I was born 5 years after WW2 in Chernowitz, now Ukraine. That was a time of heavy antisemitic atmosphere in the Soviet Union. My mother, told me about the time she went to the hospital to give birth to me. When she arrived, the midwife who was Jewish was about to go home after her shift. She offered to stay to help my mother. The next midwife (non-Jewish) told her to go home and said she will take care of my mother. She didn’t. My mother had to give her first birth alone. I was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck. Using her animal instincts (her words) my mother unwrapped and cut the cord. Thinking I was born dead, my mother proceeded to tie the breasts to stop the milk. The doctor entered and told her “your baby is alive”.

More: Tales my Mother Told Me