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I went to Spain when I was 20. How did I decide to go to Spain? Well, when I finished school I started working at an office writing letters in French. This was quite a big firm that was doing ‘commission importation’. It was called Rotterman. That was my first job. I was doing the correspondence in French with firms abroad. There was another friend there, Jak Behar, from Kuzguncuk [a district on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus where Jews used to live] who was doing the correspondence in German. One day, we were talking and thinking out loud: “shall we go somewhere? Where can we go? Where shall we go? Shall we go to France? Where?...” We were dreaming of travelling. Then one day my friend came and said: “Shall we go to Spain?” and I said: “Yes, let’s go”. So we decided to go to Spain, find a job there and settle down. Of course, our families started protesting: “Why do you want to go there? You don’t know anyone there etc. etc.” But we were decided and did not budge. Then one day my friend came and said: “Hey, look, they are putting a lot of pressure on me at home, let’s not go”. However, this was the 1930s and everybody was talking about an imminent war and that Turkey would also go to war; so everyone was afraid really, and that’s how I managed to convince my own parents. My friend’s father did not give up though; one day he came and told us: “My boys, where are you going? What are you going to do there? Come, let me find you a good job. Come with me, there is a tin can factory; I’ll buy it for you, and then you won’t have to go”. We said “No”, then my friend’s father said: “Come, there is a fabric knitting atelier on sale, I’ll buy it for you, don’t go”. But I said: “No, my mind is set, I’ll go”. So he had to accept our decision. There was another Jewish family from Kuzguncuk, who had already gone to Spain. We said we would go to them and that is how we were finally able to convince both families. I went to get a passport, but I was a bit scared that maybe they wouldn’t give me a passport, but they did.
We left for Spain in 1934. We went to Barcelona. We went by boat. We had the address of a restaurant with us. It was in fact, a kind of café and they served lunch and dinner. The owner of the restaurant was a Jew from Greece, I think from Salonica. So we went to this restaurant and told the owner that we had just arrived and needed somewhere to sleep. He called someone called Joseppe and told him to go and ask a certain lady if she had rooms available. Joseppe went and came back saying that she did, so we took our bags and took the rooms in that hostel. That’s how we started to stay there. As for money, I remember that I went to Spain with 50 liras. One peseta was then 50 kurush [100 kurush is one lira], so 50 liras was not a lot of money but it was OK for a while.
At first, we started to sell textile products at open markets and observed what others were doing. Most people were doing this kind of business, so we learned it too, and started doing it. Then I started doing painting work. I was painting ties. My friend couldn’t do this work, so he returned to Turkey after one year. I was alone then. I stayed in Spain for 2.5 years. Then there was a revolution during Franco’s time [Spanish Civil War, 1936-39]. Franco was in the government and the communists started a revolution. This revolution lasted long years. At first they weren’t doing anything to the people. I remember that at that time the Olympic Games were going to be in Barcelona [1936], and my business had been thriving because I was painting ties for the Olympic Games. I was painting the 5 circles, the symbol of the Olympics on the ties. Then in Barcelona, the revolutionists won, the Olympic Games were cancelled, all business stopped and I had to leave. I went to France on a British ship. The British had sent warships to Barcelona to get all the foreigners out. They only took the foreigners who wanted to leave, but they did not take the Spanish. That is how I was able to leave. The ship was going from Barcelona to Marseilles. So I packed my bags and went to the port. I presented my passport and went on board.
Let me tell you about a small incident that happened while I was on that ship. When I first boarded the ship, I went to the dining room of the soldiers, or rather sailors. I sat at a table and a sailor came and asked me something in English. I didn’t know English at that time. I thought he was asking me if I wanted something to eat, so I said “Yes”, one of the few words in English that I knew at the time. Then I waited and waited and there was no food. So then I realized that he had asked if I had already eaten! Thankfully, they then said “Tea”, and brought some tea. I went to sleep after that. In the morning I woke up to complete silence on the ship. I got up quickly and looked for my bags, but they had disappeared, and so had everyone else. I saw that while I was sleeping another ship had come by and everyone had gone on that ship. Thank God it was still there so I was able to board it, too. Can you imagine, if I had slept a bit more, I would have been left behind. However, I lost one of my bags in that melée. It just disappeared. I don’t know what happened to it. The ship set off and arrived in Marseilles. My elder brother was in Marseilles then. When we arrived at the port, I heard someone calling “Izak Sharhon, Izak Sharhon”. I was very surprised. I had just arrived, who could know me there? Then I learned that the British government had let the Turkish Embassy know that one of their citizens was on board that ship and had told them to come and pick me up. So two officials from the consulate came looking for me, “Izak Sharhon”. I went to them and they asked me: “Are you Izak Sharhon? Come, let’s go”. I was given my suitcase (the one that was not lost) and my passport. Then the men from the consulate took me to the consulate in a taxi. Inside the taxi, they asked me how things were in Spain. As we were in France I spoke to them in French. They took me to a hotel near the consulate and I stayed there that night. I sent a telegram to my brother and told him I was in France. A few hours later I received a reply that said: “Don’t move, we are coming to get you”. When he said “we” he meant him and his partner. The men from the consulate asked if I had any money and I said that I only had Spanish money. They changed that money into francs. By the way, unfortunately, because of the revolution the Spanish peseta had lost all its value and all the money I had made during the years that I had worked there came to be worth near nothing. I lost everything because of the revolution. They also gave me some cards so that I would be able to board any trade ship that went to Turkey, but when my brother came in the morning, he took me to Avignon, where I stayed for a year. I didn’t do anything there. There was no work. So I waited for news from Istanbul. When my time for military service came, they let me know and I returned in around 1937 and did my military service.
We left for Spain in 1934. We went to Barcelona. We went by boat. We had the address of a restaurant with us. It was in fact, a kind of café and they served lunch and dinner. The owner of the restaurant was a Jew from Greece, I think from Salonica. So we went to this restaurant and told the owner that we had just arrived and needed somewhere to sleep. He called someone called Joseppe and told him to go and ask a certain lady if she had rooms available. Joseppe went and came back saying that she did, so we took our bags and took the rooms in that hostel. That’s how we started to stay there. As for money, I remember that I went to Spain with 50 liras. One peseta was then 50 kurush [100 kurush is one lira], so 50 liras was not a lot of money but it was OK for a while.
At first, we started to sell textile products at open markets and observed what others were doing. Most people were doing this kind of business, so we learned it too, and started doing it. Then I started doing painting work. I was painting ties. My friend couldn’t do this work, so he returned to Turkey after one year. I was alone then. I stayed in Spain for 2.5 years. Then there was a revolution during Franco’s time [Spanish Civil War, 1936-39]. Franco was in the government and the communists started a revolution. This revolution lasted long years. At first they weren’t doing anything to the people. I remember that at that time the Olympic Games were going to be in Barcelona [1936], and my business had been thriving because I was painting ties for the Olympic Games. I was painting the 5 circles, the symbol of the Olympics on the ties. Then in Barcelona, the revolutionists won, the Olympic Games were cancelled, all business stopped and I had to leave. I went to France on a British ship. The British had sent warships to Barcelona to get all the foreigners out. They only took the foreigners who wanted to leave, but they did not take the Spanish. That is how I was able to leave. The ship was going from Barcelona to Marseilles. So I packed my bags and went to the port. I presented my passport and went on board.
Let me tell you about a small incident that happened while I was on that ship. When I first boarded the ship, I went to the dining room of the soldiers, or rather sailors. I sat at a table and a sailor came and asked me something in English. I didn’t know English at that time. I thought he was asking me if I wanted something to eat, so I said “Yes”, one of the few words in English that I knew at the time. Then I waited and waited and there was no food. So then I realized that he had asked if I had already eaten! Thankfully, they then said “Tea”, and brought some tea. I went to sleep after that. In the morning I woke up to complete silence on the ship. I got up quickly and looked for my bags, but they had disappeared, and so had everyone else. I saw that while I was sleeping another ship had come by and everyone had gone on that ship. Thank God it was still there so I was able to board it, too. Can you imagine, if I had slept a bit more, I would have been left behind. However, I lost one of my bags in that melée. It just disappeared. I don’t know what happened to it. The ship set off and arrived in Marseilles. My elder brother was in Marseilles then. When we arrived at the port, I heard someone calling “Izak Sharhon, Izak Sharhon”. I was very surprised. I had just arrived, who could know me there? Then I learned that the British government had let the Turkish Embassy know that one of their citizens was on board that ship and had told them to come and pick me up. So two officials from the consulate came looking for me, “Izak Sharhon”. I went to them and they asked me: “Are you Izak Sharhon? Come, let’s go”. I was given my suitcase (the one that was not lost) and my passport. Then the men from the consulate took me to the consulate in a taxi. Inside the taxi, they asked me how things were in Spain. As we were in France I spoke to them in French. They took me to a hotel near the consulate and I stayed there that night. I sent a telegram to my brother and told him I was in France. A few hours later I received a reply that said: “Don’t move, we are coming to get you”. When he said “we” he meant him and his partner. The men from the consulate asked if I had any money and I said that I only had Spanish money. They changed that money into francs. By the way, unfortunately, because of the revolution the Spanish peseta had lost all its value and all the money I had made during the years that I had worked there came to be worth near nothing. I lost everything because of the revolution. They also gave me some cards so that I would be able to board any trade ship that went to Turkey, but when my brother came in the morning, he took me to Avignon, where I stayed for a year. I didn’t do anything there. There was no work. So I waited for news from Istanbul. When my time for military service came, they let me know and I returned in around 1937 and did my military service.
Location
Barcelona Barcelona
Spain
Interview
Izak Sarhon