Elizabeth Waiser

I, Elizabeth Waiser, nee Braverman, wearing a Rumanian folk costume made and embroidered by my mother. She made this costume on the occasion of birthday of the King of Romania that was celebrated all over Romania and in our town, too. Photo made in Bairamcha, Saratsk district, Izmail province, Romania, in 1931.

I was born in 1927. I was named Lisa and only when the authorities were issuing my passport in 1944 they put down my name as Elizabeth. I was the last child in the family. I was much loved and spoiled.

We had a good Jewish family. I had wonderful parents and good brothers. I remember how clean our house was. My mother was a great housewife and was very handy. She embroidered and made clothes, looked after the children, did shopping, cooked and cleaned. We never wasted money in our family and my mother managed to have everything necessary for our living and save something for a rainy day. We celebrated all Jewish holidays at home.

Besides Jewish holidays before 1940 we celebrated one Rumanian holiday: birthday of the king of Rumania. I don't remember the king's name. I only remember hos festive this celebration was. All people celebrated this holiday regardless of their nationality. We were citizens of Rumania. It was a lot of fun. People danced and sang in the streets. My mother told me there were fireworks in bigger towns on this day, but we didn't have then in our town. When I was 4 my mother made me a beautiful Rumanian fork costume. I recited poems at the celebration wearing this costume. I remember this very well. People applauded me and I enjoyed it greatly. Then people gave me candy.

My brothers and I studied at a Rumanian secondary school. As for Jewish schools, they were primary schools,4 years and our parents wanted us to get a good education and sent us to a Rumanian school to study Rumanian and have no problems with getting further education. I have a good conduct of Rumanian. There were Jewish, Rumanian, Moldavian and Russian children in our school. We were all friends and had no problems with our nationality. I studied 6 years at school when the Soviet power was established in 1940. My school became a Russian school. I studied there for another year when the war began.