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Even though I was very young at the time, I remember my father as very
caring and tender. When I was two years old I came down with whooping
cough. During this illness he was with me all the time, he even held my
head when the coughing made me throw up. He took me to Plinar because they
said that the air there helped reduce coughing. He was always laughing and
frequently carried me on his shoulders. His friends told me that he was the
favorite in their group. He was a good football player and a member of the
Hakoah football club.
My mother, Jelena Deutsch, was not a Jew. She was born in the village of
Martones, 30 kilometers from Subotica. Her father died in World War One and
her mother, Olga Vasic (nee Ziskov), died in 1919 from Spanish fever. My
mother and her sister, Olga, were raised by their grandfather. At age 14 my
mother came to work in Subotica. There she met my father. They dated for
five years but my grandmother opposed this relationship because Jelena was
not a Jew. When my father took ill, my mother took care of him, and only
then did my grandmother relent and agree that her son could marry a shiksa
(non-Jewish woman), as she called her. My mother made a great effort to
learn as much as possible about Judaism. From her mother-in-law she even
learned to cook Jewish food. Quickly, she acquired significant knowledge
about Judaism, and she raised me and educated me in this spirit. She was a
devoted wife and mother. She died in Subotica on September 30, 1985.
caring and tender. When I was two years old I came down with whooping
cough. During this illness he was with me all the time, he even held my
head when the coughing made me throw up. He took me to Plinar because they
said that the air there helped reduce coughing. He was always laughing and
frequently carried me on his shoulders. His friends told me that he was the
favorite in their group. He was a good football player and a member of the
Hakoah football club.
My mother, Jelena Deutsch, was not a Jew. She was born in the village of
Martones, 30 kilometers from Subotica. Her father died in World War One and
her mother, Olga Vasic (nee Ziskov), died in 1919 from Spanish fever. My
mother and her sister, Olga, were raised by their grandfather. At age 14 my
mother came to work in Subotica. There she met my father. They dated for
five years but my grandmother opposed this relationship because Jelena was
not a Jew. When my father took ill, my mother took care of him, and only
then did my grandmother relent and agree that her son could marry a shiksa
(non-Jewish woman), as she called her. My mother made a great effort to
learn as much as possible about Judaism. From her mother-in-law she even
learned to cook Jewish food. Quickly, she acquired significant knowledge
about Judaism, and she raised me and educated me in this spirit. She was a
devoted wife and mother. She died in Subotica on September 30, 1985.
Location
Serbia
Interview
Marika Krpez