Klara Karpati as a young girl

This is me in 1930. I attended the Jewish school at no. 44 Wesselenyi Street. I went there until the third form (of secondary school). I was taught well at the school. There was Hebrew language and literature. We learned from the Bible and prayer books, different songs, prayers. We also did translations and we had to know all sort of things, but after finishing school we didn't have to deal with those things much further. Parties were very fashionable then. My mother had good relationship with other parents so I was invited to many parties. I had only Jewish friends. Everything worked towards me having a Jewish circle around me: my father worked for the community, we lived in the synagogue building in Rumbach Sebestyen Street, and I attended the Jewish school. In the afternoon there was studying, sometimes a girlfriend came over, and we would pass the afternoon in that way. We read a lot. My mother loved books. (Later) I went to the library with my stepsister, Rozsa. We always discussed who would go to the library. She liked reading, just like me. We lived on the same floor with the shamash, he had a daughter and a seamstress used to come to their house all the time. Whenever we needed something made, my mother told them to let her know that we wanted her to come to us too, as there was something to sew. My mother insisted on my being well-dressed and there was a shop in Kiraly Street where dresses for young girls could be found. We usually went there.