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Since my husband was able to receive packages, for Purim I made kindle,
which he smuggled in to my cousin Mark Spiezer and to his brother who was
imprisoned as a communist in the other camp. Through my husband, I kept in
touch with them and with my sister Lilie. She wrote to him, and he sent me
news about her, and her, news about me.
1945 arrived, and with it, liberation. Now I needed to be patient to see
who would return. I was sure that my aunt Berta, who was very beautiful,
had survived. I knew that the Germans had houses for their entertainment. I
thought that maybe she had reached one of those houses and in that manner
would have been saved, but she did not. She was killed in 1942 in
Auschwitz.
I did not have the patience to wait for news from my sister, so I left my
daughter with my cousin Olga, and went to Subotica where there was a
reception camp for those that had returned from Hungary. They were unable
to give me any information, and I went towards Budapest with two Jews who
had returned from forced labor in the Bor copper mines and had family in
Hungary. We started off in a truck driven by a Russian who agreed to take
us for free. On the way I bought food and other necessities for my sister.
In Budapest I inquired at the military mission and received information
about my sister. You can imagine how excited we were to see one another.
However, she was unable to return immediately with me. She had to wait for
a regular transport so that she could receive the necessary documents. I
returned to Belgrade. On May 1st my sister and her good friend Vilma
arrived. They stayed with me in my apartment. Very quickly I found work,
and soon my husband arrived from captivity. The first thing my child said
when she saw her father was: "This is my father from the picture." While
the other members of the household worked outside the house, I became a
classic housewife. I cooked and cleaned for all of us. Soon Lilie and Vilma
moved out and got married, Lilie to a Jew named Djordje Alpar, Vilma to a
Serb. My husband was employed by the military, because while he was in the
camp he was active in anti-fascist work.
After liberation I was very active in the women's anti-fascist movement. In
1945 in the journal Politika there was an ad asking Jews who survived the
war to register. I immediately registered and began helping in the
community, forming a kitchen and a reception center. We cooked and did
laundry for those who returned from various camps and from the Bor mines.
which he smuggled in to my cousin Mark Spiezer and to his brother who was
imprisoned as a communist in the other camp. Through my husband, I kept in
touch with them and with my sister Lilie. She wrote to him, and he sent me
news about her, and her, news about me.
1945 arrived, and with it, liberation. Now I needed to be patient to see
who would return. I was sure that my aunt Berta, who was very beautiful,
had survived. I knew that the Germans had houses for their entertainment. I
thought that maybe she had reached one of those houses and in that manner
would have been saved, but she did not. She was killed in 1942 in
Auschwitz.
I did not have the patience to wait for news from my sister, so I left my
daughter with my cousin Olga, and went to Subotica where there was a
reception camp for those that had returned from Hungary. They were unable
to give me any information, and I went towards Budapest with two Jews who
had returned from forced labor in the Bor copper mines and had family in
Hungary. We started off in a truck driven by a Russian who agreed to take
us for free. On the way I bought food and other necessities for my sister.
In Budapest I inquired at the military mission and received information
about my sister. You can imagine how excited we were to see one another.
However, she was unable to return immediately with me. She had to wait for
a regular transport so that she could receive the necessary documents. I
returned to Belgrade. On May 1st my sister and her good friend Vilma
arrived. They stayed with me in my apartment. Very quickly I found work,
and soon my husband arrived from captivity. The first thing my child said
when she saw her father was: "This is my father from the picture." While
the other members of the household worked outside the house, I became a
classic housewife. I cooked and cleaned for all of us. Soon Lilie and Vilma
moved out and got married, Lilie to a Jew named Djordje Alpar, Vilma to a
Serb. My husband was employed by the military, because while he was in the
camp he was active in anti-fascist work.
After liberation I was very active in the women's anti-fascist movement. In
1945 in the journal Politika there was an ad asking Jews who survived the
war to register. I immediately registered and began helping in the
community, forming a kitchen and a reception center. We cooked and did
laundry for those who returned from various camps and from the Bor mines.
Location
Serbia
Interview
vera tomanic