Interview: Victor and Sydia Slonim
Biographical Information
Victor Slonim
Born in April 1950 in Moscow
Emigrated from Leningrad
Born in April 1950 in Moscow
Emigrated from Leningrad
Transcript
| Victor and Sydia Slonim Interview Transcript.pdf |
Excerpt
Interviewer (Becky Rosenberg): And the fact that you were Jewish, did that ever affect anything in your job?
Victor Slonim: It was difficult, I think, actually to explain. It was—Leningrad had a lot of very interesting and very powerful scientific institutions. And being Jewish, it was impossible to go there—even so people just dreamed to take me to work. Believe me. But every time, everything was nice and friendly until you submit your passport to final—and after that their face changed, and they say that sorry, it was empty talk. We don’t have any open position for you—it was like a switch. One day even she [his wife] was not taken for job where people actually wanted her. And she went [through] all medical exams and everything and last minute they knew that her husband was a Jew and they didn't take her.
Victor Slonim: It was difficult, I think, actually to explain. It was—Leningrad had a lot of very interesting and very powerful scientific institutions. And being Jewish, it was impossible to go there—even so people just dreamed to take me to work. Believe me. But every time, everything was nice and friendly until you submit your passport to final—and after that their face changed, and they say that sorry, it was empty talk. We don’t have any open position for you—it was like a switch. One day even she [his wife] was not taken for job where people actually wanted her. And she went [through] all medical exams and everything and last minute they knew that her husband was a Jew and they didn't take her.
Excerpt
On the holidays. We are not afraid about—first of all, this is different, in former Soviet Union—maybe we would come to the synagogue—a special ______of the children, it was very dangerous. They would have some photo cameras and would, especially for the students, they would just take pictures of all these people and send the pictures to the university and all these students would be kicked out from this university. For us it was not so dangerous, because we would come, most of them on the great holidays—Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover—we would just celebrate, but of course in my father’s house, we would do it traditionally with our children when they grow up.