Ruth Goetzova with her mother Hilda Lasova and stepsister Vera

This is a picture of me and my mother, Hilda Lasova (nee Krauskopfova) holding my little stepsister Vera. It was taken in 1931 in Prague. My parents' marriage didn't last long, and they divorced after four years. After that, my mother returned with me to Prague. About a year after we returned to Prague from Germany, she married for a second time, a Czech Jew named Ota Las, who came from Serlovice near Tabor. He was born in 1898. They were married at the Old Town Hall in Prague, and didn't have a Jewish wedding. My stepfather and I got along very well; he treated me wonderfully. In 1930 my mother had a daughter, Vera, whom she loved very much. Although my mother and I lived in the same building, we didn't see much of each other. I was with my grandfather, and my mother had started a new family. Our relationship was very unusual, and was far from a warm and cozy mother-daughter relationship. Later I always took care of her when it was necessary, because in the end she was my mother, but I don't remember her ever giving me a hug or kiss.