Geister Sofia Isaakovna (born 2 April 1907, Bryansk) – weaver.

Sofia Geister was born into the family of Itska Geister (1861, Minsk – 1925, Klintsy) and Etta Geister (1871, Tvorishino village, Klintsy Uyezd, Belarus – 1943, Bryansk). From 1924 to 1936, she worked as a weaver at the “October Revolution” textile factory in Klintsy. From 1937 to 1941, she was employed as a weaver at the industrial complex in Smolensk. Between 1941 and 1942, she served as a ward matron at Rear Hospital No. 1081 and Evacuation Hospital No. 3568 in Frunze. From 1944 to 1945, she was a civilian worker with the Soviet Occupation Forces, reaching Berlin and later working in Potsdam.

In 1946, Sofia Geister managed a Voentorg (military trade) shop in Brandenburg. From 1946 to 1947, she worked as a freight escort at the Dresden Central Freight Procurement Station. In 1947, she returned from Germany to Riga, where she lived on the support of her daughter, Albina Bernshtam (née Levina) (born 1927, Klintsy, Bryansk Region), until 1951. From 1951 to 1965, she worked at various Riga enterprises – “Bolshevichka”, “Promutil”, “Dzirkstele”, “Textiliana”, “Tekstilgalantereya”, and “Saule” – as a winder, seamstress, and weaver. From 1965, she was a pensioner.

Sofia Geister was awarded the medals: “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945”, “20 Years of Victory over Germany”, and “30 Years of Victory over Germany”.

Her husband, Yevsei Levin (in other documents: Meilakh Polyak) (1889 – 1938), a native of Białystok, Poland, was repressed in 1937 and executed in 1938. Their children were Valeryan (Valerian) Levin (born 1937, Smolensk), Silva Levina (born 1930, Klintsy), and Albina Bernshtam (née Levina) (born 1927, Klintsy). Her brother Leva Geister (1905 – 1941) was killed at the front.

In the 1970s, Geister emigrated from Latvia.

Family:

Yevsei Levin / Meilakh Polyak (1889 [or 1901], Białystok – 1938) – husband
Valeryan (Valerian) Levin (born 1937, Smolensk) – son
Silva Levina (born 1930, Klintsy) – daughter
Albina Bernshtam (née Levina) (born 1927, Klintsy) – daughter
Itska Geister (1861, Minsk – 1925, Klintsy) – father
Etta Geister (née Potashinskaya) (1871, Tvorishino, Belarus – 1943, Bryansk) – mother
Solomon Geister (born 1902, Klintsy – died 1963, Tula) – brother
Leva Geister (1905, Klintsy – 1941) – brother
Mikhail Geister (1910, Klintsy – 1976, Lviv) – brother
Grigory Geister (born 1912, Klintsy) – brother