Maria Horowitz

This is picture of my mom, made before she got married. It was surely taken in early 1900s.
My mother came from Cracow. Her parents had a governess. My mother spoke fluent German and could easily communicate in French. She completed a boarding school (alternative to gymnasium). My dad spoke only German and Polish. Mom wasn't religious, I'm sure she couldn't speak Hebrew. Her main activities included running the house, pursuing her cultural interests, entertaining the guests, and playing cards.
She also looked after those poor women. Those were women she knew, poor ones, one was called Escia, another one Ablowa, there were also other ones. They came to my mother with all kinds of businesses. She helped them, gave them things, bought things from them. Escia, for instance, if she got hold of some good quality herring, brought it to us, and my mother said, 'I'll fetch a good price for that for you.' She probably paid her herself, but a better price than the other woman expected.
Our home was an old house at Rynek Glowny, right near my gymnasium. The house was old and spacious, two rooms had walls over a meter thick and vaulted ceilings. The house is still there. We had seven rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, naturally a larder, an attic, a cellar, and so on, the full program.

Photos from this interviewee