I went to visit some friends in Israel in 1982, they paid for the trip and for my stay there. Not all of us could leave, meaning I couldn’t leave with my sisters, as there was no one who could take care of the house while we were away. I had a good time there, but I didn’t like the inhabitants, I mean their outlook on things. They are educated differently: they are all to themselves, individualist. I was thrilled by the state of Israel, but not by its inhabitants as well. This is generally speaking, but I was very impressed by my friends. My friends were from Braila. I stayed with several of them: at Felicia Wender’s and wherever I was invited, for I stayed there for 3 months. I traveled then more than they themselves had until then, despite the fact they were there for many years. They took me everywhere and I saw some very beautiful places. They invited me again on several occasions, but I didn’t go as I couldn’t leave my sisters alone here, even though they urged me to go. I was in charge of supplies and they were in charge of housekeeping.
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Displaying 47581 - 47610 of 50826 results
Silo Oberman
I felt joy when the state of Israel was constituted, as it was somewhat of a fulfilled dream.
I never had to hide my Jewish origin, neither at the workplace, nor anywhere else. I didn’t have political beliefs, neither in favor of communism, nor against it after it was over, meaning my beliefs didn’t change at all when Stalin died. We were informed about what was happening in the Soviet Union; I read literature, I kept myself up-to-date, but I couldn’t say I had an anti-Stalinist attitude after the Stalinist period.
We had a very nice tenant in the back of the house, her husband died. He was a member of the Communist Party, but we got along very well. She pays as much as she wants, for that was our arrangement. We have a tenant who pays rent living on the ground floor for 35 years, but he doesn’t pay us large sums of money.
For instance, when refugee Jews came from Bessarabia we offered some poor souls a place to live without asking any rent from them; they were crossing our country on their way to Israel.
Romania
We are the only ones who live upstairs, and we had some tenants living downstairs who didn’t pay rent for 5 years after the house was returned to us. We weren’t used to our parents’ evacuating someone from the house, even if they didn’t pay the rent.
This house of ours that we had from our grandparents and which was built with many hardships was a real nuisance for us. I even have documents stating that my father paid a lot of money for the house my mother had received as her dowry. Instead of it being an advantage, he had to work to pay the installments at the land credit, for otherwise the house would have been sold as it was mortgaged.
Life was hard after 1950 as we lived on small salaries and we had to support our ailing parents as well. We didn’t lead a wealthy life. Our house had been taken from us, and we were glad they had seized it as we couldn’t cover the maintenance costs from what we gained by renting it to tenants, for the rents were limited by state regulations.
During communism, agricultural work was unavoidable, and I went to help transport corn. As head of the department for labor organization, I was forced to assign a person or two who should go to the gathering of corn, but in order not to send my female subordinates, I volunteered and went instead of them. None of them was Jewish, but we got along very well as they were nice team players.
Those were the only problems. I wasn’t a member of the Communist Party, nor of any other party. I didn’t oppose the system, I wasn’t a dissident, but looked after my professional career. I didn’t enter politics despite being asked to do so, I was promised a director’s position, but I said I wasn’t interested.
Afterwards, I worked at the Popular Art Cooperative, in the rugs department, still as head of the planning department, and then I worked at the Onwards Cooperative. The people in Bucharest noticed me and sent me to Arad, as instructor in that branch. They noticed me for doing my job well in the Ministry of Foods Industry too, and I also received a diploma, I was awarded a 10. I lectured both in Cluj and in Oradea when I was working for the Ministry of Foods Industry. I held special courses in Arad about the standardization of work, where they sent people from Bucharest and from across the country. I attended those lectures myself for 2 months.
I worked at the “Zimbrul” Oil Factory in Braila. It was first called “Sezonov,” then “Zimbrul,” then it merged with the “Prutul” Factory in Galati and I worked there as well, I commuted to Galati. I worked as head of the planning and labor organization department. For there I had an argument as well with A., accountant-in-chief, who was a high-class thief. He was fresh out of jail and didn’t have anything else to eat. He was accountant-in-chief at “Prutul,” but they caught him with big dilapidations, and, out of compassion, I talked to the director and said we should hire him, as I was in charge of labor organization; but after we hired him he was bent only on tricks. He wanted us to build a canteen. I didn’t have a head for business. He hired a worker to do some self-administered repairs, and he wanted to take his share of the money as well. Yet he didn’t like the fact that he had to go through me for every job. I told him that if we administered the repairs ourselves, “This costs that much, that costs that much, and we need a cost estimate” and thus I inconvenienced him in his affairs. And then, as I was commuting I would sometimes arrive late at work, and he convinced the director and filed a complaint to the effect they should terminate my employment contract. I took them to court and it was a whole story as I was unemployed for about 8 months, and I won in the end. The law stated that during these months you were entitled to only a salary and a half. I won, and the amount was to be paid by the director. The legal system decided in my favor. He brought the syndicate to court, for it was fine and dandy with those from the syndicate who received gifts. This was during the days after Ana Pauker’s regime [10], a period of communism favorable to the persecution of Jews, just as the period of the legionnaires had been. That’s when I had to face anti-Semitism. It was a rough time, and many Jews were leaving to Israel. For instance, the former engineer-in-chief, who worked there at the same time as I did, hauled sacks on his back for having filed an official request for permission to leave to Israel.
Melanie graduated high school in private and then worked at the Oil Factory, and then she worked as a rate-setter in the local industry, which is now called “Mozaic,” and that’s where she retired from.
Romania
Afterwards, she was a remarkable teacher of mathematics, even though she couldn’t go to the faculty, still because of racial persecutions. She was a self-taught woman. She is listed in the monograph of Murgoci High School. She worked in the educational system and then retired as there was too much patriotic work to be done and the pay was small and it was more profitable to give private lessons to pupils. She paid her due taxes to the Financial Department. She had 4-5 pupils and could barely meet the demand. Had she had 5 times as much spare time as she had, she would have earned very well. She also taught pupils for admission to the faculty. She also tutored the sons of Mr. Andrei Niculescu, the former principal of Murgoci High School. There were hundreds of remarkable pupils. All those who had a good financial situation asked my sister to tutor their children. When she was of retirement age, she retired from the Handicrafts Cooperative, where she paid very small contributions and now, after all the raises, she receives 1 million lei as retirement pension [100 RON in the recently adopted Romanian currency], after 20 years of working as a teacher.
Romania
Beatrice, my elder sister, graduated the High School for Girls, now Murgoci High School. She also studied at Sancta Maria.
We weren’t educated in the spirit of marrying only Jewish people. Such were the circumstances that when I was about to get married the period of hardship commenced and marriage was the last thing on my mind. We were in dire straits and we couldn’t afford to take someone else to look after, given the fact that we had no jobs and no material means. It was one hardship after another. It was the same for my sisters, and they didn’t marry either.
Romania
My parents were almost taken out of the house and evacuated to somewhere else, to Brailita. Owing to some good, Christian friends, the Margarit family – he was a judge –, who worked at the National Center for Romanization, we were saved and didn’t move anymore, which is to say we stayed here, but under very difficult circumstances. We didn’t even have bread, for father didn’t have a job anymore for no Jew could be employed any longer. And what could they do to earn their living… They sold things from the house and the circumstances were very trying. Especially since we were forced to pay military taxes during the war, provide items for the front. We had to give bed linen, blankets that we bought in stores. We sold other things from the house so that we could buy them. You were convicted if you didn’t provide these things. I owed military taxes and I couldn’t pay the military tax on time and at a certain point a former classmate of mine from primary school came to our house and found one of my suits of clothes, which hadn’t even been worn once. He confiscated it to be sold. He worked for the internal revenue department, in the financial department, at the Tax Collector’s Office, as it was then called, and he wanted to sell my only suit.
Those who were weaker, those who were administrators and employed were forced to give statements, lest they were removed from their jobs. They were hunting those with certain sins: one was released from jail after being convicted because he couldn’t account for some money in the bookkeeping registers, another had done I don’t know what. They couldn’t find anything to hold against me as I did my duty at work, at the Onwards Cooperative. For instance, the president of the cooperative wanted to see me: “Someone from the Department of Labor is here to see you.” They sent someone from that department who worked for the Securitate and he asked me as an introduction: “How many workers are employed here?” and then approached entirely different subjects.
I couldn’t get ahead in my career after August 23, 1944 [8]. Still, I was head of a department, but I was under very strict supervision because of my little-bourgeois origin. For instance, the Securitate came to force me to become an informer. They even gave me a nickname, Trandafirescu. I had to go to Jewish funerals. And they also came on another occasion and told me: “Your friend Crisan will receive his brother’s visit from Israel. You are to tell us exactly what he said and did.” And I was enraged and at various meetings I told them: “I don’t know this, I don’t know that.” They even took me to a house for secret meetings and I was baffled. In order for them to let him keep his house, the town’s mayor, Tomulescu, had to establish a place for secret meetings. He used to call me on the phone and tell me: “I’ll meet you at the corner of the Catholic Church, for the boss wants to meet you.” He lived on Cetatii St. The boss met me, and of course the tape-recorder was on and he asked me this, that, but I informed on absolutely no one. At a certain point, they asked me: “What did Crisan, your friend, do?” “You should know I won’t sell my friends!
I was arrested in 1942 as someone denounced me. All Jews performed forced labor and I worked at the Military Bakery as a porter. I hauled sacks of wheat flour, I kneaded dough, for I was also a baker at a certain point in my life. One night, they came to look for me at around 3 A.M. They searched the house and took me to the police station. They also arrested someone who worked for the national railway company on that occasion, who was a front-ranking Communist, indeed. His name was Popescu and he was the father of Tudor Popescu, a university professor. They also arrested a boxer, Zinopol, me, and many others.
I had the good fortune to escape punishment, for we were still headed for the Court Martial to be convicted for imaginary communist activity. Tudor Popescu was a colleague and friend of Antonescu, and then they made a phone call to Bucharest from the Police Precinct in Braila (which was located on Calarasi St., where the Commercial Bank now stands), to the effect that the entire lot be released. It was the disposition issued by the vice-president of the council of ministers, for that’s how it was called back then, for he was the assistant of marshal Antonescu and that’s how I escaped in 1942 as well. I escaped being court-martialed twice, without being guilty of anything and without having any communist activity.
I had the good fortune to escape punishment, for we were still headed for the Court Martial to be convicted for imaginary communist activity. Tudor Popescu was a colleague and friend of Antonescu, and then they made a phone call to Bucharest from the Police Precinct in Braila (which was located on Calarasi St., where the Commercial Bank now stands), to the effect that the entire lot be released. It was the disposition issued by the vice-president of the council of ministers, for that’s how it was called back then, for he was the assistant of marshal Antonescu and that’s how I escaped in 1942 as well. I escaped being court-martialed twice, without being guilty of anything and without having any communist activity.
The son of Vasile Bancila, the famous philosophy professor, was a genuine legionnaire [Editor’s note: Vasile Bancila (b. 1897, Braila – d. 1979), Romanian philosopher, pedagogue and essayist.] He was visiting a classmate whose name was Heins Rottenberg and they caught him. They asked him: “Where are the Communist manifestos?” But he was a scoffer by nature and directed them to dig in the courtyard. He said: “They are buried there,” then “Wait, no, they are buried here…” They found “compromising evidence,” as that man played the piano. He was from a bourgeois family and they found “Serenade” by Moskovski, who was a music composer in his days, but as they were so “brimming” with musical culture they said Moskovski was something compromising.
The others were sent to concentration camps, at Vapniarka [Editor’s note: in Transnistria], some didn’t return, others came back sick with lathyrism, as they gave them fodder sweet peas to eat. I was a friend of and grew up with Lica Stefan, who was among that lot made up of those who were found home and arrested, despite having no Communist activity. Then he was taken to Vapniarka. L. Stefan ran the newspaper “Inainte” [Onwards] in Braila. He was then an editor for the “Informatia Bucurestiului” [Bucharest Information], and he died in Bucharest, as he had been to Vpniarka and contracted lathyrism.
The legionnaires came to power in 1940, in September, and they came to search my house on November 7, they came to arrest me. I wasn’t at home. This Raducanu was a big chief at the Police Precinct, as it was called back then, and that’s how he sent men over to perform these searches. All young Jews who were found were arrested and convicted to be tried by the Martial Court for their imaginary Communist activity. I had no Communist activity, but they called us Communist Jews based on the mere fact that we were Jewish. There was a newspaper then, called “Porunca Vremii” (the Times’ Commandment) and it promoted anti-Jewish propaganda. Just as well, we were also called Plutocrat Jews or Masonic Jews. That was the formula, nationalistic and false, for I was neither a Plutocrat Jew, nor did I belong to the ranks of the very wealthy, nor was I a member of any Communist organization. But being a Jew was synonymous with being a Communist. And then they sent people to find me, but I was fortunate they didn’t find me as I was in the port in my uncle’s office, who also had a bridge there. I hid for a month as they patrolled in the area around our house in order to find me. I hid at my father’s sister’s place and my uncle’s place, Maurice, on Pomilor St. I stayed there locked indoors as they were looking for me day after day. Not to mention the fact that wardrobes, mattresses were being turned upside down at home. They didn’t know where I was hiding.
I didn’t know this Raducanu in person, and he didn’t know I saved his life, either. Among others, he sent them to bring me in as well. A citizen, Suli Goldenberg, was beaten and they pummeled his chin with a revolver to give away the place where I was hiding. And this is how a whole series of legionnaires were sent after Jews. There were the blood brotherhoods whose members walked around the city wearing capes from a traditional fabric, with a large cross on the back. They were free at the time, and they had revolvers. They were idealistic young people, for there was a strong pro-legionary trend in those days.
They didn’t find me and that’s how I survived. All those who were found were put inside the cellars of today’s National Bank. Mr. Wolf was caught and he was beaten until he fainted. [Editor’s note: Reference is made here to Max Wolf, Centropa interviewed him as well.] After you regained consciousness, they beat you again and then they splashed buckets of water on you. Back then there were 2 police structures: the official police and legionary police. That’s where they kept the Jews. I was fortunate I wasn’t home at the time and I got away.
I didn’t know this Raducanu in person, and he didn’t know I saved his life, either. Among others, he sent them to bring me in as well. A citizen, Suli Goldenberg, was beaten and they pummeled his chin with a revolver to give away the place where I was hiding. And this is how a whole series of legionnaires were sent after Jews. There were the blood brotherhoods whose members walked around the city wearing capes from a traditional fabric, with a large cross on the back. They were free at the time, and they had revolvers. They were idealistic young people, for there was a strong pro-legionary trend in those days.
They didn’t find me and that’s how I survived. All those who were found were put inside the cellars of today’s National Bank. Mr. Wolf was caught and he was beaten until he fainted. [Editor’s note: Reference is made here to Max Wolf, Centropa interviewed him as well.] After you regained consciousness, they beat you again and then they splashed buckets of water on you. Back then there were 2 police structures: the official police and legionary police. That’s where they kept the Jews. I was fortunate I wasn’t home at the time and I got away.
We were persecuted. He whom you won’t let die won’t let you live – I had a mishap to that effect. Namely, I was stationed in the front area in 1940. Nobody knew if we were going to be at war with Bulgaria and we were sent out in the Cadrilater area. I was a military clerk in 1939 when I did my military service, namely a secretary for the 1st Company. I was very good friends with a military comrade, Leopold Voica, a Czech, his literary pseudonym was L. Voicu. He was published after August 23, 1944 [8] in the magazine “Orizonturi” (Horizons). He was also a war correspondent, which is to say that after we, Jews, were kicked out of the army, he was a correspondent for the newspaper “Currentul” during the war, which newspaper was run by pamfil Seicaru, and he wrote columns from the front line. The day before leaving for the front line, Armand Calinescu was assassinated by the legionnaires. [Editor’s note: Armand Călinescu (1893 – September 21, 1939) was a Romanian economist and politician, who served as Prime Minister between March 1939 and the time of his death]. And then, a circular letter was issued throughout the country to the effect that legionnaires be shot and placed on display in public squares, it was a measure issued by Gabriel Marinescu, minister of internal affairs. The assigned task for Braila was to shoot 5 legionnaires. Among these legionnaires was a certain Raducanu, whom I didn’t meet. The previous year, when he was in the army, he had been caught distributing legionnaires’ manifestos and sentenced for his activity as a legionnaire. So he was on the list of the Security, for that was the name of Securitate in those days [9], State Security. And so, this Raducanu was among the 5. Some of them were shot in Braila, among whom was a mattress maker, but they couldn’t find this Raducanu. He fled the regiment where he did his military service and wasn’t found anymore, he fled and couldn’t be found.
My friend came, he was the battalion’s clerk, which outranked the company, and told me: “What should I do, Silo, look, Raducanu came to my office asking me to hide him. He’s like a rat in a trap and it’s a shame, for we’re talking about a man’s life. Hide him!” It was crazy in those days, there was a full military mobilization, for we were leaving for the front the following day. My friend had a degree in Law, but he was very fearful citizen by nature. He trusted me. I told him: “Look Poldi – for that’s how I called him –, but what if they catch me?” “They won’t catch you, can’t you see how crazy things are…” There were orders for military mobilization back then, they were aired in the press, on the radio, and we had to enlist. We said that we were leaving the following day and we hid him, and thus they didn’t find him.
My friend came, he was the battalion’s clerk, which outranked the company, and told me: “What should I do, Silo, look, Raducanu came to my office asking me to hide him. He’s like a rat in a trap and it’s a shame, for we’re talking about a man’s life. Hide him!” It was crazy in those days, there was a full military mobilization, for we were leaving for the front the following day. My friend had a degree in Law, but he was very fearful citizen by nature. He trusted me. I told him: “Look Poldi – for that’s how I called him –, but what if they catch me?” “They won’t catch you, can’t you see how crazy things are…” There were orders for military mobilization back then, they were aired in the press, on the radio, and we had to enlist. We said that we were leaving the following day and we hid him, and thus they didn’t find him.
On the orders of Hitler, a census was conducted to count the numbers of those of Jewish descent, with Auschwitz as destination, meaning they were inventorying all those of Jewish descent. At the time when the census was conducted, in 1942, there were still around 5075 Jewish people. Among them was Mrs. Enachescu as well (the mother of Dan Enachescu, former minister of health) [Editor’s note: Minister of health between January 8 – June 28, 1990 in the Petre Roman Government, which was a council of ministers that governed Romania during December 26, 1989 – June 28, 1990. http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guvernul_Petre_Roman_(1)]; she was married to colonel Enachescu who was the head of the Military Hospital in Braila. There was also the father of the poet Mihail Crama. [Editor’s note: Mihail Crama (1923-1994), literary pseudonym of Eugen Enachescu, is the known award-winner of the Royal Foundations Award (Penitent Scenery, 1947) and of the Romanian Academy, the Mihai Eminescu Award for the anthology Evening Kingdom, 1979]. The latter, being a poet, wrote a romanced account of the legionnaires’ rebellion in Braila, in the novel “Forgotten Loneliness.” Among those inventoried in Braila was the mother of the lawyer Tino as well, Paulina Berman, who was of Jewish origin. There was also a prefect of Braila, the lawyer Varnaf, whose wife was Jewish.
There was a whole series of interdictions. We were allowed to receive medical care only from Jewish physicians. My family had a family physician: doctor Schor. This started in 1937 during the Goga-Cuza regime [6]. There was the royal dictatorship of Carol II [7], who promoted a pro-German policy, even though Elena Lupescu was his unofficial wife. [Editor’s note: The woman was Elena Magda Lupescu, daughter of a Christianized Jew. Carol met her in 1922. She was known under various names, including Lupeasca or Duduia – the latter was the one by which Carol used to address her.] That was his political maneuver, and then the Goga-Cuza regime took away our citizenship and we had to reclaim it afterwards. Then they revised all the people who were granted Romanian citizenship. There were both Romanian and Jewish stores, and Jewish stores had to place a sign in the window, reading “Romanian Store.
Romania
Hitler’s rise to power had outcomes that we know all too well. We felt these effects, as Jews were allowed to go to the market only after 10 o’clock, our bread ratios were reduced by half, we weren’t allowed to have radios or bicycles.
For instance, the Macabi Jewish Sports Organization, which had branches in many cities, took part in the parade on May 10th. Nowadays, the organization has been revived in Braila as well. It was representative back then, and one of a kind in those days, in the 1930’s. The headquarters of this organization, “Macabi,” was on Mihail Sebastian Street, where there is now a wrestling hall. That building was built especially for the “Macabi” Organization.
There were military parades in Braila: on May 10th there were sumptuous parades that were organized along the main street. The grand stand was located on Calarasilor St., in front of the Prefect’s Office, which stood where the Faculty of Engineering stands nowadays, and the parade started there and continued past the Holy Archangels Kindergarten and along the main street called Regala (Royal) street, which was dreamlike. They simply ruined it afterwards, for nowadays’ architects went abroad and then came up with these “pies.” In days of yore, the street was exquisite. The tramlines went along the main street up to Obor, and there were acacia trees on both sides, along the sidewalk. It was a beauty. There were many acacia trees on Cuza Boulevard as well, and Mihail Sebastian nicknamed Braila “the City with acacias,” after the street of his childhood, the Cuza Boulevard. These acacia trees are gone as well.
During my childhood, electricity and running water weren’t available in the entire city, but only in parts of it, it depended on the neighborhood. There were neighborhoods at the outskirts of the city where there was no electricity or running water: in Dorobanti, in Mihai Bravu, lighting was mostly done using gas lamps.