Selected text
We, the Jewish students, belonged to two big groups that were almost each other's enemies. There was the communist sympathetic group and the Zionist group.
In the communist group there were two or three people who were serious underground communists, and the rest were just fake communists. With Zionism it was more serious: there were four or five youth organizations with different political colors. There was the Hashomer Hatzair [12] that was completely left wing. Then there was the Hanoah Hatzioni [13] and the Baricia, sort of central, and there was a completely right wing, revisionist group [see Revisionist Zionism] [14]. Part of the Jewish youth of Kolozsvar, the Zionist part, belonged to these four groups. I didn't belong to any of them.
The Zionists held meetings, seminars, where they dealt with the history of Zionism, and according to their political convictions the Hashomer Hatzair for example dealt with leftwing literature. I thought of myself as being a Zionist, but that was more a sentimental link to Palestine as our homeland, and I didn't read Zionist or other such literature. There was a theoretical tendency to emigrate, but there was nearly none in practice. There were Halutz communities - Halutz is a person who wants to emigrate. They applied for a place in such a community, moved there, learned farming and after a time were moved to Israel. There was no such community in the area of Kolozsvar. There were in the Kingdom [the Southern part of Romania] and in Bessarabia [15]. I don't know if there were any in Transylvania.
In the communist group there were two or three people who were serious underground communists, and the rest were just fake communists. With Zionism it was more serious: there were four or five youth organizations with different political colors. There was the Hashomer Hatzair [12] that was completely left wing. Then there was the Hanoah Hatzioni [13] and the Baricia, sort of central, and there was a completely right wing, revisionist group [see Revisionist Zionism] [14]. Part of the Jewish youth of Kolozsvar, the Zionist part, belonged to these four groups. I didn't belong to any of them.
The Zionists held meetings, seminars, where they dealt with the history of Zionism, and according to their political convictions the Hashomer Hatzair for example dealt with leftwing literature. I thought of myself as being a Zionist, but that was more a sentimental link to Palestine as our homeland, and I didn't read Zionist or other such literature. There was a theoretical tendency to emigrate, but there was nearly none in practice. There were Halutz communities - Halutz is a person who wants to emigrate. They applied for a place in such a community, moved there, learned farming and after a time were moved to Israel. There was no such community in the area of Kolozsvar. There were in the Kingdom [the Southern part of Romania] and in Bessarabia [15]. I don't know if there were any in Transylvania.
Period
Location
Cluj Napoca
Romania
Interview
Gyorgy Neufeld