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About Me
My name is Matvey Gredinger. I born in Vertujeni, Romania on June 2, 1921. I am the youngest of three children in a Jewish family. My father was a butcher (a kosher one, of course). I attended a Jewish school learning about our history and Hebrew. -
Period: to
My Lifespan
By Alex Atchison -
Throughout 1933
I heard stories about the antisemitic groups in other towns that were attacking the Jewish population. luckily for us, only the smaller groups were in our town. -
Moving in 1934
When I finished the seventh grade I traveled to our capital, Bucharest and got a job at a textile factory. While there, the rest of my family relocated to a Romanian town known as Vysoka.
I am not aware of the specific date. -
About 1940
I went to visit my family in 1940. At that time Soviets started occuping Bessarabia. Soon after, the Germans occupied the area. The soldiers began to slaughter the Jews. -
When I Was Shot
My family and I barricaded our house, but the soldiers broke in and I was dragged out of the door. He then shot me in the neck and I collapsed. However, I miraculously was only unconscious. When the soliders came back to check who was dead and not, I had awoken. I countinued to act dead so they wouldn't proceed to "kill me again". They came over and lit a match under my nose to see if I was breathing. I held my breath and tricked them. They heaped rocks on my body and walked away. -
The Day After I Fled
When it was finally dark outside I rose from the rubble and ran to nearest town. (Once again, I do not recall the month or day, just the year), but I thought I was finally safe in the town, however I was terribly wrong. The Germans invaded and began deporting all of us. I was forced into a labor camp in Ukraine and thought that was the end of me. -
Free at Last
After years of staying in that awful place, the Red Army took over the camp. The Red Army was a revolutionary commmunist group from Soviet Russia. When they took over the camp, they then freed all of us, along with other prisoners of other camps. This time, I really was free. I could finally live the rest of my life in peace.
