After Stalin's death, there was a wave of antisemitism across the USSR. Because, according to state media, there was a conspiracy among doctors (most with Jewish last names) who wanted the death of the "dear leader."
It may sound ridiculous now - a joke - a laugh.
It wasn't funny for my family, particularly those who happened to be Jewish doctors.
My great-uncle, Alexander Maizel (aka, dydya Sasha, or uncle Sasha) told me stories when we visited them in Moscow in the 90's.
During The War (WWII) he was a military doctor (that's how he met my grandmother's sister - she was a nurse at the field hospital). After the war, they settled down in Moscow because dydya Sasha had family there. He continued to practice medicine. He was also involved in research (Influenza-related, if I remember correctly). He spoke highly of Marshal Zhukov. In the 90's, he spoke disparagingly about many Soviet officials who made decisions during The War that resulted in staggering loss of life.
After Stalin's death, he had a black satchel packed and ready to go, sitting next to their door. He expected he could be arrested at any time. Not because he has done anything wrong, but because he was a doctor and he happened to be Jewish.
Dydya Sasha is long gone. Somehow, of all the stories he told me, what stuck the most was that Marshal Zhukov had a dog and the story of the black satchel packed for the expected arrest. As far as I am aware, he was never arrested. The black satchel was "just-in-case" - packed with the hope that it would never be needed. Sort of like taking an umbrella with you to "scare away" the rain.
Do you have something like that? Something that you always have at the ready but hope you will never need?
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