Yevsey Kotkov's sisters Genia Kotova and Polia Kotova and their girlfriend.

These are my sisters. From left to right: Genia (sitting), Polia (standing) and their girlfriend. The photo taken in Kiev in 1926. There were five of us kids in the family. I was the second child. Then came my sister Genia, born in 1906. She was a laborer all her life. My sister Polia was born in 1908. She was a nurse. She had a son Lyonechka -- I live with him now. Polia died in 1975. When we were children, we lived with our parents in a basement in the main street in Rovno. Life was not much fun . It was cold, and we didn't have enough to eat. My father was a typical failure. He was a rough and wild man, always dirty. Mommy used to cry a lot in that basement. Father beat us. My mother told him off and cursed him for beating us so hard. He abused the girls, too. He would say he didn't want his children. We had a terrible relationship with him, but we loved our mother. She always stood upfor us and cared for us. My father used to go and ask some rich Jewish family whether they had anything they wanted to give away. He used to bring back a huge bag and we were so happy that there were so many clothes for us.