Tinka Kohen and relatives

From left to right is me, my sister Liza Mois Levi, nee Iakova, a visiting cousin from the USA, my sister Milka Mois Aroyo, nee Iakova, her granddaughter, my sister Stela Mois Iakova (nee Iakova) and Shmil, Milka's husband. The photo was taken in Sofia in 1974 in front of the Monument of the Soviet Army. All my sisters lived in Sofia and we often gathered. I cannot remember the specific occasion for this photo, but the Monument of the Soviet Army is near the central park in Sofia, which was also a favorite place for walks. My sisters and I were born in Sofia. I am the youngest and I have four sisters. Sophie was born in 1902, Milka in 1904, Liza two years later and Stela in 1908. My uncle Marco Avromov, who was a very enterprising man, took care of all of us. He sent one of my sisters, Liza, to Paris to study French at the Sorbonne. He sent my other sister Stela, who graduated from a sewing school, to study design in France for one year. She was ‘progressive’ [i.e. of left-wing convictions] and instead of studying, she took part in protests - the trial against Georgi Dimitrov was taking place in Berlin then [in the 1930s] and there were protests of left-wing parties throughout Europe. Before that [in the 1920s], my uncle sent my third sister, Milka, to Germany for one year to study dentistry. But then came the time of Rosa Luxemburg, the country fell into a deep economic crisis and Milka could not finish her studies. My sisters, Sophie and Milka, were accountants, Lisa became a teacher and Stela a designer and artist.