Ladislav Roth

In this photograph is my brother, Ladislav Roth. The picture was taken in Roznava, probably in the 1930s. My brother was four years older than me, but we had a beautiful relationship. When I was smaller, of course he was the big one and I was the little one. My brother had a bar mitzvah, by then our father was no longer alive. I know that it was very touching. On Saturday afternoon the adults were invited, our rabbi, that was still that old rabbi. We had fish, barkhes and I don't know what else. Various sweets were made, so that meat and dairy wasn't mixed, so that it was done properly. Well, and then on Sunday afternoon the young people would come by, my brother's friends and my girlfriends. When I was already 15, 16, we really liked each other a lot. Once the high school principal said to my brother, 'Listen, you're walking around with your sister as if you were lovers!' Because he'd always put his arm around my shoulders or take me by the arm, so we really did look like that...! My brother would say, 'Sir, that's my sister, whom I really like a lot! I've got only her!' At that time our mother was already remarried and our relationship with our stepfather was very bad, so we were very attached to each other. And when someone that didn't know any better saw us, he really did think that we were lovers and not siblings. My brother didn't attend the monastery school because there was also a state school in Roznava. He went there, five grades and then went to high school and graduated in Roznava.