„We were robbed of our childhood. We want the current generation to live a life of peace and freedom.“

Ester Blyumenfeld was born on 10 April 1935 into a Jewish family in Ukraine. Her father was director of a local factory that processed grain, he was also a communist. Her mother was a housewife. Ester had a twin sister called Marija and an older brother called Jakow.

When the war broke out, the twins were six years old. On 22 June 1941 Kiev was bombed, the German troops quickly advanced on the city. Her father decided to evacuate his family and put them on a freight train to the Ural Mountains. The conditions on the train were terrible: There was no water, the heat was unbearable. When the train was bombed, people hid under it.

Her father first continued working in his factory and he later joined the Red Army. Meanwhile, his family was sent on to Siberia. In Kargala they were housed in very cold barracks that were situated in the middle of a field. Her mother worked in a granary. The children heated the oven with sunflower roots and dried dung. It was a difficult time, both physically and psychologically.

In 1944 they learned that Ukraine had been liberated and they made their way home on a freight train. What they found upon returning was a scene of great destruction: One half of their house had been ripped open by a bomb, they had to live in the other half. In 1946 Ester‘s father returned from war. He died at the age of 60 as a result of the consequences of his time in the army. Her mother tried to feed the family by selling round flat breads. 

Despite the adverse circumstances, Ester studied at the School of Finance in Dnepropetrowsk. After completing her studies, she worked as an accountant and she was later promoted to become head of the department of finances. For 43 years she worked for the same organisation.

In 1957 she married her husband Michail. They had two children: Grigoriy and Galina. In 2001 Ester emigrated to Germany with her children.