A brief history of my grandmother
The bread store that my grandma likes to go to is about 20 min each way from her house. (She goes there no matter how much bread I make for her... did I mention she loves bread?) Today on the way there she told me about how her family came to America. I decided that it is interesting enough to post here for your enjoyment.
Grandma was born in Estonia to parents who are ethnically German but who themselves were born and raised in Russia. The fell under the dissatisfaction of a Tsar and so left Russia for Estonia before she was born. Her father was a doctor and her mother had a masters (well, the equivalent) in slavic languages. She worked as an interpreter and a teacher. So Olga (my grandma) and her sister Nina (who I've always known as "Tanta Nina") were born and raised in relative wealth in southern Estonia. When Russia and the communists took over Estonia in 1939-1940, they fled to Germany. Apparently they were very lucky to get out of Estonia because Germany was only allowing people of German heritage to enter the country (y'know, cuz the Nazi's were trying to build the motherland and that didn't really allow for much immigration.) Her father had all of his parents birth certificates so they moved to SW Germany, where they lived for about 10 years.
I asked my grandma if she saw much Nazi activity. She said that everyone who wanted to participate in activities like hiking and camping belonged to the Nazi Youth, but that they didn't have to do anything but swear an oath to Hitler when they first joined. She knew one girl who was shamed by not being allowed to participate because she was "promiscuous" and not fit for the party. She was also required by the government (as were all able-bodied young people) to work on a farm in the summers. She would stay on the farm during the week and help with chores in exchange for some butter or milk to take home to her family on the weekends. They were to increase yields as much as possible in order to serve the war efforts. Her family felt lucky to be in a small town where no bombs were dropped.
Grandma's high school education was stopped and started several times because Germany was occupied by the French after WWII ended. She was able to graduate and go to first interpreter school (for slavic languages) and then medical school. She only completed two years of medical school before leaving to come to America. Her father wanted just the daughters to go because he had a pension coming to him but they refused to leave without him. They left because there didn't seem to be much future in Germany; the economy was very bad and the French were still occupying the area where they lived.
They emigrated to America on a boat which landed in New Orleans. Then they traveled by train to LA and then Santa Barbara, where they had some friends from Estonia. Her mother was the only one who got a job at first, working as a translator for the military. Her father worked as a doctor eventually and said life in the US was better than he'd dreamed for himself in Germany; he was glad he'd come. Grandma finished medical school at what is now part of UC Santa Barbara and then went on to do her residency in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School (where she met grandpa.) Something I didn't know: my grandpa was a pediatrician untiil he got to the air force and didn't want to be up at all hours. Then he changed to a "tamer" specialty, dermatology.
I hope that didn't bore you. I just wanted to write that down while I remember the details and because I thought some of you (if anyone really reads this) might find it interesting. If you have any questions for her, comment and I will ask her!
Grandma was born in Estonia to parents who are ethnically German but who themselves were born and raised in Russia. The fell under the dissatisfaction of a Tsar and so left Russia for Estonia before she was born. Her father was a doctor and her mother had a masters (well, the equivalent) in slavic languages. She worked as an interpreter and a teacher. So Olga (my grandma) and her sister Nina (who I've always known as "Tanta Nina") were born and raised in relative wealth in southern Estonia. When Russia and the communists took over Estonia in 1939-1940, they fled to Germany. Apparently they were very lucky to get out of Estonia because Germany was only allowing people of German heritage to enter the country (y'know, cuz the Nazi's were trying to build the motherland and that didn't really allow for much immigration.) Her father had all of his parents birth certificates so they moved to SW Germany, where they lived for about 10 years.
I asked my grandma if she saw much Nazi activity. She said that everyone who wanted to participate in activities like hiking and camping belonged to the Nazi Youth, but that they didn't have to do anything but swear an oath to Hitler when they first joined. She knew one girl who was shamed by not being allowed to participate because she was "promiscuous" and not fit for the party. She was also required by the government (as were all able-bodied young people) to work on a farm in the summers. She would stay on the farm during the week and help with chores in exchange for some butter or milk to take home to her family on the weekends. They were to increase yields as much as possible in order to serve the war efforts. Her family felt lucky to be in a small town where no bombs were dropped.
Grandma's high school education was stopped and started several times because Germany was occupied by the French after WWII ended. She was able to graduate and go to first interpreter school (for slavic languages) and then medical school. She only completed two years of medical school before leaving to come to America. Her father wanted just the daughters to go because he had a pension coming to him but they refused to leave without him. They left because there didn't seem to be much future in Germany; the economy was very bad and the French were still occupying the area where they lived.
They emigrated to America on a boat which landed in New Orleans. Then they traveled by train to LA and then Santa Barbara, where they had some friends from Estonia. Her mother was the only one who got a job at first, working as a translator for the military. Her father worked as a doctor eventually and said life in the US was better than he'd dreamed for himself in Germany; he was glad he'd come. Grandma finished medical school at what is now part of UC Santa Barbara and then went on to do her residency in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School (where she met grandpa.) Something I didn't know: my grandpa was a pediatrician untiil he got to the air force and didn't want to be up at all hours. Then he changed to a "tamer" specialty, dermatology.
I hope that didn't bore you. I just wanted to write that down while I remember the details and because I thought some of you (if anyone really reads this) might find it interesting. If you have any questions for her, comment and I will ask her!