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In fact Ceausescu [6] himself was an antisemite. If you wanted to have a more important job in a leading position, you had to change your name, because the Jewish name wasn’t in the good books. On that time many applied for emigrating to Israel.
Someone got the approval, the other didn’t. We asked ourselves: “On what basis? How do they analyse these records?“ „Why does one get the approval and another onedoesn’t?“ All depended on the height of the police man. If he was small he couldn’t reach the high shelf, so the low shelf got the approval. This was a common joke. There was no logic in these approvals and denials. For instance I had a friend. She had three sisters.
The emigration of their father was approved, and the girls with their mother left only 15 or 20 years later, because they didn’t get the approval. Do you think they were the only ones? I happened to know other families, who experienced the same thing. I remember a young family, they were desperate... Both of them applied for emigration, but by the time of their appliance they weren’t married yet. Then they knew each other, got married, had a baby and then the approvals were offered.
He got the approval, but she didn’t. He left and she remained crying here with a little child, and after the war there were hard times: famine and other insufficiencies, and it was very difficult. I remember dialogues with our relatives from Israel who visited Romania. Before leaving the house I would say: „I’ll take a bag, maybe I’ll find someting.“ „What do you want to find? Can’t go to buy something?“ „Yes, I will buy, but first I have to find something to buy.“
A lot of people left for Israel around 1959-60. Afterwards rather infrequent. Eventually we remained here. My brother and sister wanted to study, to finish university and after that they didn’t want to get fired from their jobs. One wasafraid that in the end one would end up homeless.
The engineer and the physicist got approvalsespecially hard. After applying for emigration, they could have kept you waiting for three or four years and gradually demote you. Seeing that others were fired from their jobs and hired to do the hard jobs – they could be scavengers for ten years, until their emigration was approved – my brother and sister gave up and decided to stay.
My parents got old and didn’t have the courage anymore. They should have startedfrom the beginning there. Mom didn’t want to part with any child: „No one leaves. We stay together.
Someone got the approval, the other didn’t. We asked ourselves: “On what basis? How do they analyse these records?“ „Why does one get the approval and another onedoesn’t?“ All depended on the height of the police man. If he was small he couldn’t reach the high shelf, so the low shelf got the approval. This was a common joke. There was no logic in these approvals and denials. For instance I had a friend. She had three sisters.
The emigration of their father was approved, and the girls with their mother left only 15 or 20 years later, because they didn’t get the approval. Do you think they were the only ones? I happened to know other families, who experienced the same thing. I remember a young family, they were desperate... Both of them applied for emigration, but by the time of their appliance they weren’t married yet. Then they knew each other, got married, had a baby and then the approvals were offered.
He got the approval, but she didn’t. He left and she remained crying here with a little child, and after the war there were hard times: famine and other insufficiencies, and it was very difficult. I remember dialogues with our relatives from Israel who visited Romania. Before leaving the house I would say: „I’ll take a bag, maybe I’ll find someting.“ „What do you want to find? Can’t go to buy something?“ „Yes, I will buy, but first I have to find something to buy.“
A lot of people left for Israel around 1959-60. Afterwards rather infrequent. Eventually we remained here. My brother and sister wanted to study, to finish university and after that they didn’t want to get fired from their jobs. One wasafraid that in the end one would end up homeless.
The engineer and the physicist got approvalsespecially hard. After applying for emigration, they could have kept you waiting for three or four years and gradually demote you. Seeing that others were fired from their jobs and hired to do the hard jobs – they could be scavengers for ten years, until their emigration was approved – my brother and sister gave up and decided to stay.
My parents got old and didn’t have the courage anymore. They should have startedfrom the beginning there. Mom didn’t want to part with any child: „No one leaves. We stay together.
Period
Location
Iasi
Romania
Interview
Rosa Kaiserman