Vera Erak's mother Edith Erak (nee Bondy)

The picture was taken in 1930 in Dubrovnik. My mother Edith Erak (nee Bondy) is pictured. Because of my father Ilija's bad health, we moved to Dubrovnik in 1928. My father sold his house and store, and with the money he received he bought an apartment and two stores, one in Dubrovnik and the other on the island of Lopus. My parents sold souvenirs in their stores, and all sorts of things that were useful to the many tourists. They sold handmade fabric rugs, hand-made works using Konavljan embroidery, Turkish coffeepots, bathing suits, photo equipment, etc. After a short period my father took up photography, and he opened a small photo laboratory. I began elementary school in 1932. The school was called Pucka School. In Dubrovnik there was no Jewish school. After elementary school I enrolled in the first grade of the gymnasium. My parents regularly went to synagogue. We observed all the holidays. I remember that the Jewish community and the synagogue were well attended. The rabbi, who was also the ritual slaughterer, came from Trebinja. The president of the Jewish community was a prominent merchant called Tolentino.