Oral history interview with Marieĭ Grigorevna Balkind

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 2009.104.10 | RG Number: RG-50.633.0010

Overview

Interview Summary: Marieĭ Grigorevna Balkind (née Vorob'evoĭ), born in 1921, describes her life before the war; going to school to become an accountant; having to evacuate with her entire family when the war broke out in 1941; going first to Kavkaz (Caucasus) then to Kyrgyzstan; living and working in Kyrgyzstan until Crimea was liberated; returning to Crimea; working as an accountant starting in 1944; her parents and their lives; her Jewish family’s lack of observance; her parents speaking Hebrew at home; how Jewish celebrations that were practiced tended to stay within the Jewish community; living well with her multi-cultural neighbors; her life when her family lived on a kolkhoz; how Jews would marry Christians in the kolkhoz, but often with a skeptical eye; seeing Jews who were not able to evacuate being hanged; Jewish life during her youth; how the funeral practices of the Jewish citizens were very similar to Russian funerals; and Jews being pushed out of their jobs during the war.
Interviewee: Marieĭ G. Balkind
Date: interview: 2005 August 08
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, acquired from Ukraïns'kyĭ t︠s︡entr vyvchenni︠a︡ istoriï Holokostu

Physical Details

Language: Russian
Genre/Form: Oral histories.
Extent: 1 digital file : Mixed formats.

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
Conditions on Use: No restrictions on use

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Antisemitism--Ukraine--Crimea. Collective farms--Ukraine--Crimea. Hanging--Ukraine. Holocaust survivors--Ukraine--Crimea--Interviews. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Ukraine--Personal narratives. Jews--Persecutions--Ukraine. Jews--Social life and customs. Jews--Ukraine--Crimea. World War, 1939-1945--Evacuation of civilians. World War, 1939-1945--Refugees. Women--Personal narratives.
Geographic Name: Caucasus. Crimea (Ukraine)--Ethnic relations. Crimea (Ukraine)--Religious life and customs. Kyrgyzstan.
Personal Name: Balkind, Marieĭ Grigorevna, 1921-

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: Ukraïns'kyĭ t︠s︡entr vyvchenni︠a︡ istoriï Holokostu
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies made these audio oral history interviews available to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The interviews were conducted by the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies with the elderly members of the local ethnic communities in Crimea, including Karaites, Crimean Tatars, and Subbotniks, in 2005-2006.
Special Collection: The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive

Record last modified:: 2023-11-16 09:19:38
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn85802

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