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VERA KLUCHNIKOVA’S STORY

Vera Kluchnikova.
Photo taken in 2009.

Vera Kluchnikova was born in Vitebsk but her childhood years were spent in Yanovichi.

- I used to come to Yanovichi from the age of six or seven, - she began her story.

To the right – Golda (Galina)
Havinson.

- Why did your parents bring you there? – I inquired.

- Because my mother originated from Yanovichi. Her name was Galina Naumovna Havinson, or simply Golda. She was a truly active person and I can say I take after her in that.

I first came to Yanovichi in 1931 and fell in love with the place. It was a place where all the Russians could speak Hebrew and all the Jews could speak Russian. The Jews spoke with a Belarusian accent.

When I was 14, my friends in Yanovichi were Tamara Vysotskaya and Nesia Epstein. Nesia was Jewish and Tamara – Russian. I found out about their fate by chance – from a local newspaper. I read in the article that Nesia died in the ghetto, while Vysotskaya worked for the Nazis. After the liberation she went through a trial and was sent to fell trees. She died there. The two girls used to be friends and no one could predict such a thing would happen.

The Jews from Yanovichi were murdered in Zaitsevo.

After graduating from university Vera worked as a teacher in the village of Kotovo. She visited Yanovichi once.

Vera Kluchnikova now lives in Vitebsk. Her photo album has photos of all her Yanovichi relatives, photos of their visit of the memorial in Yanovichi. She keeps them as a part of her life and her memory.

Arkady Shulman

Next to the memorial to Yanovichi Jews, murdered near Zaitsevo.
Photo taken in the 1950s.

Jewish settlements in Vitebsk region

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