Herta Coufalova and her brother Harry Glasner

This picture shows my brother Harry Glasner and me. The photograph was taken by Mr. Bahner, a Trebic photographer, sometime in the 1930s. I was born on 23rd January 1926 in Trebic. During childhood I spent most of my time with my mother and grandmother Hermina. We never had a nanny. I would say that I was brought up by all of my relatives. I was an active child, and was always running around somewhere. My mother wanted me to take piano lessons, become a Scout, go to Sokol, and take German, English... I was always off at some lessons or activity. I loved to read, I read everything that came into my hands. My school was close to home, on the same street. As soon as I ran down our steps, I was at municipal school. After municipal school I went to council school because my father wanted me to have a practical education. Today there is a medical school in the building of the former council school. I liked all subjects in school, except for math and physics, but my favourites were history, geography and literature. My favourite teachers were Mr. Vagner, who taught us geography and history, and my Czech teacher. They were excellent teachers. As I child I had a busy schedule. I was always off somewhere: twice a week to piano lessons, twice weekly German, twice weekly English, twice weekly exercise at Sokol, and once a week to the Scouts. I loved scouting. My brother Harry was born on 20th September 1929. We had a good relationship, though it's true that I used to beat him to a pulp. I guess I was jealous of him, because I was a hulk and he was my exact opposite. To me they were always saying: 'You're eating again already!' and to him: 'Please, just one more bite...'. When hard times came, my parents would hide meat and roasts for him, because I didn't need it. Harry finished only four years of public school. He had his bar mitzvah in Terezin; it was a very simple ceremony. Only my grandmother Hermina Reich and I were there. The ceremony took place in a room that had been adapted as a prayer hall. He was for the first time summoned to the Torah and they accepted him into the society of men. I don't know who prepared him; we weren't together much. I had to go to work. He lived at L 417, a youth home. They deported him to Auschwitz on 16th October 1944. They sent him straight to the gas chamber.