The wedding picture of Ida and Aron Alkalai

This is a photo from my wedding. It was taken in Dupnitsa in 1945. My husband's name is Aron Alkalai.

My husband and I met at a 'jour:' that's how the gatherings of young people were called then. 'Jours' were for all young people, both Jews and Bulgarians. But my friends were Jews. 'Jours' were made in the houses. We listened to popular music and danced. My husband and I flirted and grew closer to each other. We went out for about a year before we got married.

My husband and I were very much in love. We have known each other ever since our adolescence. We had a large Jewish company. We got together and went to the cinema. We met at a hill near the town. He was very handsome and they called him 'the baron.' I was a very merry girl and sang very well. In September 1944 Aron went to the war front. He had enlisted as a volunteer. Then I gave him a lighter as a gift. Before that he had given me a bracelet. I had prepared my gift beforehand and hid it from my parents. Lighters were quite different then and we called them 'tsigarnik'. I was very worried when Aron and my friends went to the labor camps and after 9th September 1944, to the front. But the Jews in Bulgaria felt obliged to take part in the war against fascism and enlisted as volunteers. We got married in 1945. We only married before the registrar. I think that there were no religious weddings then. After we got married, Aron insisted that I shouldn't work, so I stayed at home for some years. I did the housework and looked after our two children.