Selected text
My parents, and then my father and stepmother, socialized almost
exclusively with Jews. I cannot recall them having any non-Jewish friends.
But none of them socialized much. It was not the custom for Jews to go to
bars. Those who did were put on an informal community blacklist. When they
went out, many went to one particular pastry shop in Sombor. My parents
usually celebrated the secular New Year at home with us children. Only one
year, 1940-41, was I allowed to celebrate the New Year at a friend's house.
Sombor was not a large Jewish community. Most of the 1,000 Jews that lived
in the town belonged to the Neolog (Conservative) community. There were
some Orthodox Jews but they were a minority and were in general much poorer
than the other Jews. They did not have a big synagogue, only a few
shtiebls.
There was a large Neolog synagogue in the center of Sombor, close to our
house, where we were members. I would go to the synagogue with my aunt and
grandmother, and we sat in our permanent seats, on the left side near the
ark. From there I could see my father sitting in the men's section. The
service was traditional and all in Hebrew and the congregation could follow
and participate. During the Torah reading the cantor would call out in
German (or maybe it was Yiddish, I'm not sure): "Who has a contribution for
the chevra kadishah?
exclusively with Jews. I cannot recall them having any non-Jewish friends.
But none of them socialized much. It was not the custom for Jews to go to
bars. Those who did were put on an informal community blacklist. When they
went out, many went to one particular pastry shop in Sombor. My parents
usually celebrated the secular New Year at home with us children. Only one
year, 1940-41, was I allowed to celebrate the New Year at a friend's house.
Sombor was not a large Jewish community. Most of the 1,000 Jews that lived
in the town belonged to the Neolog (Conservative) community. There were
some Orthodox Jews but they were a minority and were in general much poorer
than the other Jews. They did not have a big synagogue, only a few
shtiebls.
There was a large Neolog synagogue in the center of Sombor, close to our
house, where we were members. I would go to the synagogue with my aunt and
grandmother, and we sat in our permanent seats, on the left side near the
ark. From there I could see my father sitting in the men's section. The
service was traditional and all in Hebrew and the congregation could follow
and participate. During the Torah reading the cantor would call out in
German (or maybe it was Yiddish, I'm not sure): "Who has a contribution for
the chevra kadishah?
Period
Location
Sombor
Serbia
Interview
Magdalena Berger