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At gymnasium it turned out that we didn’t know anything, because we’d been taught Hebrew like Latin is taught. We had an excellent knowledge of the grammar, and spelling, but we couldn’t speak a word. At the entrance exam the teacher is talking to me and I don’t know the first thing that he’s saying. I could write, I could read, though I didn’t really understand, and I got to school and it turned out that you had to be able to speak Hebrew fluently, like Polish. But because there was a very big influx of children like that, who couldn’t speak it, there was an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ class, if you like. Jehuda and I were in the same class.
I don’t remember what we were called, but we were in the class that couldn’t speak. The two classes had all the lessons together, and then we stayed behind for a 7th lesson, of Hebrew. To catch up, to be able to speak, because history of the Jews was taught in Hebrew, and we couldn’t say anything, not a word. It was a co-educational gymnasium, and was at 5 Brzozowa Street [Ed. note: that was the address of the Jewish elementary school; the Chaim Hilfstein Gymnasium was in the same building, but the entrance was at 8/10 Podbrzezie Street]. That school exists to this day, but not as a gymnasium, it’s some technical high school [Vocational Schools Complex].
I remember we had a wonderful Polish teacher. He was called Juliusz Felzhorn, he had a doctorate [Ed. note: Dr. Julius Feldhorn]. A very well-educated, marvelous man. He was murdered by the Germans. In 6th grade at gymnasium the math teacher didn’t like me and I got a ‘2’ [equivalent to a ‘D’ grade in the Polish school system]. I think it was simply because he didn’t like me, because when he taught physics in 8th grade, I had a ‘2’ in physics. He was the headmaster. But it wasn’t so bad that I had to repeat the year.
I don’t remember what we were called, but we were in the class that couldn’t speak. The two classes had all the lessons together, and then we stayed behind for a 7th lesson, of Hebrew. To catch up, to be able to speak, because history of the Jews was taught in Hebrew, and we couldn’t say anything, not a word. It was a co-educational gymnasium, and was at 5 Brzozowa Street [Ed. note: that was the address of the Jewish elementary school; the Chaim Hilfstein Gymnasium was in the same building, but the entrance was at 8/10 Podbrzezie Street]. That school exists to this day, but not as a gymnasium, it’s some technical high school [Vocational Schools Complex].
I remember we had a wonderful Polish teacher. He was called Juliusz Felzhorn, he had a doctorate [Ed. note: Dr. Julius Feldhorn]. A very well-educated, marvelous man. He was murdered by the Germans. In 6th grade at gymnasium the math teacher didn’t like me and I got a ‘2’ [equivalent to a ‘D’ grade in the Polish school system]. I think it was simply because he didn’t like me, because when he taught physics in 8th grade, I had a ‘2’ in physics. He was the headmaster. But it wasn’t so bad that I had to repeat the year.
Period
Interview
Emilia Leibel