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Later Feri came home from Germany, and they had their civil wedding here. He was her fiancé all the time, he left as her fiancé. Juditka had a ring, it was a small silver ring, and a little heart on a chain hanging on it. Five years passed, and they had to wait a few months after the wedding, until they let Juditka go. The children of Judit were born there, in Germany. I was there at the birth of both children. Peter, the elder boy is twenty-seven years old, Andras is twenty-five.
It was quite complicated for Evike and her family to leave. Judit was already in Germany, but Evike and her husband couldn't just simply go to Germany. However, Evike, her mother being a Jew, could apply for going to Israel. First they studied Hebrew here, in Marosvasarhely. There was a lawyer here, who spoke the language well, and he accepted to teach them. They had to wait; they submitted the application for emigration, and of course the Securitate [19] kept under surveillance those who applied for emigration. I don't know after how much time they got the permit to go to Israel.
It was a very painful parting, because her elder daughter, Ivonne, was born here. They lived with us until the end, in the room which faces the yard, and they had the small room, the bathroom and the kitchen. Dorika, my poor sister was already retired, and after retirement it was her who cooked. I bought everything, I helped them, but in fact we did it together. The little girl, Ivonne was two and a half years old, she was a very sweet, nice little girl, she could already speak clearly.
They traveled to Bucharest by train, in a sleeping-car, and they flew to Israel from there. There they stayed with a relative. That family, poor them, lived in a small apartment, and they had two little children as well. When they arrived, they couldn't yet go to my cousin, because it was already organized that they would immediately be sent to a Hebrew language course, to the ulpan [20]. And they would have given them lodging and everything there. They said they wouldn't go to the ulpan, because they wouldn't stay in Israel.
They chose Germany, because the brother of Albi's [the son-in-law's] mother lived there with his family. They had been living there for a long time. Well, it didn't result in a scandal, but there was something... The matter dragged on for quite a long time in Israel, but finally they let them go. However, they assumed the obligation to repay Israel the expenses, because Israel paid for every person who emigrated there. They paid a considerable amount for a person Ceausescu [21] let go. I don't know what the exact amount was; Albi's uncle refunded the money for Israel, and thus they let them go. [Editor's note: Israel and Germany paid a certain amount to Romania for each emigrant. This amount was established on the basis of the emigrant's qualification and the position they had in Romania. They had to pay more for a person who had a university degree, than for a person who finished a professional school. From the end of the 1960s it cost Israel 3000 USD on average to 'buy' a Romanian Jew.]
They attended a language course in Germany for one year, and they got some aid too from the Germans, from the very beginning. First both Albi and Evike worked in a hospital. Evike got a job in a hospital for plastic surgery, and Albi in a medical department. Finally he became a radiologist. Ivonne will be twenty-five this November, and Clarika turned seventeen in May.
It was quite complicated for Evike and her family to leave. Judit was already in Germany, but Evike and her husband couldn't just simply go to Germany. However, Evike, her mother being a Jew, could apply for going to Israel. First they studied Hebrew here, in Marosvasarhely. There was a lawyer here, who spoke the language well, and he accepted to teach them. They had to wait; they submitted the application for emigration, and of course the Securitate [19] kept under surveillance those who applied for emigration. I don't know after how much time they got the permit to go to Israel.
It was a very painful parting, because her elder daughter, Ivonne, was born here. They lived with us until the end, in the room which faces the yard, and they had the small room, the bathroom and the kitchen. Dorika, my poor sister was already retired, and after retirement it was her who cooked. I bought everything, I helped them, but in fact we did it together. The little girl, Ivonne was two and a half years old, she was a very sweet, nice little girl, she could already speak clearly.
They traveled to Bucharest by train, in a sleeping-car, and they flew to Israel from there. There they stayed with a relative. That family, poor them, lived in a small apartment, and they had two little children as well. When they arrived, they couldn't yet go to my cousin, because it was already organized that they would immediately be sent to a Hebrew language course, to the ulpan [20]. And they would have given them lodging and everything there. They said they wouldn't go to the ulpan, because they wouldn't stay in Israel.
They chose Germany, because the brother of Albi's [the son-in-law's] mother lived there with his family. They had been living there for a long time. Well, it didn't result in a scandal, but there was something... The matter dragged on for quite a long time in Israel, but finally they let them go. However, they assumed the obligation to repay Israel the expenses, because Israel paid for every person who emigrated there. They paid a considerable amount for a person Ceausescu [21] let go. I don't know what the exact amount was; Albi's uncle refunded the money for Israel, and thus they let them go. [Editor's note: Israel and Germany paid a certain amount to Romania for each emigrant. This amount was established on the basis of the emigrant's qualification and the position they had in Romania. They had to pay more for a person who had a university degree, than for a person who finished a professional school. From the end of the 1960s it cost Israel 3000 USD on average to 'buy' a Romanian Jew.]
They attended a language course in Germany for one year, and they got some aid too from the Germans, from the very beginning. First both Albi and Evike worked in a hospital. Evike got a job in a hospital for plastic surgery, and Albi in a medical department. Finally he became a radiologist. Ivonne will be twenty-five this November, and Clarika turned seventeen in May.
Period
Location
Romania
Interview
Magda Fazekas