Macika Grof, Rahela Perisic's friend and classmate, Rahela and her sister Flora Albahari

The picture was taken in 1940 in Banja Luka. I am pictured first from the right, my sister Flora Albahari is first from the left, in the middle Macika Grof, and next to her Rikica Pesah. I chose this picture so that I could tell about the terrible things that happened in our poor Bosnia. Macika went to the same school as I did, which is where we met. When the war started he went back to Bugojno where his family was from. His father was a hotelier and he was from a well off family. In 1945 the Fascists broke into their house. At that time, Macika, his parents and his sister Fanika were at home. They led all the family members to the yard. The mother and daughter stood to the side, and they forced the father to sit on a bench. They led Macika from the house and leaned his head on his father's knee and in one swipe of the knife they slaughtered him in front of the whole family. His father fainted, and the enemies beat him with a hammer. His mother and Fanika were sentenced to Jasenovac. However, a unit of Partisans entered Bugojno and overcame the enemies and three Jewish families and Macika's mother and sister ran away with the Partisans.