Klara Korber and David Hutman in front of the family store

This photo was taken in front of my parents’ store in Campulung Moldovenesc in 1938. The first from right is my maternal grandfather, David Hutman, who had a bigger store in Botosani, the second from right is my mother, Klara Korgber, nee Hutman.

My maternal grandfather, nicknamed 'Short hand' Hutman, was born in 1874 in Botosani, I think. He was a trader in Botosani, a very rich, but also very avaricious man, a hard giver. It's a known fact that one never refused the poor. The obligation of business owners was to donate from Thursday to Friday morning. People from the synagogue came to collect, especially for those from Maramures, from Borsa, where following the 1928 pogrom the synagogue, but also the houses burned down. My grandfather though was very close-fisted, he always gave so little and all so hard, and he only pretended to be religious. He went to the synagogue just because he had to. He never ate pork. He looked religious, but in his heart he wasn't.

I think my grandmother's name was Ana. She died when my mother was eleven, in 1910. I heard she was a very delicate and fragile person. Grandfather remarried very shortly after her death, a Vexler girl from Iasi, a very good-looking woman, but just as severe as he was. I wasn’t so close to my maternal grandparents, although they helped us when we returned from Transnistria.

was born in 1899 in Botosani. I don't know whether she had any brothers or sisters, and I don't know much about her. I know she finished four grades at the Israelite-Romanian school. Before she got married she had a passion for reading and attended the reading club in Botosani, along with both Jewish and non-Jewish people. The only thing that brought them together was their passion for reading. The club had a rather leftist orientation, as many workers went there. My mother got married to my father on 31st August 1922 and moved in with him in Campulung. Because she was a very smart woman and made calculations quickly and easily, she was very good at keeping the books of the store.