Selected text
My father used to spend three months a year in the Home for Invalids in Bankya. This was his holiday. We used to visit him on Sundays and that was our holiday. My father was very ill – he suffered from insomnia and couldn’t sleep because he had a grenade splinter in his brain. He died from it later. There were no operations back then. Although very ill, my father cared for us very much and insisted on our speaking properly.
The night before my father died – I will never forget it – he couldn’t lift his hand to feed himself, he was an invalid to such an enormous extent. My mother, Ventura Benaroya, nee Levi, was feeding him when he said, ‘That’s enough, Ventura, I’ve had enough!’ He suddenly reached with his hand to the table and took some grapes from the bowl. I said, ‘Papa, you’ll be getting better!’ I constantly inspired him with the idea that he was going to get better. He said, ‘You are right, I’m going to get better!’ We went to bed. As I already mentioned, he suffered from insomnia. I used to stay up late at night to read whatever I had at hand – a book, a newspaper etc. He suddenly said, ‘Please, give me the newspaper to read.’ He had no problems with his speech. He took the paper, read an article and said, ‘Let’s go to sleep now!’ So we went to bed. He would normally call us during the night, but he didn’t that night. I was lying in bed, waiting for him to call me, but he didn’t. I woke my mother at about midnight and said, ‘Mother, dad hasn’t said a word yet. Why?’ She said, ‘He has died. If he hasn’t spoken yet, he has died!’ We turned the light on and saw him: He had hugged my brother, who used to sleep in the middle of the bed, and had died with a smile on his face. It was something beyond description! A human tragedy!
When my father died in 1938 we closed the shop. We had no money then. I worked for the ‘Bulgarian embroidery’ along with doing my schooling and looking after a child. The man from ‘Bulgarian silk’ turned out to be a very noble man – he brought money for me in Pleven to save me from starving, found accommodation for me… He was a Bulgarian and had business deals with America; he used to send them embroidery from here.
The night before my father died – I will never forget it – he couldn’t lift his hand to feed himself, he was an invalid to such an enormous extent. My mother, Ventura Benaroya, nee Levi, was feeding him when he said, ‘That’s enough, Ventura, I’ve had enough!’ He suddenly reached with his hand to the table and took some grapes from the bowl. I said, ‘Papa, you’ll be getting better!’ I constantly inspired him with the idea that he was going to get better. He said, ‘You are right, I’m going to get better!’ We went to bed. As I already mentioned, he suffered from insomnia. I used to stay up late at night to read whatever I had at hand – a book, a newspaper etc. He suddenly said, ‘Please, give me the newspaper to read.’ He had no problems with his speech. He took the paper, read an article and said, ‘Let’s go to sleep now!’ So we went to bed. He would normally call us during the night, but he didn’t that night. I was lying in bed, waiting for him to call me, but he didn’t. I woke my mother at about midnight and said, ‘Mother, dad hasn’t said a word yet. Why?’ She said, ‘He has died. If he hasn’t spoken yet, he has died!’ We turned the light on and saw him: He had hugged my brother, who used to sleep in the middle of the bed, and had died with a smile on his face. It was something beyond description! A human tragedy!
When my father died in 1938 we closed the shop. We had no money then. I worked for the ‘Bulgarian embroidery’ along with doing my schooling and looking after a child. The man from ‘Bulgarian silk’ turned out to be a very noble man – he brought money for me in Pleven to save me from starving, found accommodation for me… He was a Bulgarian and had business deals with America; he used to send them embroidery from here.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Sofi Uziel