Chapter 3
A few days later, Kashinsky returned to Bobruisk. At a meeting with Joseph, he said that he had been assigned to work in the Central Office of the newly re-established Communist Party of Bolsheviks of Belarus. He was instructed to organize a cell of the Communist Union of Youth (Komsomol) in Bobruisk analogous to those already operating in some Russian cities. Kashinsky recommended Joseph as the head of the cell and vouched for him as a reliable and proven youth leader.
It was a real, interesting, and serious business, which Joseph took up fervently and energetically. In two months, he and his friends Eli Kaplan, Pinya Zolotin, and Elena Malysheva assembled a group of like-minded people under Kashinsky’s leadership which became the first Communist Youth Union unit in Bobruisk, and possibly in all of Belarus as well. Most of the Komsomol members came from Jewish families.
At the very end of 1918, Red Army troops drove the Belarusian Rada out of Minsk, and on January 1st, 1919, the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was officially proclaimed.
The Komsomol members could now act openly and as their first order of business, they took up the matter of homeless children. After the war and the revolution, child neglect was widespread. Hundreds of boys and girls who had lost their parents and relatives lived in Bobruisk at railway stations, in the port, in abandoned buildings. Many of them were forced to engage in theft and robbery. This became a real disaster for the population. The authorities established several orphanages and labor colonies in the city, where almost all of the first counselors, teachers, guards, and educators were Komsomol members. In addition to combatting homelessness, they patrolled the city with the police, went into the villages to eliminate local gangs of robbers, studied military science, weapons, learned to shoot, throw grenades, and attended political training.
At a general meeting of the city council, Joseph was elected as their secretary. This was his second elected position: before that, workers had elected him as the chairman of the tanner’s union. Joseph perceived the trust of people without a shadow of conceit or superiority, but with a great sense of responsibility. He was still a simple, accessible, cheerful, and friendly guy towards his comrades. In 1919, at almost 20 years old, he was accepted as a member of the Communist Party of the Bolsheviks. For Joseph, it was a conscious choice, a significant milestone in his life.
After the Germans left Bobruisk, Braina’s parents had no reason to keep her at home, and she aspired to practical self-employment and began working as a kindergarten teacher in December 1918. This work not only fascinated her, but she simply loved it. It was a pleasure to get up early in the morning and, breathing the fresh frosty air, walk quickly through the clean creaking snow across the city to the kindergarten, to be there before the parents and children arrived. Braina knew how to captivate them with games, competitions, readings, riddles, songs, treating each child with great attention. The children responded to her with respect and love.
So the year 1919 passed. The interest in work increasingly gave way to the desire for continuing education, to learn new things, to live in the thick of turbulent events. More and more often Braina thought of Moscow. After all, it is there, in the capital, that attracts all of the advanced, talented, novel! There, modern revolutionary ideas, which are embodied in art, science, literature, enlightenment, are born! Therefore, it was necessary to obtain education only in Moscow, especially since there, at Shanyavsky University, as Braina found out, there were courses for preschool workers and they teach the most advanced methods of child education.
In February 1920, Fanya Gurevich, who used to study together with Braina at the Froebel Institute, came to Bobruisk to visit her relatives. She had an apartment in Moscow, and she agreed to let Braina stay with her, especially since Fanya worked as a teacher in a 24-hour kindergarten and often spent the night at work. Braina’s parents tried to convince her to change her mind, citing the difficulties and dangers of Moscow life, but their daughter insisted that she was already an adult and would not lose her bearings, and that she couldn’t waste precious time.
In Moscow, Braina was enrolled in preschool education courses without any problems. With this Fanya helped her. She was well acquainted with the headmistress of the courses, Ms. Schlager, and recommended Braina to her. After learning that Braina knew shorthand, Schlager immediately offered her the position of course secretary.
Schlager’s lectures were a summary of global experience in preschool education of children, replete with numerous practical examples and recommendations. She taught masterfully, and the classes were very interesting. Braina was delighted with such wonderful studies. But in terms of living conditions, life in Moscow was indeed full of difficulties. A bloody and destructive civil war continued in the country, there was no state supply system, and hunger, cold and chaos reigned in the capital.
During winter inside Braina’s room it was never warmer than 6 to 7 degrees. The young woman boiled a kettle in the kitchen and put it on the bed against her legs, but often this did not help either, so she got dressed, went outside, and warmed herself by taking brisk walks.
In addition, she was tormented by a constant feeling of hunger. In the university canteen, for lunch and after classes, she was provided a piece of bread, a plate of mealy gruel, a few spoonfuls of pearl barley, or slightly frozen mashed potatoes. But after such a meal she was even hungrier.
After class Braina went to the university reading room and spent time there until late in the evening. The room was warm and cozy, and she didn’t want to go out into the cold, damp wind!
One such evening, as usual, Braina huddled against the warm furnace, warming up before she left. An elderly janitor, passing by, approached her, asked her what was going on, and advised her to try to get a job at the student dormitory, where he worked part-time as a stoker and knew that it was always warm.
Braina went there immediately. The dormitory was run by the student council. Braina was listened to attentively, they sympathized with her but regretfully refused because there were no beds available at that time. Suddenly one of the girls named Reva announced that she was ready to take in Braina in her own room and share a bed with her until there was a free place. So the issue of a warm night’s lodging was successfully resolved, Braina found a friend, and soon also a free bed was found.
Within a few days after classes Braina went into the canteen, received her slice of bread and a portion of vorschmack made of slightly spoiled gray potatoes, which nevertheless seemed very tasty, quickly put every crumb in her mouth and only then she noticed that the girl at the next table was watching her carefully. And on the table of the stranger, in addition to vorschmack, there was a lot of bread, and also eggs, a jar of jam, tea…
Braina couldn’t help but stare at this coveted but unattainable bounty. The girl simply and kindly turned to Braina: “Comrade, perhaps you would like some bread? Don’t be shy, please, take it!” She gave Braina a few slices of bread and then offered her tea and jam. Braina was amazed and deeply touched by this generosity, extraordinary for these times. Only someone who has experienced prolonged hunger without the hope of quenching it, can truly appreciate such an act!
The girls got to know each other, and got to talking. It turned out that Liza — that was the name of the kind stranger — lived with her grandmother in the Moscow suburbs, and she rented a room in Moscow and wanted to get a job to prepare for university at the same time. Braina advised Liza to settle down at the dormitory and live together. Liza happily agreed, Braina and Reva vouched for her, and now there were three of them in one room. But this did not last long.
By the decision of the authorities, Shanyavsky University was transformed into the Sverdlov Communist University, the courses in which Braina was enrolled were temporarily closed, and all the former tenants were evicted from the dormitory.
But the friends were not discouraged, they decided to live together and find a room. Soon they found one in a large communal apartment whose former owners had fled abroad, leaving behind all their furniture. The corridors, closets, and storage rooms were filled with their belongings in sealed bags and drawers.
Braina found a job in a kindergarten on the outskirts of the city, Reva also had a job, only Liza could not find one, but she regularly brought bread, cakes, jam, potatoes, and cabbage from her grandmother — all of which went to the common table.
An elderly woman, who rented out one of her two rooms to Braina and her friends, stopped by in the evening for tea to exchange news about the situation in the country and on the fronts, where her husband and Reva’s friend were. Liza played the balalaika quite well, and to her accompaniment, the girls hummed, entertaining the occupants of the large apartment.
A few weeks passed, and Braina began to notice that something was wrong in the apartment. The neighbors kept whispering about something, the landlady didn’t come in at night and closed the door to her room, and Liza avoided meetings and looked away.
Braina insistently demanded an explanation from Reva, and the latter reported that the neighbors had found the seals broken on several bags and drawers in the hallway. And the landlady’s gold chain was missing from her hiding place. Most unpleasantly, Liza suddenly expressed aloud her suspicion of Braina, on account of her leaving the house very early, when many others are still asleep.
Upon hearing this, Braina experienced a strong nervous shock, she was out of breath and the world became dizzy. But once she came to her senses, she began to think and analyze. All her suspicions were confined to Liza. It was not possible to delay.
Taking advantage when Liza was not home, Braina, in the presence of Reva, checked all Liza’s things in the closet, as well as her bed and suitcase. The suspicion was fully confirmed: in the closet under a pile of linen was an ancient book in an expensive leather case, and in some old shoes under the bed they found wrapped in a tattered stocking, the landlady’s missing chain with a medallion.
When Liza returned, Braina at first calmly accused her of stealing, and then, becoming more and more agitated, said all that she thought of Liza’s meanness and the ingratitude with which she had responded to Braina’s kind treatment. At the end of this accusation, Braina herself burst into hysterical tears.
Liza, too, could not withstand this emotional storm, cried and confessed in tears that she had been taking valuable items out of sealed bags and crates and then selling them at the Sukharev market. It turns out she had no grandmother, and the products were purchased with stolen money.
Braina immediately called the landlady and the neighbors, showed them the found items, Liza repeated her confession, repented, and asked for forgiveness, swearing that it would not happen again in her life. They believed her, forgave her, and decided not to report her to the police, but suggested that she leave the apartment immediately, which she did the next morning. However, Liza’s revelation made the neighbors mistrust her former friends as well. Awkwardness and embarrassment began to arise in meetings and conversations. It became clear that they would have to change their place of residence.
Fanya Gurevich, with whom Braina did not break off contact, said that a Jewish labor colony was being organized in the suburban Malakhovka settlement near Moscow where educators and teachers with knowledge of the Jewish language were needed.
In those years, the children’s labor colony was not an institution for juvenile delinquents or children of the streets. Revolutionary educators were seriously engaged in the education of a new generation. Thus the young, talented teacher Baruch Shvartsman, a revolutionary romantic and anti-Zionist, planned to use his labor education to refute one of the main claims of Russian antisemites, that creative physical labor, especially in agriculture, is supposedly alien to Jews and that they seek only to parasitize society through usury and unfair trade.
Shvartsman received permission from the authorities to establish a labor training colony for children from Jewish families to educate them in the habits and respect for physical labor, to teach them the most necessary techniques and methods of working the land, thus enabling them to become future professionals in agriculture. In addition, Shvartsman did not doubt that this would facilitate closer relationships between Jews and other people of Russia.
Braina was eagerly accepted into the colony as a teacher and secretary of the Pedagogical Council and was given a room to live in.
The colony was located in a pine grove and occupied several one- and two-story houses. In each house, there was a group of 12-15 children and adolescents of about the same age. The colony owned a large plot of arable land where vegetables and potatoes were grown, and there were also plots of oats, rye, and peas. A separate large house served as a canteen and a clubhouse. A small stable, barns, and cellars were located in the farmyard.
All the colonists, educators, and teachers, led by Baruch Shvartsman, got to work from 6 a.m. after a little exercise and breakfast. The residents and their mentors did all the work of cleaning the rooms, yards, the surrounding woods, laundry, minor repairs to the rooms and furniture, caring for the plants, working the land, procuring wood and food, working in the kitchen, the dining room, and the stables. There were no janitors, cleaners, or auxiliary workers in the colony.
In the afternoon, two and a half hours were devoted to schoolwork. Braina liked such a work-oriented, well-organized life. The friendly and helpful work of the large team made her happy and gave her hope that everything would be all right in the Soviet country, that it would become a real homeland for everyone, including the Jews.
At the end of the week, there were meetings of the Pedagogical Council, at which Braina was in charge of the protocols. The meetings were attended by prominent Jewish cultural and artistic figures: the writers Der Nister2, David Bergelson3, David Gofstein4, Jehezkel Dobrushin5, the painter Marc Chagall6, the musician Julius Engel7. These and some other famous people were attached to the Malakhovsk colony, among other things, to provide their families with food, which they really needed in those difficult years.
The wise counselors gave much helpful advice to educators. They were ready to lead classes on world literature, culture, art; however, Shvartsman did not consider it possible to spend the time intended for the work process on this. Nevertheless, with their help, they organized excursions to Moscow to various exhibitions, plays, and literary debates, at which Braina sometimes spoke, since she read a lot and could express her opinion on literary subjects.
In the summer of 1920, the All-Russian Conference of Workers of Labor Colonies and Orphanages was held in Moscow. Shvartsman reported there on the results achieved, and Braina made a short presentation as well. After the conference they gathered in the foyer, singing songs, joking, and having fun. The writer Dobrushin’s nephew introduced a Jewish guy to Braina, whose name was Motya Zorkin. Zorkin confessed that he had been watching Braina for days, he liked her performances and the way she sang Jewish songs. He writes poems, and recently he dedicated one of them, “To the Sun,” to her.
Braina was pleasantly surprised and quite embarrassed by this attention. After all, Motya Zorkin is a famous leader of Jewish youth, one of the organizers of the Komsomol, a political commissar of the Red Army, who fought on the fronts during the Civil War. And suddenly he dedicates his poems to her!
Motya told her that a few days ago he had been in a battle with the White Poles in Ukraine, and now he had been recalled from the front in connection with preparations for the 3rd All-Russian Komsomol Congress. He asked Braina in detail about her work in Malakhovka, was very surprised that she had not yet joined the Komsomol, and expressed hope that they would meet soon.
Not a week later, Zorkin arrived in Malakhovka with the mandate of the commissioner for the inspection of educational work. He moved into the same house where Braina lived, and it became clear to everyone in the colony that they were having an affair.
Zorkin immediately organized a cell of the Russian Komsomol, which was joined by all the young colony workers, including Braina. Having become better acquainted with the life and education of the colonists, Zorkin harshly criticized their education system. He reproached Shvartsman for underestimating the importance of culture and political education, accusing him of not conforming to the new revolutionary principles of education. Shvartsman was hurt and offended, and this had a noticeable effect on his relationship with the innocent Braina.
In early October 1920, the 3rd All-Russian Komsomol Congress was held. Due to the fact that Jewish youth at that time constituted a significant part of it, a Jewish section of the Central Committee was formed at the congress, and Zorkin became its secretary. The delegates from Belarus made it known that Bobruisk was occupied by the Belopolsk, that an underground Komsomol committee was operating in the city, and that the occupiers were arresting and shooting Communists and Komsomol members.
Braina was extremely disturbed by the news. Anxiety and worry for her family, friends, and acquaintances deprived her of peace, sleep, and appetite. In vain Zorkin tried to reassure her by saying that peace negotiations were already being formed, that the Poles would surely soon abandon Bobruisk, as they only claimed the western parts of Belarus. Braina could not calm down. Over and over in her troubled imagination appeared her family’s faces, frightened, confused, crying out for help! Braina thought, “If I had been there, it would have been easier for them. Would I see them alive and well?!” She longed unbearably to know what was really going on there.
Zorkin moved to Moscow because of his new assignment. Not wanting to part with Braina, he insisted that she go to work at the secretariat of the Jewish section of the Central Komsomol Committee. Braina did not want to leave the Malakhov colony, the work in the Central Committee did not appeal to her at all, but she loved and respected Zorkin and believed that he understood better where she could do more good.
Although Shvartsman promised to help Braina enroll in a pedagogical institute in a few months, she accepted Zorkin’s business offer and in late October 1920 settled in the hostel of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, starting work in the Jewish section of the Central Committee.
2 Der Nister (1884-1950), real name Pinchus Mendelevich Kaganovich, a Jewish writer.
3 David Bergelson (1884-1952) — Jewish writer, playwright.
4 David Gofstein (1889-1952) — Jewish Soviet poet and translator.
5 Jehezkel Dobrushin (1883-1953) — Prominent Jewish prose writer, poet, playwright, critic, theater scholar, publicist, and professor.
6 Marc Chagall (1887-1985) — Russian and French painter, graphic artist, theater artist, illustrator, master of monumental and applied arts. A poet who wrote in Yiddish.
7 Julius Engel (1868-1927) — musicologist, translator, folklorist, composer.