The Blum couple with their daughter Berta and Rudolf Feierstein

This photo was taken in 1973 in the back of our house from Gherla. I am the first from left and my wife, Rozalia is the first form right.

I and my wife are together with Rudolf Feierstein the second from right, and the my daughter Berta, the second from left.

Sigismund Feierstein is one from the eight Jewish families from Fizesul Gherlei, the village where I was born:

Mauritiu Blum, Herman Hiller, Weiss, Sigismund Feierstein, Rozika Deutsch, Baumel, Szerena Abraham, and Ludovic Feierstein. Sigismund Feierstein emigrated to Israel after the World War II and the picture was taken when he came back in his homeland for a visit and he passed by my family in 1973.

Here's how I met my wife. I had come back from the army, but there were no Jewish girls in the village anymore. As you can imagine, back then, it was considered a shame for a Jew to marry someone who wasn't Jewish.

There were cases of Jews marrying Christian girls, but they were very rare. Nevertheless, I didn't find the thought of spending my entire life alone appealing at all.

So I found me a Christian girl. Her name was Rozalia, nee Hideg. She was born on 16 September 1933 in Fizesul Gherlei. Hungarian was her native tongue. One of her uncles was a neighbor of ours and that's how I met her.

After courting her properly, I asked her if she wanted to marry me. She said yes. She had no income. As for me, thanks to my trade, I did have nice clothes, but that was it - I had no fortune. So I told her: 'Take a good look at me and think it over.

I have nothing except the house where I grew up.' She was poor too, but that didn't matter. We went to the mayor's office and got married.

We didn't have a religious ceremony because it's not allowed for a Jew [in case of a mixed marriage]. We got married in 1952. We've been together for 53 years now.

Our only daughter, Berta, was born in 1955. She went to college in Bucharest and got a degree in economic cybernetics. She is not 'officially' Jewish - according to the Jewish tradition, you are a Jew only if your mother is Jewish.

However, we registered her as Jewish in school. She now lives and works in Oradea. She's married to Francisc, a man who has both Romanian and Hungarian origins.

Her surname as a married woman is Marian. They both have decent jobs, but they're not rich or anything…

My daughter thinks of herself as Jewish. She has a son, Petrisor, who has just graduated from college. He's into commerce, just like his mother. She raised him as a Jew.