Copperfox
Well-known member
In the course of being a Russian linguist, I made the pen-pal acquaintance of an elderly Red Army veteran from World War Two. He had been saddled at birth with a _female_ first name, "IRMA!"-- because his family had a rigid custom of naming children for dead relatives. At the time of Irma's birth, a deceased aunt/grandmother/whatever named Irma was next in line to be memorialized. ("Boy Named Sue" comes to mind.)
A resident of Odessa, Irma Kessler was drafted for the Great Patriotic War when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. Starting in the Russian air force. he became infantry by default when his air wing ran out of airplanes; he survived horrid conditions, but was eventually captured by the Nazis. After he was released at war's end, coming home to an impoverished "workers' paradise," he earned money by giving new motorists driving lessons. The Party arrested him for the "crime" of private enterprise-- making him two for two at being jailed by dictatorships. When at last he was _really_ liberated; when the U.S.S.R. was under a _less_ homicidal ruler than Stalin, Irma was free to write autobiographical books from his apartment in Staten Island.
It was a Russian-language newspaper which revealed Irma's existence to me. Upon becoming acquainted, he asked me to translate his writings into English. I never got to meet him in person, but he was pleased with my work. Sadly, Irma died before his personal history could go into full- professional distribution.
In the aftermath of Captain Kessler's passing, _everything_ in my post-retirement life happened: moving to Colorado, performing in the Renaissance festival, adopting Wood Nymph, getting into hard metal music, and other stuff. As a contributing author in the Writing Club, I have several plates spinning; but I hope eventually to pay tribute to Irma Kessler. Preserving voices from history is truly worth doing.
Watch this space.
A resident of Odessa, Irma Kessler was drafted for the Great Patriotic War when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. Starting in the Russian air force. he became infantry by default when his air wing ran out of airplanes; he survived horrid conditions, but was eventually captured by the Nazis. After he was released at war's end, coming home to an impoverished "workers' paradise," he earned money by giving new motorists driving lessons. The Party arrested him for the "crime" of private enterprise-- making him two for two at being jailed by dictatorships. When at last he was _really_ liberated; when the U.S.S.R. was under a _less_ homicidal ruler than Stalin, Irma was free to write autobiographical books from his apartment in Staten Island.
It was a Russian-language newspaper which revealed Irma's existence to me. Upon becoming acquainted, he asked me to translate his writings into English. I never got to meet him in person, but he was pleased with my work. Sadly, Irma died before his personal history could go into full- professional distribution.
In the aftermath of Captain Kessler's passing, _everything_ in my post-retirement life happened: moving to Colorado, performing in the Renaissance festival, adopting Wood Nymph, getting into hard metal music, and other stuff. As a contributing author in the Writing Club, I have several plates spinning; but I hope eventually to pay tribute to Irma Kessler. Preserving voices from history is truly worth doing.
Watch this space.
