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In December 1945 I got married. When I got married it was a time of great poverty. ‘Joint’ [22] gave out relief funds in the Jewish quarter. Clothes were distributed. For my wedding I was presented with trousers. The coat that matched the trousers was, however, given to another man. Then I went to him and explained to him that I would like to buy the coat as I was getting married. I begged him, and yet he didn’t agree. And so, I got married in an old coat.
My wife Berta [Pilosof, nee Konfort] was born in Dupnitsa. We knew each other since our youth. We were friends. She also studied at the Jewish school and later at the vocational school for seamstresses. She worked for a while as a seamstress at home. After that she went into trade and became a trade worker until her retirement.
My wife and I decided to stay here [in Dupnitsa]. My two little sisters left [for Israel]. One of them, Lizka, left as early as 1944. She got married in Sofia to a Jew, whose father was from Pirot, i.e. Serbia. So my brother-in-law’s name was Samuil Yakov, and he was considered a foreigner. The authorities were chasing him, but he had already married my sister and they had a child. He didn’t have much of a choice and together with my sister and the child they left for Palestine. My brother-in-law worked as a barber there. My other sister, Roza, left in 1951. She was married in Petrich [Southwestern Bulgaria]. She very much wanted to settle in Dupnitsa, but finally they decided to leave for Israel. Her husband’s name was Leon Levi and he was a tailor.
My wife Berta [Pilosof, nee Konfort] was born in Dupnitsa. We knew each other since our youth. We were friends. She also studied at the Jewish school and later at the vocational school for seamstresses. She worked for a while as a seamstress at home. After that she went into trade and became a trade worker until her retirement.
My wife and I decided to stay here [in Dupnitsa]. My two little sisters left [for Israel]. One of them, Lizka, left as early as 1944. She got married in Sofia to a Jew, whose father was from Pirot, i.e. Serbia. So my brother-in-law’s name was Samuil Yakov, and he was considered a foreigner. The authorities were chasing him, but he had already married my sister and they had a child. He didn’t have much of a choice and together with my sister and the child they left for Palestine. My brother-in-law worked as a barber there. My other sister, Roza, left in 1951. She was married in Petrich [Southwestern Bulgaria]. She very much wanted to settle in Dupnitsa, but finally they decided to leave for Israel. Her husband’s name was Leon Levi and he was a tailor.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Sabat Pilosof