My great grandfather Mark came from a poor Jewish family that lived in a Jewish mestechko near Kiev. In February 1917 a capitalist democratic revolution in Russia seemed to have opened the future for him. Up until that point Jews couldn't serve as officers in the Russian army, which was but one of thousand ways to discriminate against Jews under the Tsar. Mark joined Cadets. In October 1917 he was among a regiment of young trainee officers and a female batalion that guarded the Winter Palace (the seat of the democratically elected government in St Petersburg) when it was attacked by the Bolshevik mob comprising sailors, soldiers and lumpen proletariat.

Following the success of the Bolshevik attack, Mark and the other guards were taken for interrogation. While he was waiting, he was allowed to go to the washroom. He escaped through the window prior to giving his details. I understand that nobody else among his comrades has survived "the interrogation" as it was conducted by applying a gunshot to the temple.

In 1921 he married Bina. They survived the civil war, the terror of the proletariat, relaxation which was called "new economic policy" and seemed to be doing O'K.

In 1928 Mark was arrested along with thousands of other engineers. Apparently, he was planning to dig a tunnel to London. Others were persecuted under similarly ridiculous charges for "intentionally causing starvation in the USSR". As Mark was to find out, the 1928 purge was exceptionally mild by Soviet standards. He was let out within a few months of arrest without a courtcase and wasn't even beaten or tortured in prison.

By 1937 Mark was doing quite well. He managed a plant in Nizhni Novgorod. He even had a car with a personal driver. His children were well educated and looked after. A special Jewish doctor would prescribe his kids a special Jewish diet every week so that the kids would grow fat faster.

His plant was doing quite well, but it was the wrong thing to do at the wrong time. Someone got envious and the whole management of the plant was arrested. Cause given was that one of the workshops was built of wood and that was considered "an act of the enemies of the people". Ten years ago that wooden workshop was still in place in Nizhny Novgorod. Mark knew exactly who snitched on him and his colleagues. That man lived happily to an old age.

This time Mark was tortured and spent 2 years in prison. He did say that not all NKVD investigators were equally cruel. One of them would ask Mark to scream during questioning and pretended that he was beating him.

Mark survived, but he has never been the same again. One thing that he was happy about was his companions in prison. The best Soviet scientists, engineers, doctors were there with him. There were several boys, who apparently received exceptionally good education which was provided by other convicts.

A bunch of convicts were released in 1939 when Stalin decided to slow down the repressions and change the head of NKVD. Mark was one of these lucky people. For the rest of his life he had a "prison" suitcase prepared. Every time he heard steps on the staircase, he would jump up and grab that suitcase.

Mark died just before I was born [1970]. He died relatively old, considering when and where he lived, very much loved and valued by his family.