Jan Fischer and relatives

These are some of the women of our family. From the left - my grandmother Rosa Fischer (nee Reiss), me, my mom Julie Fischer, nee Lederer, my brother Herbert Fischer and my aunt Anna Altschul (nee Fischer). I was about three years old, so the year must be 1924. I guess it was taken somewhere at the summer house in the country. My grandmother was born in 1856 in Stirin. I can remember that she was still a practicing Jew. She spoke German and, of course, Czech. That was normal. With the staff you spoke Czech, at home German. I never knew my grandfather Jakub, as he died in the year I was born, but I got to know my grandmother for a few years. Grandmother Rosa was a small, plump, charming old lady. It was fun with her, for she had a sense of humor. She didn't live with us, though. At first she was on her own, then she lived for a time with her son, my uncle Oskar, as he didn't have any children, whereas at our place was the family. My grandma died when I was about ten; she is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Prague. My dad's sister, Aunt Anna, was born in 1895. She never went to work, I think. She married Rudolf Altschul. They emigrated just before the war; at the first sound of canon, they took off to Canada, although their ship sank on the way. That was in 1939, sometime in October. It was sunk off the coast of Scotland, but they managed to get rescued and then made it to Canada, where Uncle Rudolf became a university professor. They didn't have children, unfortunately. My mom was born in Prague in 1884. She was from the poorest of families. She was an illegitimate child. I think her parents weren't married. Her mom, who I didn't know, died young. My mom was melancholic and withdrawn by nature. I don't know if she was like that when my father married her, but that's how I knew her. Although she only had a basic education, she was an avid reader, with an interest in quality literature, even books on philosophy. I cannot say what she got out of the books, but although she was no intellectual, she was always very moderate and thoughtful in her views.