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Many years after making his way to America from Odessa in Soviet Ukraine, Emil Draitser made a startling discovery: every time he uttered the word "Jewish"-even in casual conversation-he lowered his voice. This behavior was a natural by-product, he realized, of growing up in the anti-Semitic, post-Holocaust Soviet Union, when "Shush!" was the most frequent word he heard: "Don't use your Jewish name in public. Don't speak a word of Yiddish. And don't cry over your murdered relatives." This compelling memoir conveys the reader back to Draitser's childhood and provides a unique account of midtwentieth-century life in Russia as the young Draitser struggles to reconcile the harsh values of Soviet society with the values of his working-class Jewish family. Lively, evocative, and rich with humor, this unforgettable story ends with the death of Stalin and, through life stories of the author's ancestors, presents a sweeping panorama of two centuries of Jewish history in Russia.

Jews --- Hebrews --- Israelites --- Jewish people --- Jewry --- Judaic people --- Judaists --- Ethnology --- Religious adherents --- Semites --- Judaism --- Draitser, Emil, --- Дрейцер, Эмиль, --- Dreĭt︠s︡er, Ėmilʹ, --- Abramov, Ėmilʹ, --- Childhood and youth. --- Odesa (Ukraine) --- Odessa (Ukraine) --- Odessa --- Одеса (Ukraine) --- Одесса (Ukraine) --- Odesa (Ukraine). --- 20th century russian culture. --- 20th century russian society. --- american immigrant. --- anti semitism. --- autobiography. --- communism. --- communist party of ukraine. --- emotional. --- family. --- humor. --- humorous. --- jewish family. --- jewish history in russia. --- jewish immigrant. --- judaism. --- memoir. --- odessa. --- post holocaust soviet union. --- retrospective. --- soviet society. --- soviet ukraine. --- soviet union. --- stalin. --- ukraine. --- ukrainian soviet socialist republic. --- united states of america. --- working class.