This is my mother and my brother Gyuri's little girl. The photo was taken in Budapest in the 1940s.
My mother was born in 1884 in Budapest. Her maiden name was Aranka Wagner.
My mother was a housewife. We still had a maid servant then, also. Her name was Fraulein Tilda. That’s where my knowledge of German comes from. I was about ten years old, then Dad sent her away. They couldn’t handle it financially. My older brother Gyuri knew German better than I. He had three more years than I did to learn it. The only other thing is that Tilda took us here, to Menesi Street, took us three children to the Chapel on Sundays. My parents had no objections, didn’t say anything, we were kids, we stayed for the whole mass, that’s it. The building is still there today, if we go straight up here, it’s there on Menesi Street.
Mother lit candles on Friday evenings. She mumbled what you’re supposed to then. I distinctly remember that from my childhood. But religion wasn’t talked about at our house. When Dad started working, then he went less to temple. Not on Friday nights or Saturdays. I don’t know much else. Mom didn’t go to Temple, while we were young, Dad and I went, and if I remember right, Imi was with us. We went here to Bocskai Street. There weren’t many other Jewish obligations. In school, I was always very attentive when the religion teacher told us the history. For me, it’s history – that’s how I remembered the Old Testament.
Mom said that once she saw that my affairs were in order, she would go to Imi.
Mother emigrated to Reno, and that’s where she died at age 88.
I have no descendants, no children, no one. Just this niece of mine, who is really cute. Now she is retired, she was born in 1939, so she is 65 years old. She helps us a lot. Last time, she took me to the hospital and came to pick me up at seven in the morning. My brother and his wife raised her as a Christian.
Evike’s husband is also a Christian. The children, the grandchildren are all Christians. Our relationship is close between my niece and her husband and us. There’s really never been any thing like we’re Jewish and they’re not. Her husband was an engineer at VILATI [Villamos Automatika Intezet] he graduated from the Electrical Technical Academy.
Religion… How shall I put it, I say that I’m a Hungarian of Jewish religion, but the war turned me away from it, so I do not go to the synagogue.
