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2nd June 1946 is a remarkable date in my life, because then I met my wife: Ganka Penova Pashkova. I was a soldier in the Military Command Office. I saw her by accident. Opposite the office there was a small park [now the American market – this small and tidy market is called this way by the locals, but nobody knows why – and the synagogue are there]. I saw three or four girls sitting on a bench reading. Later I found out that they were just finishing their last year of high school in Oriahovo. I went closer to them. There were roses around. I said to myself, ‘I like this girl’ and picked a rose. It was then that I noticed that they were reading the philosophy dictionary of Rosenthal and Yudin. [M.Rosenthal & P.Yudin: ‘A Short Dictionary of Philosophy’, translated and published in Bulgaria in 1946] My first thought was that she was ‘a girl of ours’, a Jew. After all, she was reading the famous dialectical and historical materialism of Rosenthal and Yudin. I gave her the rose in front of her friends. We started talking; I showed them around town because they were from Oriahovo. They had come on an excursion. Then Ganka and I started writing letters to each other.
Later, I visited her in Oriahovo to help her with her graduation exam, because I had already graduated two years before. We continued to write letters to each other for three more years. All the time I wanted to tell her that my brothers and some friends were leaving for Israel, while I wanted to stay here and study to become an engineer. That was my childhood dream. In the end I wrote her a sincere letter, saying, ‘Bear in mind that I am poor. I have no money so think carefully whether you want our relationship to continue. You must know my situation.’ At that time we no longer had a house, because we had sold our house in Kazanlak. But she agreed. ‘You might be just a porter, but I love you.’ We exchanged letters for three years, then I went to Burgas where she was studying at university, we got engaged and after two or three months we got married. We married on 14th January 1949 in Ruse. Then I went to study at university in Sofia.
Later, I visited her in Oriahovo to help her with her graduation exam, because I had already graduated two years before. We continued to write letters to each other for three more years. All the time I wanted to tell her that my brothers and some friends were leaving for Israel, while I wanted to stay here and study to become an engineer. That was my childhood dream. In the end I wrote her a sincere letter, saying, ‘Bear in mind that I am poor. I have no money so think carefully whether you want our relationship to continue. You must know my situation.’ At that time we no longer had a house, because we had sold our house in Kazanlak. But she agreed. ‘You might be just a porter, but I love you.’ We exchanged letters for three years, then I went to Burgas where she was studying at university, we got engaged and after two or three months we got married. We married on 14th January 1949 in Ruse. Then I went to study at university in Sofia.
Period
Year
1949
Location
Ruse
Bulgaria
Interview
Rafael Beraha