Afterwards, my parents moved to Braila, because my father had an uncle there, Adolf Gatlan – a brother of my paternal grandfather – who was a dentist and owned a dental practice.
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Displaying 45961 - 45990 of 50826 results
Cornelia Gatlan
I also have two cousins, Nina and Dida. Their father was Frida’s first husband, the one who died on the Death Train. What I know about her and her daughters is that they eventually left for Israel in dreadful conditions, after World War II. They got there way ahead of my grandmother, when the place was still called Palestine. All those who went there like that helped to create the State of Israel. My mother’s sister was one of the pioneers who built the new country.
Here’s the story of how she left. She got separated from her daughters and couldn’t leave together with them. The girls were helped to get there by the Red Cross. Frida left clandestinely – she crossed the border, although she had recently had an operation, and she suffered many mishaps, and I know she had a really hard time. She got to Vienna, where she stayed for a year. It was from there that she finally managed to leave for Israel, with the help of the Red Cross too. She was reunited with her daughters either in Vienna or in Israel, after they hadn’t seen one another for a long time. They were among the first ones in our family who set foot on Israeli soil.
Here’s the story of how she left. She got separated from her daughters and couldn’t leave together with them. The girls were helped to get there by the Red Cross. Frida left clandestinely – she crossed the border, although she had recently had an operation, and she suffered many mishaps, and I know she had a really hard time. She got to Vienna, where she stayed for a year. It was from there that she finally managed to leave for Israel, with the help of the Red Cross too. She was reunited with her daughters either in Vienna or in Israel, after they hadn’t seen one another for a long time. They were among the first ones in our family who set foot on Israeli soil.
Her husband, who was a very handsome man – tall and brown-haired – was seized in the street or in his store, and taken to the Death Train [4], which left Iasi towards an unknown destination. The ‘passengers’ weren’t allowed to get out; they didn’t get any water or food. They were crowded into a freight car where there was no air and water, and they ended up drinking their own urine. The man died there. He was her first husband, but I don’t know what his name was. I heard his entire family was herded into that train.
She stayed with us for a while – I don’t know for how many years – but, around 1948, she signed up for Israel and she left there by herself. I don’t know how old she was when she emigrated – she wasn’t that old though – but she left nonetheless, because she had a daughter there – Frida Scharf, my mother’s sister – and two granddaughters.
My favorite place to spend my childhood vacations was my grandparents’ house. I used to go to Iasi and I felt great there. When I stayed with them in my vacations, my grandparents used to take me out for a walk in Iasi. My grandfather would go to the temple every morning and he would come back with pretzels and all sorts of treats. They had a courtyard, and, in the morning, when he came with the buttered pretzels on a string, it felt like an entire ceremony – like kids feel when they’re at their grandparents’. The city of Iasi was renowned for its pretzels. And, besides, you know how it is with kids – their grandparents spoil them. The food at their place tasted better than what my mother cooked.
They had a round straw table, with straw chairs, in the courtyard. I remember the garden had many flowers, especially flowering tobacco. We used to spend our afternoons sitting at that table and having sorbet with fresh water.
They had a round straw table, with straw chairs, in the courtyard. I remember the garden had many flowers, especially flowering tobacco. We used to spend our afternoons sitting at that table and having sorbet with fresh water.
Romania
Grandfather Haim went to the temple every day and kept all the holidays. They didn’t eat pork. When we sat at table, he would grab a piece of bread, dip it in salt, and say a prayer. This is what he used to do before meals. My grandfather was the only one who said the prayer, because he was into religious things. Of course, they kept the holidays, and they ate kosher, just like they were supposed to. Back then, there was a slaughterhouse where they slaughtered cattle and poultry by kosher rules. Grandfather served as a shochet at the temple.
Romania
My grandparents didn’t have any political orientation; that was also because my maternal grandfather was a very religious man.
Romania
They spoke Romanian. They also spoke Yiddish, because Grandfather Iancu Haim used to sing at the synagogue. But the language they used at home was Romanian. I know very few expressions in Yiddish. They observed the tradition, but didn’t speak Yiddish. Of course, there were some expressions that couldn’t be translated into Romanian, but the use of Yiddish was only restricted to those.
My grandparents lived in Iasi, in the Podu Ros quarter. Their house was pretty small – it wasn’t elegant or luxurious. They had electricity and running water, both in Barlad and in Iasi. They may have had those, but the houses they lived in were modest. They didn’t own them – they paid rent.
My maternal grandparents didn’t have animals. They didn’t hire people to help them with the house either, because they weren’t rich people. As far as I know, their financial situation was rather modest and they didn’t have servants.
My maternal grandparents didn’t have animals. They didn’t hire people to help them with the house either, because they weren’t rich people. As far as I know, their financial situation was rather modest and they didn’t have servants.
After World War I, the bank whose stock he had bought or where he kept his money went bankrupt, and he lost everything. This happened in the period of the Great Depression [3], between 1929 and 1933. I heard that maybe he committed suicide.
This Feldman did what he was required to do by tradition: as he had a very good financial situation, he gave my mother a dowry – this is how fortune was called back then. So my mother got money from him, and my father used it to set up a medical practice.
Grandfather Iosif Feldman left for America – I don’t know why – and didn’t come back until my mother got married. I don’t know the reason why Grandfather Feldman and my grandmother got separated, but I know he went to America, where he remarried. I know from a photo that his second wife’s name was Anne Feldman.
After my mother’s wedding had been announced, I know he came to Barlad and suggested to my grandmother to join him in America. I don’t know why my grandmother stayed; by the time my parents had their wedding, my grandmother wasn’t married to Iancu Haim yet – this happened much later.
After my mother’s wedding had been announced, I know he came to Barlad and suggested to my grandmother to join him in America. I don’t know why my grandmother stayed; by the time my parents had their wedding, my grandmother wasn’t married to Iancu Haim yet – this happened much later.
It was a love marriage and they loved each other very much. She married young, when my father was in the senior year at the medical school. She was almost 18 when they got married, on 6th January 1929, on Epiphany.
Here’s the story of how my parents met. They didn’t meet in Iasi, but in Barlad. My mother had breast eczema. My father was studying medicine – after the 2nd or 3rd year, they were already calling him ‘Doctor’ – and had the right specialization. Their parents already knew one another, because Barlad was even smaller than it is today, so his parents said, ‘Look, our boy, Nae – this is how they called him – is going to come to your place and examine the girl.’ In the end, my grandmother took my mother to my father’s for the examination, and this is how my parents met. My father treated her and cured her.
Of course, during the repeated house calls and the treatment, the two youngsters came to like each other; and, because their parents already knew one another, they decided to get married.
Of course, during the repeated house calls and the treatment, the two youngsters came to like each other; and, because their parents already knew one another, they decided to get married.
I don’t know if my father did his military service, but I know he worked as an army physician in Braila.
He studied in Italy. His family sent him to medical school there – he studied surgery in Turin between 1924 and 1929. So he was a medical school graduate. He didn’t become a surgeon; he was specialized in skin and venereal diseases. Even the post on the practice our family used to have said that.
My father’s brothers left for Israel, but I couldn’t tell in what year. They said they were going to their country. No sooner had the State of Israel been formed [2] than all the Jews wanted to go there, to the place that is actually our country.
I don’t know if they were landowners, but they did have some land which was a sort of leasehold. I saw a photo of my grandfather on a horse: he must have been either a landowner proper, or a leaseholder who took care of the estate.
Of course, my life changed after the Revolution. After 31 years of work, my retirement pension was very small, because salaries were very low back then. If someone who earns 5 million retires today, his or her pension will be better than what I got – the money won’t be great, but acceptable. As for me, I haven’t even reached the 3-million threshold.
In 1989, I was all alone already, because neither my mother, nor my sister was alive anymore. I saw what was happening on TV, and heard about it on the radio. I was preparing to go to work when everything started. I spent the days of the Revolution [15] in the hospital, as a nurse, because I wouldn’t want to stay home all alone. Everyone advised me not to go back home and return to work as long as there were still shootings in the street. Wounded people were brought to the hospital; corpses too. It wasn’t about surgery anymore – it was about everyone going downstairs and giving a hand.
I was very happy, because I thought everything would take a turn for the better. But the others laughed at me, especially the elderly. I was delighted because the TV program became more diversified, I could watch movies and listen to the radio at home. I had never realized we could attain this degree of freedom. TV and radio made me understand that things are beginning to change. I’d like to see them improve further.
I was very happy, because I thought everything would take a turn for the better. But the others laughed at me, especially the elderly. I was delighted because the TV program became more diversified, I could watch movies and listen to the radio at home. I had never realized we could attain this degree of freedom. TV and radio made me understand that things are beginning to change. I’d like to see them improve further.
I doubt people really regret Communism – what bothers them is that most of them are now unemployed. Enterprises were set up, but they went bankrupt at a certain point. They are now living better than how they used to live before, but providing the daily bread is what puts them in difficulty. A part of the retirees still work, on the black market or on their own. One who really wants to work is bound to find a job, even if it’s poorly paid. What we need is working, not sitting around doing nothing. It’s high time we made a distinction between work and spare time; but I believe it’s going to take us another 20 years to learn that. People don’t regret Communism, but only the stability which came with it.
I listened to various radio stations under the communist regime, including [Radio] Free Europe [10]. I know my parents used to listen to the Voice of America [11]. I became a fan of the Communists at an early age. When I was just a girl, I was already a supporter of Petru Groza [12]. I wasn’t fully aware back then, because I knew very few things about how life had been before.
During Gheorghiu-Dej’s regime, I was very young, and didn’t know what had happened before World War II in Romania. My parents knew about these things, they had lived through them, and they could make comparisons, whereas I couldn’t. They told me that, a number of people who had been in politics were arrested during Dej’s regime.
My parents had nothing to do with politics – they were intellectuals. They weren’t arrested, like others were, for being members of the Peasants’ Party [13] or of any other party. As I grew up, I had my own moments of rebellion; but I wasn’t the only one who suffered under the regime of Ceausescu [14]. I reached adulthood in the communist period, and I can say that the last 10-15 years of Ceausescu’s ‘reign’ were the worst.
At the beginning of the 1980s, things changed dramatically. I don’t consider Communism to be a good thing and I couldn’t say what I agreed to. This is how laws were back then. I can’t adjust myself to today’s new reality, but the youth can. We, the elderly, are to blame, because we hold on to too many things that belong to the past. I had got used to Communism and couldn’t tell what was really good for our country. I have no regrets though – there is no point in that.
During Gheorghiu-Dej’s regime, I was very young, and didn’t know what had happened before World War II in Romania. My parents knew about these things, they had lived through them, and they could make comparisons, whereas I couldn’t. They told me that, a number of people who had been in politics were arrested during Dej’s regime.
My parents had nothing to do with politics – they were intellectuals. They weren’t arrested, like others were, for being members of the Peasants’ Party [13] or of any other party. As I grew up, I had my own moments of rebellion; but I wasn’t the only one who suffered under the regime of Ceausescu [14]. I reached adulthood in the communist period, and I can say that the last 10-15 years of Ceausescu’s ‘reign’ were the worst.
At the beginning of the 1980s, things changed dramatically. I don’t consider Communism to be a good thing and I couldn’t say what I agreed to. This is how laws were back then. I can’t adjust myself to today’s new reality, but the youth can. We, the elderly, are to blame, because we hold on to too many things that belong to the past. I had got used to Communism and couldn’t tell what was really good for our country. I have no regrets though – there is no point in that.
During the communist period, I kept some of the holidays. For instance, when there was the commemoration of the dead, I took some hours off from work, or I arranged with a coworker to fill in for me, so that I could leave a few hours earlier. I went to the synagogue to commemorate the death of my parents, and then I went to their graves, for both of them had been buried in a most appropriate way.
I couldn’t say that I simply wouldn’t marry; but it wasn’t meant to be. Although I didn’t get married, I can’t say I was as innocent as a nun, because I did have my share of relationships, more or less. I am a very difficult person and I admit that things would have been easier for me if I hadn’t been so picky. I wanted to have someone to talk to, I didn’t care about the material aspects, and I rarely came across someone who had any idea about music and who didn’t sneer if we went to a concert or an opera performance, or if we just talked about music. I didn’t meet too many boys like this.
The ones I got close to marry were all Jews, because mothers used to talk to one another and there were the matchmakers too. There were matchmakers in Bucharest, and Timisoara, and they even had catalogues with the Jewish bachelors. This is how one found a boy in those days. I had suitors from Timisoara, from Bucharest, from Botosani. There was a suitor from Petrosani to whom I even became engaged; but that was all. This is how things happened.
Now I’m sorry I didn’t get married – there must have been someone among all those suitors who would have been good for me. They all liked me, but I didn’t really like any of them. I don’t know what was in my head at that time, but I wouldn’t do it again. Although those seemed to be acceptable matches, I’m not sure a marriage would have lasted. Time erodes a relationship and both spouses have to be diplomats. They must communicate, in order for each of them to understand what the other wants. I put my faith in my destiny.
First of all, I really wanted to be with my mother; I had my sister in Craiova indeed, but she was married. I was also a nurse, and I had to stay close to my mother, because she was getting old. I always had an important condition for all my suitors: either to let my mother stay with us, or to live at her place. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and none of my suitors was enthusiastic about this.
The ones I got close to marry were all Jews, because mothers used to talk to one another and there were the matchmakers too. There were matchmakers in Bucharest, and Timisoara, and they even had catalogues with the Jewish bachelors. This is how one found a boy in those days. I had suitors from Timisoara, from Bucharest, from Botosani. There was a suitor from Petrosani to whom I even became engaged; but that was all. This is how things happened.
Now I’m sorry I didn’t get married – there must have been someone among all those suitors who would have been good for me. They all liked me, but I didn’t really like any of them. I don’t know what was in my head at that time, but I wouldn’t do it again. Although those seemed to be acceptable matches, I’m not sure a marriage would have lasted. Time erodes a relationship and both spouses have to be diplomats. They must communicate, in order for each of them to understand what the other wants. I put my faith in my destiny.
First of all, I really wanted to be with my mother; I had my sister in Craiova indeed, but she was married. I was also a nurse, and I had to stay close to my mother, because she was getting old. I always had an important condition for all my suitors: either to let my mother stay with us, or to live at her place. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and none of my suitors was enthusiastic about this.
I can say I sensed some anti-Semitism at work, but not from the part of my close coworkers. They loved me and esteemed me, and looked forward to Pesach, because I used to bring them matzah. I always had to keep a box just for them, because they liked it. They literally fought over it. I didn’t sense an open anti-Semitism. They knew I was Jewish, because I had never tried to keep this secret.
One day, when I was nearing retirement, I brought them matzah, as usual. I distributed shares of it to everyone and, of course, I gave them to drink of the quality wine I had brought along with the matzah. The head of the section, Doctor Georghe, now a retiree, didn’t touch the matzah or the wine, and I think he said something about the matzah and the wine – which was allegedly made with Christian blood. I hadn’t expected that from him, especially since he was the head physician of our section. But every time I noticed something like that, I just pretended not to hear and kept my mouth shut.
One day, when I was nearing retirement, I brought them matzah, as usual. I distributed shares of it to everyone and, of course, I gave them to drink of the quality wine I had brought along with the matzah. The head of the section, Doctor Georghe, now a retiree, didn’t touch the matzah or the wine, and I think he said something about the matzah and the wine – which was allegedly made with Christian blood. I hadn’t expected that from him, especially since he was the head physician of our section. But every time I noticed something like that, I just pretended not to hear and kept my mouth shut.
I did return home to Braila, and initially worked for about five years at the Hospital no.1 on Calarasi Street, which is still there today.
After that, I got transferred to the newly-founded Hospital no.3, in the Hipodrom quarter, where I worked until my retirement. I was employed there for many years as well. I don’t want to boast, but my work was highly esteemed everywhere I went. I spent 31 years working in hospitals.
After that, I got transferred to the newly-founded Hospital no.3, in the Hipodrom quarter, where I worked until my retirement. I was employed there for many years as well. I don’t want to boast, but my work was highly esteemed everywhere I went. I spent 31 years working in hospitals.
After finishing my studies at the School for Nurses, I worked for two years as a nurse at Sfantu Spiridon Hospital in Iasi. I had asked to be appointed to work there, because Iasi was the city of my childhood. I worked in the maxillofacial ward in the beginning, and afterwards, I obtained a transfer at the skin and venereal diseases section of the same hospital, which housed several clinics. The job was good and, since our class was the first to graduate from the Nurses School, I was appointed head nurse.
On Sabbath, a friend of mine, whose name I’ve forgotten, and I went for a sort of tea party at a family of old actors, the Friedmans.
The first Jewish theater was at the ‘Pomul Verde,’ in Iasi. [Editor’s note: The first professional Yiddish theater in the world was founded in the ‘Pomul Verde’ Garden, on the spot where the park in front of the National Theater in Iasi lies today. It was targeted to the Jewish audiences, whose members lived predominantly in the Podu Ros quarter.] I really lived near the ‘Pomul Verde’; my landlady was an actress who played at that theater. So I frequented the world of actors and of the theater, and it was really nice, because I had a lot of fun.
This lady was named Rene – I’ve forgotten her last name. Actors used to come to her place to play poker. I had a circle of friends made up of artists and I used to go to this Friedman family. They were elderly actors who had a very prosperous material situation. Many young people used to visit them. I don’t know if any Christians came there, but I know there were a lot of Jews. There must have been Christians too, because there was plenty of room in those large parlors. I made friends with a painter. There was music – piano playing. The attendance was refined. I really had a great time while in Iasi.
The first Jewish theater was at the ‘Pomul Verde,’ in Iasi. [Editor’s note: The first professional Yiddish theater in the world was founded in the ‘Pomul Verde’ Garden, on the spot where the park in front of the National Theater in Iasi lies today. It was targeted to the Jewish audiences, whose members lived predominantly in the Podu Ros quarter.] I really lived near the ‘Pomul Verde’; my landlady was an actress who played at that theater. So I frequented the world of actors and of the theater, and it was really nice, because I had a lot of fun.
This lady was named Rene – I’ve forgotten her last name. Actors used to come to her place to play poker. I had a circle of friends made up of artists and I used to go to this Friedman family. They were elderly actors who had a very prosperous material situation. Many young people used to visit them. I don’t know if any Christians came there, but I know there were a lot of Jews. There must have been Christians too, because there was plenty of room in those large parlors. I made friends with a painter. There was music – piano playing. The attendance was refined. I really had a great time while in Iasi.
I worked as a nurse in Iasi because I had been appointed there. Of course, it was very nice, because there were all those university clinics, and we had a broader opening.
Then, in 1958 or so, my father met some doctor named Calciu, who was the manager of the Medical Technicians School in Braila – back then the job was called medical technician, not nurse – which had just been founded, and the man asked my father, ‘If your daughter is not in college, why not send her to the nurses school?’ I was about 20, and medical science didn’t really appeal to me, but I did register, and I got to like it. The medical technicians school was what we call a vocational school today – a school for nurses. It lasted four years.
I also have a head nurse certificate; I got it to improve my qualification, and I had to pass an exam for it. I graduated from the Medical Technicians School in Braila, in 1959. I took the exam to move to head nurse between 1st and 7th September 1971, in Galati.
I also have a head nurse certificate; I got it to improve my qualification, and I had to pass an exam for it. I graduated from the Medical Technicians School in Braila, in 1959. I took the exam to move to head nurse between 1st and 7th September 1971, in Galati.