Yakov Yako in the first grade in the Jewish school

This is a photo of Jewish children in the first grade at the Jewish school in Ruse. The photo was taken in 1928. I am the second from the right sitting in the front row with my arms folded, wearing a light pullover. Standing at the back on the left, wearing a dark blouse, is Giveret Dina, our Ivrit teacher. The Ruse Jewish school had its traditions, although it was a bit old-fashioned. It insisted on patriarchal values. Our teachers were from the same family - Mr. Buko, Mrs. Mazal and Miss Rena, her younger sister. Mr. Buko was the director, Mrs. Mazal, who was the wife of Mr. Buko, taught some of the subjects. Giveret Dina from Israel taught us Ivrit. She only spoke in Ivrit. At one point I learned the Bible, the Tannakh and the language. Miss Rena taught us mathematics. I did not have a favorite teacher. I was very energetic and mischievous. Later I got to love fiction and that influenced my later activities. I studied first in the local Jewish school, which was private and then in the Bulgarian secular school. I studied in the Jewish school four to five years, until I finished junior high school. In 1932-33 when I went to the Bulgarian school, I had to repeat one grade. I don?t know exactly why, such were the laws then.

The Centropa Collection at USHMM

The Centropa archive has been acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. USHMM will soon offer a Special Collections page for Centropa.

Academics please note: USHMM can provide you with original language word-for-word transcripts and high resolution photographs. All publications should be credited: "From the Centropa Collection at the United States Memorial Museum in Washington, DC". 

Please contact collection [at] centropa.org (collection[at]centropa[dot]org).