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As soon as I got home from the concentration camp, a boy called Hersi Ilovits, Herman Ilovits started to court me. We spoke Romanian, as he didn’t speak Hungarian. He came from across the border [from Ukraine, from the east of the River Tisza], when this became a Hungarian lend [in 1940, after the Second Vienna Dictate] [3], he came here. This boy wasn’t religious after he came home [after the World War II]. He was a serious suitor, but I didn’t want to marry him, because we were almost the same age.
I thought one could not live on love. I didn’t know what he was doing for a living. He kept it secret. Since he was doing business with currency, and this was forbidden those times. I found this out when I got married. He came to me that day by fiacre, as there weren’t taxis then, in 1947, and he told me, ‘It doesn’t matter now, you are going to get married, but at least tell me why you didn’t want to marry me.’
‘Well – I said – only because we are the same age, I didn’t know from what could you support me, as a wife.’ The poor boy answered to this: ‘I thought of everything, except that you were afraid that I couldn’t ensure you bread and butter, I wouldn’t have thought of that.’ After that he took out a lot of money, and showed it to me.
He didn’t stay for the wedding, he left.
I thought one could not live on love. I didn’t know what he was doing for a living. He kept it secret. Since he was doing business with currency, and this was forbidden those times. I found this out when I got married. He came to me that day by fiacre, as there weren’t taxis then, in 1947, and he told me, ‘It doesn’t matter now, you are going to get married, but at least tell me why you didn’t want to marry me.’
‘Well – I said – only because we are the same age, I didn’t know from what could you support me, as a wife.’ The poor boy answered to this: ‘I thought of everything, except that you were afraid that I couldn’t ensure you bread and butter, I wouldn’t have thought of that.’ After that he took out a lot of money, and showed it to me.
He didn’t stay for the wedding, he left.
Period
Location
Maramarossziget
Romania
Interview
Golda Salamon