This is a picture of my friend Hela Erlich. I was in this picture too, but I cut myself out for some reason. The picture was taken in the summer of 1939 in Cracow, during one of our trips.
After five years of elementary state school I became a pupil at the Dr Hilfstein Hebrew Gymnasium; Dr Hilfstein was its founder. That was a beautiful school, on Podbrzezie Street, apparently of very high standard, with state entitlements. All the subjects were in Polish, and there was also Hebrew. Only Jewish children, but well-off ones studied there, because the fees were about 50 zloty; that was an awful lot. There were very good relations, very good conditions at the school.
I had a very good friend from gymnasium, Hela Erlich. Our parents were friendly and we often used to go to Wolski Wood with our parents by carriage. Unfortunately she died in Kazimierza Wielka. I met her once more during the war. They left. Because the Jews had to leave Cracow. You were allowed to move to somewhere no closer than 20 km from the city. They went to Kazimierza Wielka and perished there. In 1940. The 'Judenfrei', the purge of Jews, came quickly there. The Germans entered and they shot all the Jews there. The whole family was killed.
