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Qazaqstan–Israel Kazakhstan–Israel relations: people, life, history and cooperation
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Hanna Elman and David Gurvits before the evacuation

Pre-war Semipalatinsk in the history of a family who came from Romania.

This is a translation. The original is Русский. Language review: not performed by a native speaker.

In 1936, Hanna Elman and David Gurvits crossed the Soviet–Romanian border. After being detained and investigated, they were sent to Kazakhstan. Hanna worked as a chemical laboratory assistant in Semipalatinsk.

The couple were arrested in November 1937. In 1938, they were sentenced to imprisonment on charges of anti-Soviet agitation and espionage. Both were rehabilitated in 1956. Aida Zhanbosinova’s research reconstructs their lives from investigation records and the couple’s own appeals.

These events took place before the evacuation of 1941.

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