Mikhail Vainshelboim was born in Berdychiv in 1928. His parents were both born in Berdychiv, where his father worked as a painter. He had four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. He studied at a Yiddish school for four years, before completing his education at a Russian school. His oldest brother died at the front, his younger brother, parents and two siblings were murdered by the Germans. He escaped the mass shooting that killed his father and was aided in hiding by several non-Jews. He was liberated from a forced labor factory. After the war, he briefly worked in a mill before being drafted into the army in 1950. He served for four and a half years. After his service, he worked another 25 years at a mill, and then at a factory.
Interviews:
Bones of BerdychivKosher Chicken