We had a beautiful four-room apartment. It had a vestibule, across from it a living room where my parents slept, a dining room, Grandma's room, and a bedroom where my sister and I slept. You'd walk through our bedroom to get to the bathroom. Plus there was a kitchen, of course. I've got very beautiful memories of that place.
- Traditions 11756
- Language spoken 3019
- Identity 7808
- Description of town 2440
- Education, school 8506
- Economics 8772
- Work 11672
- Love & romance 4929
- Leisure/Social life 4159
- Antisemitism 4822
-
Major events (political and historical)
4256
- Armenian genocide 2
- Doctor's Plot (1953) 178
- Soviet invasion of Poland 31
- Siege of Leningrad 86
- The Six Day War 4
- Yom Kippur War 2
- Ataturk's death 5
- Balkan Wars (1912-1913) 35
- First Soviet-Finnish War 37
- Occupation of Czechoslovakia 1938 83
- Invasion of France 9
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact 65
- Varlik Vergisi (Wealth Tax) 36
- First World War (1914-1918) 216
- Spanish flu (1918-1920) 14
- Latvian War of Independence (1918-1920) 4
- The Great Depression (1929-1933) 20
- Hitler comes to power (1933) 127
- 151 Hospital 1
- Fire of Thessaloniki (1917) 9
- Greek Civil War (1946-49) 12
- Thessaloniki International Trade Fair 5
- Annexation of Bukovina to Romania (1918) 7
- Annexation of Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union (1940) 19
- The German invasion of Poland (1939) 94
- Kishinev Pogrom (1903) 7
- Romanian Annexation of Bessarabia (1918) 25
- Returning of the Hungarian rule in Transylvania (1940-1944) 43
- Soviet Occupation of Bessarabia (1940) 59
- Second Vienna Dictate 27
- Estonian war of independence 3
- Warsaw Uprising 2
- Soviet occupation of the Balitc states (1940) 147
- Austrian Civil War (1934) 9
- Anschluss (1938) 71
- Collapse of Habsburg empire 3
- Dollfuß Regime 3
- Emigration to Vienna before WWII 36
- Kolkhoz 131
- KuK - Königlich und Kaiserlich 40
- Mineriade 1
- Post War Allied occupation 7
- Waldheim affair 5
- Trianon Peace Treaty 12
- NEP 56
- Russian Revolution 351
- Ukrainian Famine 199
- The Great Terror 283
- Perestroika 233
- 22nd June 1941 468
- Molotov's radio speech 115
- Victory Day 147
- Stalin's death 365
- Khrushchev's speech at 20th Congress 148
- KGB 62
- NKVD 153
- German occupation of Hungary (18-19 March 1944) 45
- Józef Pilsudski (until 1935) 33
- 1956 revolution 84
- Prague Spring (1968) 73
- 1989 change of regime 174
- Gomulka campaign (1968) 81
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Holocaust
9685
- Holocaust (in general) 2789
- Concentration camp / Work camp 1235
- Mass shooting operations 337
- Ghetto 1183
- Death / extermination camp 647
- Deportation 1063
- Forced labor 791
- Flight 1410
- Hiding 594
- Resistance 121
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- Novemberpogrom / Kristallnacht 34
- Eleftherias Square 10
- Kasztner group 1
- Pogrom in Iasi and the Death Train 21
- Sammelwohnungen 9
- Strohmann system 11
- Struma ship 17
- Life under occupation 803
- Yellow star house 72
- Protected house 15
- Arrow Cross ("nyilasok") 42
- Danube bank shots 6
- Kindertransport 26
- Schutzpass / false papers 95
- Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943) 24
- Warsaw Uprising (1944) 23
- Helpers 521
- Righteous Gentiles 269
- Returning home 1090
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- Property (loss of property) 595
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- Trauma 1029
- Talking about what happened 1807
- Liberation 558
- Military 3322
- Politics 2640
-
Communism
4468
- Life in the Soviet Union/under Communism (in general) 2592
- Anti-communist resistance in general 63
- Nationalization under Communism 221
- Illegal communist movements 98
- Systematic demolitions under communism 45
- Communist holidays 311
- Sentiments about the communist rule 930
- Collectivization 94
- Experiences with state police 349
- Prison/Forced labor under communist/socialist rule 449
- Lack or violation of human and citizen rights 483
- Life after the change of the regime (1989) 493
- Israel / Palestine 2190
- Zionism 847
- Jewish Organizations 1200
Displaying 8641 - 8670 of 50826 results
Alice Klimova
While my father's native tongue was definitely Czech, I suspect that for my mother it was more likely German. In any event, everyone in their families spoke both languages. As far as I can remember, my grandfather preferred Czech, while Grandma preferred to speak German.
And what's my relationship to Israel like? Well, I'm definitely not a Zionist [18], not in the least. I consider it to be the homeland of the Jews, which however doesn't mean that I think that every Jew should live there. If he wants to, of course.
My children know that they are of Jewish origin, but we didn't bring them up in any consciously Jewish manner. We never observed any Jewish holidays at home.
I left it up to my husband as to whether we should emigrate or not. I'm the type that first says or does something, and thinks about it only afterwards. Whereas my husband was always deliberate, and carefully thought out every step he took, which is why I left him to decide for us. He thought about it for a very long time, and then said no. Not another emigration.
To my shame, I was also in the Communist Party. I joined it in 1946, when I was 18. As I've said, my sister was also quite left-leaning, and joined the Party while still in England, and I was quite influenced by her.
I then worked for six years at Artia, a printing company, and I liked this work probably the best. But after the occupation [15] I became a persona non grata and got fired.
My husband started working at what were back then the Stalin Works, today the Litvinov Chemical Works, and we were assigned an apartment in Teplice, later one in Litvinov, where our daughter was born. I call it a second exile. As a reaction to the 1953 currency reform [14], a strike took place at their company, everyone went on strike, but only he was immediately fired because of it. Why? A Jew and on top of that he'd served in the Western army. So he went to work in the mines and his health suffered as a result.
,
1953
See text in interview
My husband worked for the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and in 1951 they threw him out. More or less because he was a Jew, though they didn't say that directly. They threw out a lot of people along with him, in the end he was lucky that they didn't throw him in jail. Plus at that time we had very serious worries about where to live. The notice that we'd been assigned an apartment had been delivered to the wrong address, and so we never got it.
Then, about 20 years later, I found out that she was also Jewish and that she'd also been in a concentration camp. So I think that she basically had the feeling that I must have been extremely well off in England, while she'd been in that concentration camp. Well, I had been well off, definitely compared to her. There's not doubt about that. On the other hand, she should have realized that I'd been left with no parents, and that my life was no bed of roses either. I guess she wanted to vent some of that anger at me.
After finishing high school I went to university. The Faculty of Education was starting a department for nursery school teachers; I liked children, but teaching elementary school or junior high... I said to myself that if someone was to annoy me like I did that Latin teacher, I didn't want that. What's more, at that time I was already in a serious relationship, and knew that there'd be a wedding soon. Later I completed my teaching degree for elementary school.
I also recall one incident with our Czech teacher. Once she gave us an assignment to write a composition on the subject of Czech theater during the occupation. I went to see her, and told her that I couldn't write about it, because I hadn't been here, I didn't know anything about it, and didn't know where to find information... She sloughed me off, saying that I had the radio. That I can listen to the radio. But I didn't have even a radio, I didn't have any home, nothing... So she was extremely unpleasant, and of course it hurt me a lot that she didn't have even a bit of sympathy for me. It didn't even occur to me to tell her my story, about how I had lived or was living.
Grandma and Grandpa lived at the corner of Sokolska and Zitna in a building that was the first in Prague to have central heating. Their apartment was on the first floor, and was huge, with six rooms. To a child everything seems bigger, but even today, when I look at it from the street, it makes the same impression on me. When you walked in, there was this long, narrow hallway and on the right were two rooms where my great-grandmother lived.
Marta Gyori
After 1989, many more people started coming to the community. Some came
because they wondered if they could get something out of it, but most came
because they were really interested. At least 10 families left on aliya in
the first few years. Now there are very few interested in leaving.
Our community isn't uniform now, and there seem to be three types of Jews
here. The first group has a strong Jewish background from their families.
They know more than just the basics; they know how to pray. A second group
is coming mainly to explore their past and make a reconnection to Jewish
life. They want to be involved, but not in a religious way. The third group
is comprised of those who have very tenuous roots. They are simply curious
and don't have any background at all.
The biggest problem is that the middle generation doesn't want to observe
religion at all, but still wants to maintain traditions. The question is:
What is enough? Some people say that just admitting being a Jew is quite
enough. It's not.
The elderly cannot understand any of this. When I speak with them, I
realize that they will not soften their views at all. But, to involve the
younger families, they will certainly have to bend. But they won't. So I'm
looking for a compromise. I'd like some sort of Reform Jewish movement to
grow here because if we don't get that, it will all come to an end. You
see, of the young Jews in Kosice today, almost none of them know how to
pray.
because they wondered if they could get something out of it, but most came
because they were really interested. At least 10 families left on aliya in
the first few years. Now there are very few interested in leaving.
Our community isn't uniform now, and there seem to be three types of Jews
here. The first group has a strong Jewish background from their families.
They know more than just the basics; they know how to pray. A second group
is coming mainly to explore their past and make a reconnection to Jewish
life. They want to be involved, but not in a religious way. The third group
is comprised of those who have very tenuous roots. They are simply curious
and don't have any background at all.
The biggest problem is that the middle generation doesn't want to observe
religion at all, but still wants to maintain traditions. The question is:
What is enough? Some people say that just admitting being a Jew is quite
enough. It's not.
The elderly cannot understand any of this. When I speak with them, I
realize that they will not soften their views at all. But, to involve the
younger families, they will certainly have to bend. But they won't. So I'm
looking for a compromise. I'd like some sort of Reform Jewish movement to
grow here because if we don't get that, it will all come to an end. You
see, of the young Jews in Kosice today, almost none of them know how to
pray.
Slovakia
When I married a non-Jew in 1965, my father sat shiva for me. When he saw
me on the street with my first son, he would cross to the other side and
keep walking. It killed me to see this. How I suffered so much because I
married a non-Jew. To cope with this has been an enormous burden. One day,
after my first son was born, I realized that if I didn't act, I would lose
my father forever. I went to him and knocked on his door. I said, "This is
your grandson." He said, "He will be my grandson when he has a brit milah."
I said, "So make the arrangement."
Well, my father was right: I should have married a Jew. The differences
between my husband and me were great and became even greater.
My mother died in 1990, and my father died in 1994. I'm sure that he
wouldn't have talked to interviewers as he lived his simple, believing life
and he never spoke about it with strangers.
me on the street with my first son, he would cross to the other side and
keep walking. It killed me to see this. How I suffered so much because I
married a non-Jew. To cope with this has been an enormous burden. One day,
after my first son was born, I realized that if I didn't act, I would lose
my father forever. I went to him and knocked on his door. I said, "This is
your grandson." He said, "He will be my grandson when he has a brit milah."
I said, "So make the arrangement."
Well, my father was right: I should have married a Jew. The differences
between my husband and me were great and became even greater.
My mother died in 1990, and my father died in 1994. I'm sure that he
wouldn't have talked to interviewers as he lived his simple, believing life
and he never spoke about it with strangers.
Slovakia
In 1971, we made plans in secret to visit my brother in Romania. This was
the only Communist country that didn't break its ties to Israel, and as
Czechoslovaks, it was one of the very few countries we could travel to. We
planned to say that we would be meeting a medical specialist for a problem
in the family, and we fixed the location and place. It was done well, we
thought. But the day we returned to Kosice, the police were waiting in
front of our door. They knew when we left, where we went, who we met and
when we would return. They took our passports away; we didn't see them
again for six years.
the only Communist country that didn't break its ties to Israel, and as
Czechoslovaks, it was one of the very few countries we could travel to. We
planned to say that we would be meeting a medical specialist for a problem
in the family, and we fixed the location and place. It was done well, we
thought. But the day we returned to Kosice, the police were waiting in
front of our door. They knew when we left, where we went, who we met and
when we would return. They took our passports away; we didn't see them
again for six years.
Slovakia
Back when I was growing up, it was very difficult. We went to school six
days a week then, and my father made a shaygitz carry my books on Saturday.
We had a soup kitchen here in Kosice all during the Communist times, but we
called it a restaurant. Naturally, it was kosher. The Goldberger brothers
ran it. Up to 100 people ate there every day. And when I was young, whoever
needed to pick up dinner cheaply because they didn't have the money, could
do so.
Even in the 1950s, we had a strong community. My father was one of the last
of the Hevrah Kadishah. Up to the end, he would get on a bus or a train and
travel to some small town in Slovakia to prepare the dead for burial.
One day my father came back from a Hevrah Kadishah meeting - they met every
Sunday - and he was enraged. The Communists had made them sell the Neolog
synagogue, the great synagogue in the center of town. And they took it for
almost nothing, he said.
He was a baker by trade, and baked challah. Everyone would buy from him.
Every Friday he would be busy at home baking, but he had another bakery
help out and they would prepare around 200 challahs.
We had a great deal of trouble from the Communist government here. In the
1960s, the Jewish community received medicines donated by a Swiss charity,
and the Party made all sorts of problems. But still, for all the holidays,
children my age would attend synagogue and we had community seders as well.
For the holidays, our big synagogue, the old Orthodox one, was always full.
We continued to have services there, even though the crowds got smaller and
smaller, until five years ago.
days a week then, and my father made a shaygitz carry my books on Saturday.
We had a soup kitchen here in Kosice all during the Communist times, but we
called it a restaurant. Naturally, it was kosher. The Goldberger brothers
ran it. Up to 100 people ate there every day. And when I was young, whoever
needed to pick up dinner cheaply because they didn't have the money, could
do so.
Even in the 1950s, we had a strong community. My father was one of the last
of the Hevrah Kadishah. Up to the end, he would get on a bus or a train and
travel to some small town in Slovakia to prepare the dead for burial.
One day my father came back from a Hevrah Kadishah meeting - they met every
Sunday - and he was enraged. The Communists had made them sell the Neolog
synagogue, the great synagogue in the center of town. And they took it for
almost nothing, he said.
He was a baker by trade, and baked challah. Everyone would buy from him.
Every Friday he would be busy at home baking, but he had another bakery
help out and they would prepare around 200 challahs.
We had a great deal of trouble from the Communist government here. In the
1960s, the Jewish community received medicines donated by a Swiss charity,
and the Party made all sorts of problems. But still, for all the holidays,
children my age would attend synagogue and we had community seders as well.
For the holidays, our big synagogue, the old Orthodox one, was always full.
We continued to have services there, even though the crowds got smaller and
smaller, until five years ago.
Slovakia
My family was preparing to leave Czechoslovakia, and we had our papers
signed and even our furniture was shipped off. Everything was packed, and
then my brother came down with diphtheria. The doctor told my parents:
"Your brother's life or Israel, take your choice."
My father was not allowed to emigrate, and he said, "So I'll piss on the
Communists; I'll stay a religious Jew." He tried to emigrate in 1948 and
then again in 1962. My brother, Alexander Grossman, studied for a year in
the rabbinical seminary in Budapest. In 1969, he traveled to London and he
stayed there for a month, then moved to Israel.
My father kept geese and chickens at home so that during the Communist
period, he could always have kosher meat, which he would ritually slaughter
himself. There was usually kosher meat available; it came from a shochet
who would come through here when he was in eastern Hungary. But you
couldn't depend on it, I suppose, so my father made his own preparations,
too.
signed and even our furniture was shipped off. Everything was packed, and
then my brother came down with diphtheria. The doctor told my parents:
"Your brother's life or Israel, take your choice."
My father was not allowed to emigrate, and he said, "So I'll piss on the
Communists; I'll stay a religious Jew." He tried to emigrate in 1948 and
then again in 1962. My brother, Alexander Grossman, studied for a year in
the rabbinical seminary in Budapest. In 1969, he traveled to London and he
stayed there for a month, then moved to Israel.
My father kept geese and chickens at home so that during the Communist
period, he could always have kosher meat, which he would ritually slaughter
himself. There was usually kosher meat available; it came from a shochet
who would come through here when he was in eastern Hungary. But you
couldn't depend on it, I suppose, so my father made his own preparations,
too.
Slovakia
I was born in 1947. We had a strong Orthodox community. We'd go on a
picnic, and the shochet and his seven children would come, the rabbi and
his family, too. This was back in 1953. We would have secret brit milahs in
our home.
The rabbi was born in Berevovo, a very Orthodox village in Subcarpathian
Ruthenia. He only attended cheder, not a regular school. But even without a
secular education, he was bright and perceptive. After the war, he came
here to Kosice, which then acted as a magnet for Jews of eastern Slovakia
and Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which was given to the Soviet Union.
picnic, and the shochet and his seven children would come, the rabbi and
his family, too. This was back in 1953. We would have secret brit milahs in
our home.
The rabbi was born in Berevovo, a very Orthodox village in Subcarpathian
Ruthenia. He only attended cheder, not a regular school. But even without a
secular education, he was bright and perceptive. After the war, he came
here to Kosice, which then acted as a magnet for Jews of eastern Slovakia
and Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which was given to the Soviet Union.
Slovakia
Bina Dekalo
Once it was very hot and he told my mother that he wasn't feeling well. My mother advised him not to go to the dairy farm. Soon after that he died. He was a much-respected man and many people came to attend his funeral. The hall was large and full of people standing. Some Jewish women also came to sing Jewish mourning songs, praising God in Ladino. The rabbi of the synagogue came to my grandfather's funeral and said the funeral prayer. We missed our grandfather very much and talked about him very often.
My grandfather insisted that his children and grandchildren observe the Jewish laws, study Tannakh and the history of the Jewish people. Every Saturday he took us to the synagogue and taught us to be proud of our origin. He himself went to the synagogue very often, even twice a day and gave money for its maintenance. On every holiday he told us the story of the Jews from the time of King David and King Solomon - 'Shlomo ha Melech'. He told us about the Jews' exodus from Egypt and how the waters of the sea parted to let them walk across the seabed, while the Egyptian soldiers following them drowned.
My grandfather had small books with prayers in ancient Jewish, most of which he knew by heart. We had one room on the first floor in our big house in Yambol, where my grandfather went every morning to say his prayers.
My grandfather had small books with prayers in ancient Jewish, most of which he knew by heart. We had one room on the first floor in our big house in Yambol, where my grandfather went every morning to say his prayers.
My paternal grandfather was born in Yambol [a town in Southeast Bulgaria] in 1847. He was the most respected of all in our house in Yambol. He was a handsome man with a short white beard, brown eyes, lean and agile, always wearing a kippah. He loved his grandchildren very much and never forgot their birthdays. I remember that he always whispered some prayer. He was present at the brit milah of each of the boys. These were grand ceremonies. On holidays such as Purim and Tu bi-Shevat he brought presents accompanied by something made of yellow cheese from his dairy farm. My grandfather had a big dairy farm near the town. A Bulgarian, Bai Yordan, was his partner. They were very good friends and we always invited him and his wife to lunch during our Jewish holidays. On the Christian holiday Easter my parents and my grandfather were invited to their place to eat kozunak [Easter cake] and eggs.
My grandfather was very hard working. He got up early every morning and went to the dairy farm. It was located on the outskirts of the town. I searched for some traces of that dairy farm later on, but I couldn't find any. They produced dairy products there and every day my grandfather brought home yellow cheese and butter. Mostly Bai Yordan, whom my grandfather trusted a lot, did the sales and production. My grandfather supervised the production process and paid much attention to quality and hygiene. Three or four workers worked in the dairy farm. It was a building consisting of a number of sheds. One of the sheds housed wooden dishes for the separation of the butter, and the other big troughs, in which they made yogurt. Everything was very clean and produced in a primitive way; I don't remember seeing any machines there. Grandpa Avram was very proud of this dairy farm. Everything they produced was much sought on the market. They made good money and my grandfather helped his three sons financially. But he loved my father most and they were always together. Grandpa Avram lived with us in the big house. When he returned from work in the evening, he washed himself, put on a housecoat, ate something and left fresh cheese and butter from the dairy farm in the kitchen.
My grandfather was very hard working. He got up early every morning and went to the dairy farm. It was located on the outskirts of the town. I searched for some traces of that dairy farm later on, but I couldn't find any. They produced dairy products there and every day my grandfather brought home yellow cheese and butter. Mostly Bai Yordan, whom my grandfather trusted a lot, did the sales and production. My grandfather supervised the production process and paid much attention to quality and hygiene. Three or four workers worked in the dairy farm. It was a building consisting of a number of sheds. One of the sheds housed wooden dishes for the separation of the butter, and the other big troughs, in which they made yogurt. Everything was very clean and produced in a primitive way; I don't remember seeing any machines there. Grandpa Avram was very proud of this dairy farm. Everything they produced was much sought on the market. They made good money and my grandfather helped his three sons financially. But he loved my father most and they were always together. Grandpa Avram lived with us in the big house. When he returned from work in the evening, he washed himself, put on a housecoat, ate something and left fresh cheese and butter from the dairy farm in the kitchen.
My paternal and maternal ancestors came from Spain after the persecutions against Jews there some centuries ago [see Expulsion of the Jews from Spain] [1]. My paternal grandfather, Avram Aroyo, used to gather us and tell us about the beautiful Spain. We passed these stories from generation to generation. His father used to tell him about the famous Aroyo family, who was named after a river in Spain, near which they lived. Our grandfather told us that his great great-grandfathers lived in Toledo, had big dairy farms and were very rich. Their produce of yellow cheese, cheese and milk was in high demand by all citizens of Toledo. Their company was famous and much respected. We were all sitting listening, fascinated by his words. He was very excited while telling us about the banishment of the Jews from Spain. In order to save themselves, his great great-grandfather, his family and relatives paid a lot of money to board a trade ship with some other Jewish refugees. They traveled for months around the Mediterranean Sea until they reached the shores of ?urkey at that time, where they were welcomed very well.
Most of my friends throughout the years have been Bulgarians. There are also some Jewish families who visit me. I keep in touch with them by phone, because I am recovering from a heavy fall. We have a good organization of clubs in the Jewish home. We have a club 'Health', club of Ladino speakers and club of Ivrit speakers. Cultural programs, discussions and lectures are being organized for the Jews there.
When the changes in Bulgaria and in Eastern Europe started in 1989, I was against them. Of course, I wasn't against democracy and freedom of speech and the press. I think that a large part of the advantages of democracy related to the free professional fulfillment of the individual didn't take place.
During the totalitarian regime my financial situation was quite good compared to the times around World War II and the times after 1989 [see 10th November 1989] [19]. I think that we live in some 'sick' capitalism, that this is n?t a democracy. Besides, the money that most people receive isn't enough. This capitalism in which we live today is like a prematurely born child.
I went to Israel in the 1970s too. But at that time I was very cautious. I had a friend in Haifa, whose husband worked as a customs official. Their family had a friend in the Israel intelligence service. When he found out that I was from Bulgaria, he wanted to visit them, to meet me. He was a Polish Jew and tried to question me about some specific sites in Bulgaria, which I knew nothing about. I kept in touch with my relatives in Israel mainly by letters. I loved writing letters. My brothers Sami and Jacques wrote to me the most. I could correspond freely with my brothers in Israel.
Bulgaria
The Jewish organization decreased its activity after the mass aliyah [17] in 1948-49. During the totalitarian regime the Jewish organization was most of all a cultural organization. Yet, there were some religious Jews left and the synagogue was kept in a good state. In the other towns, however, most synagogues were turned into warehouses and small halls. I remember that even the central synagogue in Sofia was about to be turned into an opera. This however sparked the disapproval of the Jewish organizations throughout the world and the decision was cancelled.
After 9th September 1944 the general policy of the party was against any religions. The Communist Party forbade Jews to celebrate holidays together. Although it was officially forbidden, we found our ways to celebrate them. I went to the synagogue too, although the communist organizations didn't approve it. Ever since I was a child, I have been listening to the prayers of grandfather Avram and my father; I understand them and I like them very much. I remember that I had asked a woman working in the Central Committee of the BCP [Bulgarian Communist Party], Velicha Kostova, why Jews weren't allowed to celebrate their holidays while the Armenians and Turks were allowed to. She couldn't answer me. I was always afraid when I went to the synagogue. There were some informers, watching what the people were doing and speaking and then reporting to the secret services. A Bulgarian friend of mine, who was an active member of the Communist Party, told a joke about Todor Zhivkov [18] during one meeting. Some informer reported that to the authorities and he was imprisoned for twelve years. So, one joke could destroy one's whole life at that time.
After 9th September 1944 the general policy of the party was against any religions. The Communist Party forbade Jews to celebrate holidays together. Although it was officially forbidden, we found our ways to celebrate them. I went to the synagogue too, although the communist organizations didn't approve it. Ever since I was a child, I have been listening to the prayers of grandfather Avram and my father; I understand them and I like them very much. I remember that I had asked a woman working in the Central Committee of the BCP [Bulgarian Communist Party], Velicha Kostova, why Jews weren't allowed to celebrate their holidays while the Armenians and Turks were allowed to. She couldn't answer me. I was always afraid when I went to the synagogue. There were some informers, watching what the people were doing and speaking and then reporting to the secret services. A Bulgarian friend of mine, who was an active member of the Communist Party, told a joke about Todor Zhivkov [18] during one meeting. Some informer reported that to the authorities and he was imprisoned for twelve years. So, one joke could destroy one's whole life at that time.
During the events in the Czechoslovakia in 1968 [see Prague Spring] [15] and in Hungary in 1954 [Editor's note: in fact, the events in Hungary took place in 1956] [16] the information about them reached us through a bulletin issued by the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The official position was against these coup attempts. But there was much false information in them.
Bulgaria
I have been to Israel four times. Since I was a member of the Communist Party, it wasn't a problem for me to go there. But always before I left, some people from the intelligence service came and asked me where I was going. I just told them that I didn't know Israel and went only to see my brothers. My first impression from Israel was that the country was making progress. Everything was in the process of construction. I went there for the first time in 1952 with my husband. I was visiting my brothers, who welcomed me warmly. We, however, decided not to remain in Israel, because we felt distant from the mentality of the people living there and we were very poor.
I was in my brother Lazar's kibbutz - the Ma'abarot kibbutz. He had a service station for machines. There were cars, harvesters, tractors and other agricultural machines in the garage, which were given to him by the state and had to be maintained. There were some people who were in charge of that there. My brother was building his house at that time. They lived in some kinds of sheds: big wooden houses, made of some material, which was very good. My brother had a bedroom, a corridor and a dining room. Everything was very modern. The kitchens were small, but comfortable, they had everything - a refrigerator, freezers, and dishwashers. I was also impressed by the organization and life in the kibbutz. Everyone worked at what he or she could do best.
I was in my brother Lazar's kibbutz - the Ma'abarot kibbutz. He had a service station for machines. There were cars, harvesters, tractors and other agricultural machines in the garage, which were given to him by the state and had to be maintained. There were some people who were in charge of that there. My brother was building his house at that time. They lived in some kinds of sheds: big wooden houses, made of some material, which was very good. My brother had a bedroom, a corridor and a dining room. Everything was very modern. The kitchens were small, but comfortable, they had everything - a refrigerator, freezers, and dishwashers. I was also impressed by the organization and life in the kibbutz. Everyone worked at what he or she could do best.