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One of the elements of anti-Jewish oppression is the use of ethnic slurs by the majority community to refer to Jews. Ethnic slurs are dangerous because by dehumanizing a group of people, it makes it easier to discriminate against them. In Russia around the time of World War II, the pejorative term referring to Jews was "zhid." This word is found in all the Slavic languages and probably came om romance languages, perhaps via Slovenian. Strangely enough, it is the standard, non-derogatory word for Jew in non-Eastern Orthodox countries and has become derogatory only in the Orthodox countries, where the original, non-derogatory use of zhid has been replaced by the word originally meaning "Hebrew." Therefore "zhid" is the standard word for "Jew" among Croatians, but among Serbs the term "Jevrej" is used. This phenomenon has even affected non-Slavic languages: The Georgian word for Jew, "Uria," has become derogatory and has been replaced by "Ebraeli," which means "Hebrew." The change in the meaning of "zhid" is relatively recent and probably spread om Russian to the other Orthodox Slavs. When members of the Volsun and Braverman families arrived in the United States, they were introduced to the equally hurtful word "kike." The origin of the term is uncertain, but most historians agree that it originated in the United States in the early 20th century. The first recorded usage of the term is in 1904. According to Leo Rosten, an expert on Yiddish culture, the word "kike" was born on Ellis Island when English-illiterate Jewish immigrants were asked to sign the entry-forms with the customary 'X' and refused. They associated an 'X' with the cross of Christianity and instead made a circle. The Yiddish word for circle is "kikel" (pronounced KY-kel). Before long the immigration inspectors were calling anyone who signed with an 'O' instead of an 'X' a kikel or, finally and succinctly, kike. The name was co-opted by Gentiles as its usage gained prominence in society, and was later used as a demeaning anti-Semitic slur. Ethnic Slurs and Anti-Semitism Ethnic Slurs and Anti-Semitism Life was hard, but it had its light moments. Inna recalls the ritual of the aer-school snack. "We would come home om school and each take a big slab of Ukrainian bread," she says. Ukrainian bread is rich black bread made om rye flower. The children would dip pieces of the bread into a bowl of sunflower oil and garlic. In contrast, on Shabbat, they celebrated with a esh-baked loaf of challah bread. "This was very special, because on other days we ate black rye bread," Inna says. Inna remembers the terrible railroad trip to Tashkent with bitterness. Inna was very offended that the family had to make the journey in an open, flat-bed train car. It was the middle of the winter and very cold. "It is horrible even to remember," she says. As the train went through one small town aer another, she heard villagers shouting angrily at the people on the train. She heard one unfamiliar word over and over again at every station. "Zhid!" the villagers shouted at the Jews on the train. "Zhid! Why bother running away?" the shouts continued. "We are going to kill you anyway. All the kikes will be dead." Inna did not understand why the villagers were so angry. It wasn't until later that she learned the words and insults of discrimination. When the family arrived in Tashkent, Inna remembers being hungry. She recalls vividly the diseases that plagued the refugees, including the typhus that sent her father to the hospital, and the typhoid that committed her eldest sister Ida to a different hospital. Finally Inna herself came down with typhoid and was sent to a third hospital. The only thing Inna remembers about the hospital stay is that when she went in, her hair was in long braids and when she recovered, the braids were gone. "I was so proud of my hair," Inna cries. Hava told her she had asked the hospital staff not to cut her daughter's hair, but the staff followed the rules and cut it anyway. Inna spent a month in the hospital and emerged a walking skeleton. Because she was the youngest and strongest of the three invalids, she recovered

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