Interview Write-Up

1.) Interviewer: Armina

2.) Date of Interview: January 26, 2008

3.) Method of Interview: Phone

4.) Name of Interviewee: Mariam Petrescu, but during WWII her last name was Mikaelian

5.) Date of Birth: June 16, 1922

6.) Relation to the Interviewer: Grandmother

7.) Connection to WWII: Witness of World War II events in Romania

Section 1

Introduction-

Who: My grandmother, Mariam Petrescu

Where: My grandmother lives in Bucharest, Romania, and I live in St. Louis, MO.

When: I will be interviewing my grandmother Saturday, January 26.

How: We will be talking on the phone.

Why: I chose my grandmother to interview about WWII because I knew she was old enough to understand what was happening at the time. She also knows very many stories about my grandfather, who I knew fought in the war.

Brief Biographical Information-

My grandma, Mariam, was born on June 16, 1922, in Bazargic, RO. In 1940, some territory was taken from RO, and now is part of Bulgaria. Bazargic, currently part of Bulgaria is now called, Dobrici. She went to elementary school from 1-4th grades, and stated "high school" (as it would be called in Romania at that time) for eight more years. My grandma lived with her parents and her brother until April 20, 1958 when she married. At 18 years old, my grandma started to work as a clothes designer for a very popular company until she retired in 1977. She is currently living in Bucharest, Romania, with my uncle.

Section 2

What are your most vivid memories of WWII?

My Grandma says that her most vivid memories are that many Jews were killed in Romania. They destroyed a Jewish temple that was very close to her house. The Nazis threw out the merchandise of many Jewish store owners. They destroyed Jews' houses, and put them in ghettos. In her neighborhood, there were 3 Jewish families living there, and my grandma's family hid the Jews in their cellar until the Germans stopped looking for Jews, after a few days. There were people in RO that believed in Hitler's ideas. Later, while the war progressed, the Russians came and bombed cites in Romania. During this time, my grandma's family went in a tunnel underground and hid so they wouldn't get hurt. My grandmother remembers one of her friends that left his sister's house, and as he went outside, the Russians shot and killed him, because they were mad that some people who sold them recalled merchandise.

How old were you?

My grandma was 18 and 19 years old during the war.

Where were you in the war?

My grandma was in Bucharest, Romania during the war.

What were the best things about the time?

My grandma was young at the time, but she and her family were scared, and of course, that wasn't a very good thing.

What were the worst/most difficult things about the war?

Many times, my grandmother would stay awake every night reading, and listening to the radio incase there were airplanes flying over the city to bomb it. Many friends of the family's left to fight, but unfortunately never came back.

o How did most people feel about Germany taking over Romania?

The Romanians were allied with the Germans, and part of the Axis power. There were people in Romania that shared the same ideas as Hitler.

What were the stories people you knew brought back about fighting?

My grandfather was a lieutenant fighting for the Germans. He drove tanks, and traveled all the way into Siberia in Russia. The conditions in Russia were very poor. There were many times when they didn't have food, and it was very, very cold in Russia.