Emma Reznikova remembers the war very well. How Jewish homes were destroyed, and they had to hide instead of sitting round the table in Shabbat.

  Emma married in 1939 and by the time her husband had to go to the war she already had two sons. The enemy was near and Emma together with her children and her sister Dorah tried to escape. They lived in an evacuation center, the children suffered from hunger and cold. The younger son hardly recovered from lobar pneumonia, but still they had nothing to eat and nowhere to live. A family consisting of 12 members sheltered them. Being an accountant by profession, Emma had to work as a shoemaker.

  The victory brought to Emma not only delight, but also grief. She found out that her husband died, as well as her younger sister who was only nineteen years old.

  But life went on. Emma met Michail Reznikov, a war invalid who lost his family. They married and brought up her two sons and their daughter Mariya. Michail Reznikov passed away in 1993 when he was 91 years old.

  "He was a wonderful person - decent and kind, and he did all man's work. He was an example for my sons", Emma recollects.

  In spite of her age (86) Emma is still a good housewife. She has been observing the Jewish Tradition all her life, and now she shares her knowledge with the Kostanay women's club. Emma Reznikova is a source of wisdom, inexhaustible industry, and an example of the Jewish woman.

Lidiya Kazakevitch