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Cedomir was the oldest of five children born to Serbian Orthodox parents. The Soraks lived in the multi-ethnic city of Sarajevo, the capital of the region of Bosnia. Cedomir's father, Milan, was an engineer employed by the Yugoslav state railways, and his Hungarian-born mother, Andjelija, was a housewife. 1933-39: The Sorak family moved to Zagreb after Cedomir's father was promoted to the position of assistant director of the rail system in the region of Croatia. He graduated from secondary school in 1938…
Milica was the fourth of nine children born to Serbian Orthodox landowners in the Croatian part of Yugoslavia. In 1922 Milica married Milan Kuhn, a Catholic Serb, in a Serbian Orthodox ceremony, and the couple moved to the Macedonian part of Yugoslavia, where Milan was working on hydroelectric projects. In 1932 the couple returned with their young daughter to live in northern Yugoslavia. 1933-39: The Kuhns lived in the city of Zrenjanin in the Vojvodina region where Milan worked as a hydroengineer…
Alice grew up in a Jewish family in Sarvar, Hungary, near the Austrian border. She had two younger brothers and an older sister. Her father worked for the family's carpet weaving and import/export business and was often away, traveling to their Budapest office. Alice's grandfather was a community leader and president of one of Sarvar's synagogues. 1933-39: Alice had a very special relationship with her grandfather. She admired him. People knew that they could always come to him for help of any kind. He…
One of four children, Ilona was born to religious Jewish parents living in the village of Erdobenye in the highlands of northeastern Hungary. The Karfunkel's house, on the village outskirts, had a large garden in the back and fruit orchards. Ilona's parents had a small vineyard and a little grocery store. Ilona married Ferenc Kalman, and the couple moved to Hatvan, 36 miles northeast of Budapest. 1933-39: Ilona and Ferenc have always considered themselves Hungarians who happened to be Jewish, and they've…
The younger of two daughters, Marta was raised by Hungarian-speaking Jewish parents in Kosice, a city in Slovakia. Marta attended a Jewish elementary school. Her father ran a small grocery store. 1933-39: After Marta finished elementary school, she began secondary school. The language of instruction was Slovak and Jews faced no discrimination until November 1938 when Hungarian troops marched into southern Slovakia. With Germany's blessing, Kosice became part of Hungary and was renamed Kassa. Their new…
The second of two children, Andras was born to Jewish parents living in a suburb of Budapest. His father was a pharmacist. The Muhlrads lived in a large house with Andras' grandfather and aunts. As a toddler, Andras often played with his older sister, Eva, and their cousins in the big yard behind their home. 1933-39: Andras was 4 when his family moved to their own apartment. It was 1936 when he began primary school and Hitler had already been in power in Nazi Germany for three years. At night his father…
Jeno was the youngest of five children born to Jewish parents living in a suburb of Budapest. His father was a wholesale merchant who sold beer to restaurants and stores. After receiving a university diploma, Jeno became a pharmacist. He and his wife, Aranka, and their two children, Eva and Andras, shared a large old house in Ujpest with Jeno's father and other members of the extended family. 1933-39: Jeno's friends and family have helped him raise the large amount of money he needs to lease his own…
Malvin and her eight brothers and sisters were born to religious Jewish parents in the small town of Buj in northeastern Hungary. The family later moved to the village of Zalkod, where Malvin's father ran a general store. The Katz family lived in a sprawling farmhouse with a large garden and fruit orchards. Malvin married Sandor Fried, the brother of her sister Sadie's husband, Hermon. 1933-39: Malvin's oldest sister, Sadie, who immigrated to the United States many years ago, has come home for a visit.…
The fourth of five children, Kato was born to a Jewish family who owned a successful furniture store and lumberyard in Ujpest, five miles from Budapest. As a young girl, Kato enjoyed singing and playing the violin in her family "orchestra" in their large home. She was also athletic, and loved to swim, bicycle and play tennis. Best of all, Kato enjoyed rowing on the Danube with her friends. 1933-39: Newly married, Kato moved to Zagyvapalfalva, a town northeast of Budapest with only five or six Jewish…
Judith was the only child born to a Jewish couple who lived in Hatvan, a small town 36 miles northeast of Budapest. Judith's father worked in his brother's business, marketing grains and other agricultural products purchased from local farms. When she was 3, Judith gave her first public recitation of poetry, an interest that she pursued throughout her childhood. 1933-39: Judith's family wasn't religious--they were Hungarians who happened to be Jewish, and their family was well-liked in Hatvan. But in the…
The youngest of eight children, Helen was born and raised in a religious Jewish family living in a town in northeastern Hungary. She was the "baby" of the family and the focus of everyone's hopes and affection. Although her Hebrew name was Hannah, her family called her by her nickname, Potyo, which meant "the dear little one." 1933-39: Helen liked school, but was afraid because some of the kids and teachers hated Jews. There was talk that there might be a war. Her mother wanted them to leave Hungary…
Magda was the oldest of two children born to observant Jewish parents. They lived in Satoraljaujhely, a town in northeastern Hungary on the Czechoslovakian border. Jews represented some 20 percent of the town's approximately 18,000 persons. Magda's father owned a bakery; her mother was a midwife. 1933-39: At 10 years of age, Magda began accompanying her mother when she attended to births nearby. Her mother helped all women--Jews, Roma (Gypsies) and peasants in the surrounding villages. When Magda was 12,…
Reidar was the third of four sons born to religious Lutheran parents in a small seafaring and whaling town along the Norwegian coast. Reidar's father was a civil servant. Reidar attended public school and dreamed of becoming a musician. 1933-39: Although Reidar was not interested in politics, he sympathized with his Jewish neighbors who had come as refugees from Germany. In fall 1939 he was saddened when Germany attacked Poland and the USSR attacked Finland. Several days later, his oldest brother passed…
Known as Monek, Martin was the elder of two children raised by Jewish parents in the large town of Tarnow. His mother was an American citizen who had been raised in Poland. His father worked at the city's tax office. As a child, Martin liked to collect stamps and catch lizards. His parents wanted him to be a pharmacist, but he wanted to be an artist when he grew up. 1933-39: When the Germans occupied Tarnow in September 1939 after war began, Martin was 10 years old. The soldiers, in beautiful uniforms,…
Wolfgang was the only son of observant Jewish parents living in Berlin. Though trained as a mechanical engineer, Wolfgang's father ran a wholesale kerchief and handkerchief business that he had taken over from his father-in-law. Wolfgang's family lived in an apartment above the business. They enjoyed vacationing at their country home in Neuenhagen, a suburb of Berlin. 1933-39: Wolfgang began school when he was 5; that year Hitler was named leader of Germany. Every morning they had to sing three songs: the…
Jenine was the younger of two daughters born to Jewish parents. They lived in a small city with a large Jewish population in central Moldavia. Her father, a veteran of World War I, came from a large family and Jenine had more than 15 aunts and uncles, all living in Bacau. This extended family helped raise Jenine and her sister Sofia while their parents ran a grocery store. 1933-39: Just like every child her age, Jenine belonged to a national youth organization headed by Prince Michael. They wore special…
Paul was one of three children born to Jewish parents. They lived in a small city with a large Jewish population in central Moldavia. Paul's Ukrainian-born father had been stationed in Romania during World War I, and chose to remain there rather than return to Ukraine after the 1917 Russian Revolution. 1933-39: Paul's household observed the Jewish holidays. He loved Passover with its special meals and the opportunity to show off new clothes. On the radio his family heard about the Nazis in Germany; in…
Matvey was the youngest of three children born to a Jewish family. The Gredingers lived in the town of Vertujeni, which was located in Bessarabia, a region of Romania. His father was a kosher butcher, preparing meat, especially chicken, for sale in his kosher shop. Matvey attended a Jewish school where he studied Jewish history and Hebrew. 1933-39: The Gredingers heard stories from other towns about antisemitic groups, especially the League of National Christian Defense, harassing and sometimes attacking…
Eva was one of three children born to Jewish parents in Vertujeni, a Bessarabian town that was 90 percent Jewish. Eva attended a public school. Her family was religious, attending synagogue every day. Eva's father made his living as a kosher butcher, preparing chicken according to Jewish dietary laws. 1933-39: In 1936, when Eva was 15 years old, her family moved to Vysoka, where she later got a job as a seamstress. Vysoka was very different from her hometown. There were only about 15 Jewish families in…
Edith's village of Kriesciatik was located on the border between Romania and Poland. Her Jewish parents owned a large ranch where they raised cattle and grew sugar beets. They also owned a grocery store. Edith had a brother, Jacob, and a sister, Martha. At home the family spoke Yiddish and German, and Edith learned Romanian after she began school. 1933-39: Edith's village was by a river, and she spent summer days by the water with her friends, swimming and playing. Her mother would pack her bread and…
Max was raised in the Romanian town of Radauti, a trading and woodworking center near the Ukrainian border. The Gutmanns had a traditional Jewish home, and Max's father was on the board of directors of the local Jewish community. Max's father dealt in grain, feed, and livestock and he was a purveyor of horses for the Romanian military. 1933-39: Max's pony, Lisa, was kept in his family's stables with the other horses. The secondary school he attended was semi-private; it was governed by the state, but each…
Erika was born in Znojmo, a town in the Czech region of Moravia with a Jewish community dating back to the 13th century. Her father was a respected attorney and an ardent Zionist who hoped to immigrate with his family to Palestine. In 1931 the Neumans moved to Stanesti, a town in the Romanian province of Bukovina, where Erika's paternal grandparents lived. 1933–39: In Stanesti, Erika attended the public school as well as the Hebrew school, which her father had helped to found. She loved to play with her…
Maria was born to a poor family in the industrial town of Jaworzno, not far from Krakow, in southwestern Poland. Both of Maria's parents worked. Like her parents, Maria was baptized in the Roman Catholic faith. 1933-39: Maria took care of the house when her parents were working. She was 11 years old when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. German troops reached Jaworzno that same month. Jaworzno was in an area of Poland that became formally annexed to Germany. 1940-44: The Germans arrested…
Janusz was the eldest of four children born to Catholic parents in Plock, a town located in a rural area north of Warsaw. His father was an accountant. Janusz attended local schools, and became active in scouting. 1933-39: Janusz went to Warsaw to study civil engineering. On September 1, 1939, the Germans began bombing Warsaw. One week later, all able-bodied men who had not been mobilized were directed to retreat east. On September 17, Janusz was 90 miles from the Romanian border. That night, the Soviets…
Wladyslaw was born to Catholic parents in Russian-occupied Poland. He grew up in Plock, a town located in a rural area north of Warsaw. Wladyslaw married in 1918 and he and his wife, Marie, raised four children. 1933-39: Wladyslaw worked as a bookkeeper, and then as an accountant for a local farmers' cooperative. In 1931 he was sent to the town of Wyszogrod to close a failing branch of the farmers cooperative. A year later, he organized a new, successful cooperative in Wyszogrod with local farmers and…
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