Recording Content:
This recording is a formal interview with Efim (Khayim) Yakovlevich Dunaevskij, born 1923 in Tighina (Yiddish: Bender). (Part 1 of 2. See MDV 215)
00:00:00
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Dunaevskij provides personal information and talks about his family. His father, who was also born in Tighina, worked as an egg tester and passed away in 1945. His brother was buried at the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park, Berlin. He grew up with two brothers and one sister. Dunaevskij raised a daugther, who lives in Israel, as well as a son. His mother worked odd jobs to support the family. |
00:06:28
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Dunaevskij recalls how his grandmother told him stories about life and the Ştefăneşti rebbe. He then returns to talking about his family and his life before the war. His family lived in Ştefăneşti, Romania, from 1928 to 1940, and Dunaevskij attended a religious school (cheder). He then addresses prewar Jewish life in Ştefăneşti. |
00:11:15
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Dunaevskij recalls the burial of the Ştefăneşti rebbe in 1933 and discusses the rebbe's work. |
00:13:32
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Dunaevskij talks about the Romanian Jewish school in prewar Ştefăneşti, which he attended for four years. He also talks about the Yiddish literature he learned at school. |
00:18:23
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Dunaevskij talks about prewar religious life in Ştefăneşti and his family. He recalls how he learned prayers in cheder. |
00:20:49
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Dunaevskij discusses holiday celebration at home and his life after the war. Dunaevskij worked in construction after the war, before studied at a technological institute. He works as the chief engineer at the state-owned shoe factory in Tighina. |
00:22:22
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Dunaevskij talks about his life during the war. He fought in the Red Army and explains that he attained eighteen ranks. He fought near Stalingrad, Rostov, Caucasus and Warsaw. During the war, he also returned home and worked as translator. Dunaevskij was released from his services in 1947. |
00:23:32
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Dunaevskij discusses holiday celebration at home before the war. In particular, he addresses Purim celebrations. |
00:28:10
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Dunaevskij talks about his family, particularly addressing his father's observance. He remembers snippets from Purim shpiels. |
00:31:55
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Dunaevskij discusses prewar holiday celebration, in particular Sukkoth and Hanukkah. |
00:36:20
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Dunaevskij talks about prewar life and recalls non-Jews who spoke Yiddish. He then recalls Jewish press before the war. |
00:38:38
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Dunaevskij talks about prewar political and social life, including Zionist groups. He then addresses Jewish occupations and a Yiddish library in prewar Ştefăneşti. |
00:42:20
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Dunaevskij recalls Sabbath celebrations at home, including food customs. |
00:43:42
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Dunaevskij addresses prewar cultural life, in particular Yiddish theater. He then answers questions about cultural terminology. |
00:45:56
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Dunaevskij talks about prewar traditional weddings, and then consuming alcohol. |
00:48:38
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Dunaevskij addresses folk customs, in particular averting the evil eye, before he answers questions about cultural terminology. |
00:51:12
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Dunaevskij talks about his life during the war. In particular, he addresses his fighting near Stalingrad and the march toward Caucasus. |
00:54:43
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Dunaevskij talks about his life after the war. In particular, he addresses his return home when he encountered a German soldier. Dunaevskij then discusses his life in the immediate postwar period. |
00:57:58
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Dunaevskij talks about postwar religious life in privately rented spaces. |
00:59:07
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Dunaevskij talks about his family, in particular his daughter. |
00:59:40
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Dunaevskij answers dialectological questions from the AHEYM Yiddish linguistic questionnaire. |
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