Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Esfir Lupyan - December 17, 2007

So, your father also survived?

My father, he survive two times. What I... It's, it's ??? My father was a dissident in 1936 when I was born. When I was born. Uh, Bolsheviks, KGBs ??? And he was dissident for Trotskyism. You know what is Trotskyism?

Sure, he was a Menshevik.

Yeah, but he didn't know he was Menshevik or not, because he was actually, he was really uh, brave young man who want, who want a revolution and he try to be a very, you know, active, active person. And youngster... Uh, he was among youngsters, very, very uh, very Progressive. And he was... He take classes in institute because he was not very good education, but in that time in 1930... Thirties, in... After, before thirties uh, young people in Minsk, they very Progressive because they want, they want brotherhood, equal to Russian people, they, they go and demonstrate and he was in... ahead of this, you know, group people. And he wrote poems. He was nice and he had good voice. So uh, he was lovely person to all of them, but in ten years later--what he told me, not me, to his friends. I was small--he told us, somebody, somebody, uh--it was meeting--and somebody vote for--I don't know what was question--and he did not... Hand? Raise hand and didn't, you know. He was indifferent because he didn't understand what they want. People, Bolshevik. So in ten years later, somebody, somebody told the, the government, the... I don't know uh, that he did not vote. He vote for something against. That was enough to send him in prison.

Mm-hm.

And he was in prison um, far north.

Siberia?

No. It's polar, polar circle. Higher than polar circle ??? It was terrible place. Terrible place for twenty years. So, I was three weeks age, I was and my brother was about seven years age and re... regardless of that, my mom was very lonely woman, you know uh, they sent him in prison, so that was toughest time in her life because no, no food. It was very tough time that we had. And they didn't tell where is he or how long. She went to him every day to see him and uh, window, you know, or something, you know. Uh, they don't allow they talk and after that, they sent him somewhere and never tell her where it is. So, he survived just because he was, you know, in prison and north, my father. But all his family, up to the all, only one, one niece. Niece?

Niece.

Yeah. He survived. Uh, and uh, we meet my father after the war, but that is another story. Yeah.

Okay.