Mariasha Vasserman with her brother Perets Vasserman and her sister Sore-Reyze Goldman

This picture was taken at Pirita beach, Tallinn suburb in 1934. From left to right: my elder brother Perets Vasserman, I, and my elder sister Sore-Reyze Goldman, nee Vasserman. We always spent summer in the picturesque Tallinn suburb Pirita. There was a wonderful coast with clean white sand. There was a thick pine forest along the coast line. We rented a dacha and lived there all summer long. My parents couldn't leave the store, so they stayed in Tallinn and came to see us on weekend. My sister, grandmother, Aunt Breine and I stayed there all the time. Pirita was an amazing place for me, an urban child. I could see a cow, while walking in the forest or feed chicken in the house. We spent time on the beach and in the forest. Even now when I come to Pirita, I am overwhelmed with joy recollecting my childhood. The three of us went to the Jewish lyceum on Karu Street. At present that building belongs to the Estonian Jewish community. At that time there were two private Jewish lyceums. One of them, where we went to, had the teaching in Ivrit, the other one in Yiddish. When Perets was in the junior grades of that lyceum, some subjects there were taught in Russian; when my sister went there, all subjects were taught only in Ivrit. Ivrit wasn't spoken at home. One year before lyceum, I went to the kindergarten, where children were taught Ivrit. Children perceive things quickly and after kindergarten we were ready to study all lyceum subjects in Ivrit. We stayed in the kindergarten from morning until noon. Probably it was not very different from modern kindergartens. We played different games, learned how to sing, draw, went for strolls. Many children, with whom I made friends in the kindergarten, were enrolled in the same grade in lyceum. All my friends from childhood were Jews. Most of them were my school friends. Some of them were children of my parents' friends. All of us were enrolled in Zionist organizations by school. There were Maccabi, Hashomer Hatzair, Betar. My elder sister and I joined Maccabi. We were focused on physical training. We had good gymnasiums and different circles. There were several groups in every circle for children of different ages. I remember when I was attended training classes in Maccabi, there was another group with adult, very beautiful girls. Isaac Goldman, my sister's future husband was also in Maccabi. He was a great sportsman, a member of the Maccabi team.