Born on 30.02.1929
Father: David Weber
She cannot recall her father; he died in the Ukraine during the collectivization.
Mother: Yelisaveta (Elisabeth) Christianovna
Brother: Robert Davydovich Weber
Mother’sbrother lived in the Leningrad Region. I.Ds family removed from the Ukraine, from the Donez Basin, to this region, for at that time there was famine in the Ukraine.
They were accomodated in an apartment. The mother married for a second time. Her husband received subsidies for the removal. They bought a house, a big house. They decided to live on the first floor, while they stayed on the second during the summer; they owned some landed property and a cow, too.
In March 1942 the family was deported from the Leningrad Region (the railway station was called Vsevoloshskaya). They were permitted to take a long 30 kgs of luggage. They were deported during the Leningrad blockade because of their nationality. Trucks came to supply the people in the town with foodstuffs, but these people were chased away from their homes. They were unloaded into the deep snow, close to some church; it was terribly cold and dark. Mama took care of them, protected them; they somehow managed to survive the night. In the morning they were all asked to board freightcars. Inside the waggons there were plank beds and a little round iron stove.
Many people died; every now and then the rain would stop. The corpses were taken out of the waggons and then the train continued ity trip. It would often happen that they did not receive any bread, but just unbaked dough. Then the gathered around the stove and baked fat cakes, by just putting the dough on top of the stove. Finally they reached Krasnoyarsk, where they spent about a monthunder quarantine in some school building. During this time they had to “barbecue” their meals. Near Slobinotrain station they were loaded on board a steamship called „Maria Ulyanova“. In May they reached Podtyossovo, where they were accomodated in two-storeyed barracks – two families in one room.
Oce a month they had do go and get registered with the commandant’s office. They were treated in q cruel and despiteful manner.
The mother worked as a cook; she received 600 grams of bread; she had to exchange her clothes against foodstuffs. The first summer was a very hard one. While the dam was under construction, mother used to prepare the meals for those who were working there.
When the brother was 15 years old, he was mobilized to the labour army. Mother id not want to let him leave all alone, so she decided to accompany him; but it turned out that they did not want him to work there; hence, both returned in the winter almost starved, for, when they were on their way home, all natural foodstuffs, such as berries, mushrooms etc., had already been covered by snow.
Later the people fenced in their little pieces of land, their vegetable gardens, in order to avoid the sheep trample the little plants which had been seeded with so much pain.
This is how the authorities mocked and affronted people, who were not even able to speak theor own mother-tongue.
The children were bashed; they were locked in the class-room and then spanked; she refused to go to school for a whole month; in the course of time, however, she made friends with the other children. She successfully completed 7 terms.
During the summer they were working in the swamps to secure firewood for the cold season..
Whenever someone died or intended to celebrate a wedding, all workers of the factory would collect money to support the family.
I.D. worked in some shop as a salesperson.
She wrote letters to officials in Vsevoloshsk, but nobody was able to find any documents about her family; it rather seemed as if she and her family members had never lived there.
She has four children.
The interview was taken by Yelena Ponomaryova und Tatyana Vasilikhina
(AB . Remarks by Aleksei Babiy, Krasnoyarsk “Memorial” organization)
Seventh expedition of history and human rights organized by the Yeniseysk College of Pedagogics and the Krasnoyarsk “Memorial