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Recording Content:
The first part of the recording is the continuation of a formal interview with Abram Isaakovich Pensatii. (Part 2 of 2. See MDV 557)
The second part of the recording includes a formal interview with Boris Mikhailovich (Boris Mendelovich) Dorfman, born 1923 in Cahul.
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00:00:00
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Pensatii speaks about his life during World War II. In particular, he addresses changing his documents. |
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00:05:18
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Dorfman talks about his life today and donating his book collection. |
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00:08:05
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The formal interview with Dorfman begins. He provides personal information and talks about his hometown Cahul. |
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00:10:56
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Dorfman provides personal information and speaks about his family. He lived in Chişinău until World War II. Dorfman explains that his parents were imprisoned in 1940 under Soviet occupation. His mother was released in 1947 and imprisoned again in 1949 until 1957. She then lived in Lviv from 1953 through 1963. Dorfman's father was a laborer. |
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00:14:35
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Dorfman talks about his education at a religious school (cheder), kindergarten and Tarbut school, which he attended four years. Dorfman states that he grew up in a Zionist home and his mother was a well-respected figure within the local Zionist environment. Dorfman was a member of Gordonia. He then speaks about the Soviet occupation in 1940. |
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00:17:39
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Dorfman speaks about his family. He grew up with one sister, who was killed in the Chişinău ghetto. |
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00:22:59
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Dorfman addresses his primary schooling at a Tarbut school. He then speaks about his parent's observance and recalls soldiers joining his family on holidays. |
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00:25:27
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Dorfman recites the Four Questions for Passover, as well as other Passover customs and songs. |
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00:27:11
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Dorfman sings the well-known Passover song "Echad Mi Yodea" (who knows one?) and snippets from other Passover songs. |
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00:29:22
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Dorfman addresses prewar cultural life and performances. He also speaks about his contemporary academic activities. |
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00:34:46
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Dorfman speaks about prewar cultural life, including the Yiddish press and theater performances. He points out that his parents often invited journalists. Dorfman also mentions Sidi Tal, Sevilla Pastor and other artists. He then recalls the beginnings of the Soviet period when many artists arrived in Chişinău in the hope of a more liberal cultural atmosphere, Dorfman explains. He also attended plays by the Vilna Troupe and mentions other theater spaces. |
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00:39:02
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Dorfman talks about his education. He studied at a Romanian secondary school. He then speaks about the journal Soviet Heymland and his involvement in distributing the journal. |
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00:43:02
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Dorfman speaks about prewar cultural and political life in Chişinău. |
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00:45:25
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Dorfman mentions Hebrew and Yiddish school plays, as well as teachers at the Tarbut school in Chişinău. He also speaks about regional Yiddish cultural life before the war. |
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00:50:54
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Dorfman addresses prewar Hasidic life, as well as local intellectual figures. He remembers Hasidic visitors at his grandmother's house. |
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