My older sister Judit Neuman photographed on her 16th birthday. This photo was taken in Uzhgorod in 1936, it was kept in our house in Uzhgorod during World War II.
In 1920 my older sister Judit was born. Judit and I went to a Czech school for boys and girls. Hedvika Belska taught us good Czech and we didn’t have any problems at school. It’s a difficult language. There were three to four Jewish pupils in each grade. There was no anti-Semitism during the Czech rule and Jews were treated loyally and with respect. My sister or I never heard anything abusive or face any humiliating attitudes. We studied well and our teachers often cited us as an example to other children. My father inculcated into us how important it was to be educated people, and his opinions were indisputable for us.
There were religious classes for Christians and Jews at school. Jews had these classes with a rabbi. At my father’s request I was released from attending religious classes. In my record card I had a dash in the subject line item for religion. Later in my documents was indicated: ‘No creed.’ When it was time for my younger brother Frantisek to go to school, he went to a Czech grammar school that was supposed to give a better education than state schools.
During the Czech rule Frantisek Ganzlik, a Czech man, began to court my sister. My sister was a beauty and he fell in love with her. Their parents gave them their consent and they got engaged. They ordered invitation cards to the wedding, when the German army invaded Czechoslovakia on 16th March 1939. My father didn’t allow Judit to get married and live in the occupied country, and Frantisek could not leave his family business in Czechoslovakia, and my sister’s marriage never took place.
