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Life returned to some sort of normalcy. In 1948 I gave birth to a son,
Rodoljub. However, my brother-in-law Djordje Alpar was arrested as a
follower of Stalin (editor's note: Tito and Stalin had their famous falling
out in 1948 and Yugoslavs turned to those who seemed to side with the
Soviets). My husband and I took care of my sister and her daughter up to
the moment when they arrested my husband. They imprisoned him because he
was a follower of Cominform, a political organization of the communist
countries, under the control of the USSR; and also because he believed that
Tito and Yugoslavia should accept all of Stalin's positions. To make
matters worse, my husband stated at a meeting that the construction of Novi
Belgrade could not be completed as established in the first five-year plan.
He was an engineer by profession and he knew the terrain on which they were
building Novi Belgrade. It was sandy and needed a lot of preliminary work.
He also complained that the government was confiscating wheat from the
peasants. One of his biggest sins was that he did not denounce his brother-
in-law Alpar when they charged him, and moreover, he took care of Alpar's
daughter and wife. They gave him a three year prison sentence.
Again my sister Lilie and I lived without means. Luckily some distant
relatives from Israel sent us packages, so we were able to survive by
selling the things from these packages: chewing gum, combs. My husband was
released in 1954. I became active in the work of the women's section of the
Jewish community. Still, I mostly concerned myself with taking care of my
family. I educated my two children. Now my daughter Mirjana is a doctor and
my son Rodoljub is an engineer. Unfortunately, my husband Milorad died in
1998.
Now I am already very old. I do not often go to the Jewish community, but I
raised my children and my grandchildren in a Jewish spirit and they
continue on in the way that I showed them.
Rodoljub. However, my brother-in-law Djordje Alpar was arrested as a
follower of Stalin (editor's note: Tito and Stalin had their famous falling
out in 1948 and Yugoslavs turned to those who seemed to side with the
Soviets). My husband and I took care of my sister and her daughter up to
the moment when they arrested my husband. They imprisoned him because he
was a follower of Cominform, a political organization of the communist
countries, under the control of the USSR; and also because he believed that
Tito and Yugoslavia should accept all of Stalin's positions. To make
matters worse, my husband stated at a meeting that the construction of Novi
Belgrade could not be completed as established in the first five-year plan.
He was an engineer by profession and he knew the terrain on which they were
building Novi Belgrade. It was sandy and needed a lot of preliminary work.
He also complained that the government was confiscating wheat from the
peasants. One of his biggest sins was that he did not denounce his brother-
in-law Alpar when they charged him, and moreover, he took care of Alpar's
daughter and wife. They gave him a three year prison sentence.
Again my sister Lilie and I lived without means. Luckily some distant
relatives from Israel sent us packages, so we were able to survive by
selling the things from these packages: chewing gum, combs. My husband was
released in 1954. I became active in the work of the women's section of the
Jewish community. Still, I mostly concerned myself with taking care of my
family. I educated my two children. Now my daughter Mirjana is a doctor and
my son Rodoljub is an engineer. Unfortunately, my husband Milorad died in
1998.
Now I am already very old. I do not often go to the Jewish community, but I
raised my children and my grandchildren in a Jewish spirit and they
continue on in the way that I showed them.
Location
Serbia
Interview
vera tomanic