, "Don't worry. When we leave, we will take you with us. Right now it is necessary to continue to make flour for the military." But the Germans came shortly, and everyone of course left, but my parents were left behind. They lived there, as I told you earlier, in a very beautiful house on the main street of Alexandrovsky house number 63. It was private, and then it was nationalized. And of course when the Germans came, they immediately selected it for their use. On the third day, the Gestapo occupied it. And naturally my parents were evicted in their attire, perhaps they were allowed to grab a small number of belongings, and they ended up in a ghetto. Well, I'm not going to talk much about the ghetto. It was not only a Provskurov ghetto, but also a regional ghetto. It was a horrific ghetto. A convoy took my ill father every day to work at the mill until he was completely unable to walk. Like everyone else, at the end of 1942 or the beginning of 1943, they were killed near Lesnevo. Right now it an entity of the city of Khmelnitzky. I would like to continue further about what happened in the city of Proskurov during my life. I no longer lived in Proskurov. I lived in Siberia during the war, and from 1951 I lived in Moscow until the last day. In 1951, when I came to Moscow, my husband and I soon went to Proskurov to know "how and what". With horror I still remember the Holocaust that occurred in that time. What I heard is inconceivable to the mind. And here some are even saying that there was no holocaust. I want to say; right now I will talk about this holocaust, the fascist's one, and then I will talk about the communist holocaust. When I came, I looked at the place where the ghetto was. It was a large area that was later turned into a bazaar where they sold vegetables, etc. The grave was between Proskurov and the village of Lesnevo. It reminded me very much of the Kiev Babiy Yar. A hole... In the middle of the hole was something like a monument on which it was written, "Here lie the victims of the ghetto." If you were to hear the entire story of how people got there, and some people from the ghetto could not get there at all... The Germans decided to pave over the city. With whom? Exactly with those Jews. Old, enfeebled, ill... And here is this picture... They are going to pave. In front walked a man whom I knew from childhood. I think his last name was Finkel, but I do not remember exactly. But I know that in our town was a restaurant. This Finkel whom I believe was self-taught played the violin in this restaurant. And so in front of this column of elders walked this Finkel and played "The Cry of Israel". Those who fell down on the way were immersed, covered, and paved over alive in asphalt. And when he, too, could no longer go on, he was also paved over with his violin. When I came I was told that in Proskurov it is impossible to walk. The asphalt is all alive. Under this asphalt, thousands of old Jews are buried alive. This was the fascist holocaust. But I want to tell you about the holocaust that was telling you about that was in the 1930s when gold was taken from all the Jews. GPU, the regional GPU. People brought there from all the places that surrounded Proskurov. There were underground cellars, rooms, I don't know.... I was never there. There also were thousands of Jews. In my following visit, we came to visit my parents, my husband, my children, and I. This was the year 1957. And we encountered this picture. There where the OGPU stood... They decided to put--
Interviewer: Excuse me, Polina. You said that you went to visit your parents, but your parents were killed.
Ashkenazi: Their graves.
Interviewer: Oh, their graves. I'm sorry.
Ashkenazi: On the place where stood the OGPU (regional governmental political department) they decided to build the "Palace of Pioneers" (pioneers - a communist, mandatory, nationwide youth organization) and a hotel. So they began to empty it out. They say that they could not take out all of the corpses that were inside for three years. Is this not a holocaust? But it was a communist holocaust. These two moments that I wanted to speak about will stay with me for the rest of my life. And time after time when I later went to Proskurov to visit my Parents' graves, and when I was leaving (to America) I went to say goodbye to them, I always went by the Palace of the Pioneers and that hotel, and I always lowered my head in sorrow. Well, about this I wanted to talk.
Interview: From these sad memories I want to return you to your current life. I wish you many, many, many wonderful years in this fantastic country. I wish you to keep for many, many years such optimism and your inspiring influence on other people. I can sense your influence on me, too. Thank you very much for these meetings. Thank you very much for your warmth, and that you agreed to tell this story. I think that it will be interesting to many others. Not only for members of your family, but to future generations it will bring much interest. Once again, thank you very much for your time, your attention, everything.
Ashkenazi: Galina, I cannot hide it. I also talk with you and speak with you with pleasure. All of this I remember. All of this I have written. I have many written memories. But I must tell you, of course, I never knew that I, as an elderly person, would be in such a fantastic country. What I can say is that I regret that it happened so late. Especially it was very sad for me when I came at first and had to leave my daughter behind. And also you can say that I came to America straight from work. I worked for 52 years as a doctor, and a month before my arrival here, I took a vacation and went to America. I am happy. I just always regret that it happened so late. But I always say, "Better later than never." I am happy that I live in such a home. I never knew in Moscow that such homes exist. In my memories are always the visions of Proskurov where hapless, old people lived who came to us for food. Now I live in a wonderful home.
The home is wonderful. When I arrived, it was only preparing to be built. I remember that my granddaughter, Sveta, told me, "Grandma. They are building a home, a new home. This is the home for you." I immediately went and signed up. My first meeting with David, the manager, was such a good meeting. He welcomed me like a son. He said, "Ok, I will put you on the list." I waited. During this time I filed documents for the Section 8 Program. Then passed a law that stated that whoever is approved for the Section 8 Program is not permitted to reside in this retirement home. On this day many people were not approved, and only Pesya, Elina, and I were approved, and I already needed to go see my apartment. I was frightened. I hid my documents far so that no one would find them. Everyone declined and wanted me to decline. But I said that I would not have another opportunity. I went to see this apartment and said, "This is where I am going to live." I was one of the first who moved into this home. I chose my own apartment on the third floor with a view of the park, the creek, and the highway. It reminds me of Moscow. Whenever an ambulance goes through with a siren, I remember that these sirens accompanied my entire life. Someone is going to help somebody. I felt here that I ended up where I needed to be. I have the option to walk outside. I have the option to walk by foot to the JCC (where I studied). I love it very much. I have another option. Under my windows I was allotted some earth. I am an owner of a garden. And I, completely by myself, tend to this garden. I grow cucumbers and tomatoes. In my home, I grow flowers. In my home there are always live flowers. I loved them very much from day of my arrival. Like this I live. At first it was difficult as I had never lived in a communal building. But I go to work. Every day I go to work. Three days a week I go to class. It will soon be seven years that I am a lifetime student. Excellent schools in a Jewish home that is close to me and dear to me. I arrive before everyone else, and I love it very much. At ten o'clock I go up, and I am so delighted when Galina Dashevsky and Sue (Pliskin) smile at me. I greet them in English and go on feeling pleased and joyful that I can study in this country in my age of eighty-two years. I meet with my classmates with whom I am studying for five years now, and we are like family. It always seems to me that there is no more interesting time than when I am studying. Thank you, everyone. I am happy that I became a citizen of the United States. I will absolutely and happily go to vote, and I will select the one for whom I will vote. Once again, thank you! I want to continue seeing for long see your smile, your kindness, your well-wishing spirit, and I want to be able to and to wish to study for a very long time. Thank you!
Interviewer: Thank you very much again for this interview, and I wish you the very, very best. This is the end of the interview with Polina Ashkenazi.
