Hana Gasic's parents Menahem and Flora Montiljo with friends on the Sarajevian Riviera

My parents with friends at leisure. Fourth from left is my mother, Flora, and next to her, fifth from the left, my father Menahem Montiljo. This picture was taken at Vrlo Miljacka before 1939, before my parents married. This was a popular swimming area in Sarajevo, and my parents and their friends would spend many summer days swimming and socializing around here. Sarajevo is a city split down the middle by rivers. Back then many compared it to Paris because of the river, the bridges and maybe even the atmosphere. My parents met in the Jewish community, either in La Benevolencija or Matatija, two social clubs. They socialized and courted for five or six years before they married. When they did marry, in 1939, they had both civil and Jewish ceremonies.