This photo was taken in the Jewish community in Subotica in 1947 on a holiday, but I don't remember which one. I am on the right, my stepfather Mojsije Trilnik is standing on my right, my wife Flora Blumenberg, nee Finci, is sitting first from right and my mother Flora Trilnik, nee Hubert, is sitting third from right.
My mother was born in Subotica. Her mother tongue was Hungarian and she spoke German. She was an excellent seamstress. She learned the trade in a middle school, but I don't know which one. She sewed independently, from home.
In the period after the war the economic situation was terrible. There was nothing. We had children and life was hard. What was important was that we were healthy. My wife Flora very quickly found work in the court and we began to live a decent life. By the time our children started school we were in a better financial situation and were able to pay for their education.
Before the end of communism we didn't live so well. We retired and were lucky that our children helped us to get through the hard times. Except for sickness, to this day we don't have any serious problems. Now we are recipients of the Claims foundation which helps us a lot.
As long as I lived in Subotica I socialized with Jews, but when we moved to Kutina my circle of friends consisted mainly of non-Jews because very few Jews my age lived there. I must say that there was no anti-Semitism, and the Jews that lived there were involved in commerce and were very wealthy. Besides Jews, Serbs were also involved in trade, but Croats were not. Jews owned a lot of coffee shops as well.
