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My parents married in Subotica in 1944 before moving to Belgrade. In Subotica my father worked for a military court in 1944 and 1945. In Belgrade, he worked as a lawyer and then held the position of judge on the Economic Supreme Court of Belgrade. After retiring he worked as an international trade arbitrator.
Mother worked for the Ministry of Information. Her boss was Veljko Korac, Zarko Korac’s father. Her knowledge of many languages—Hungarian, Serbian, French, German, English—was extremely beneficial in this position. In the 1950s she left the ministry and opened her own photo news agency called Jugo Photo. This was the first photo news agency in Yugoslavia and was extremely well-known. In the late 1950s, it merged with Tanjug and became known as Photo Tanjug. My mother was the director of this agency until her retirement.
I was born in Belgrade on January 26, 1950. I have an elder sister, Jelena Blumenfeld, born in Belgrade on July, 4 1947. Her nickname, Murci, was given her by our maternal grandmother, Aranka Rozenfeld. It comes from the Hungarian word for grumpy and was said to suit Jelena’s mood and personality immediately after her birth. This name was used at home and in the Jewish community, but in all other places she was known as Jelena. I believe that their friends in the Jewish community did not know, and maybe still do not know, that Murci’s real name is Jelena.
Throughout our early childhood, Jelena and I spent a lot of time at our maternal grandmother Aranka’s house in Subotica. During these extended visits we would speak mostly Hungarian, and when we returned to Belgrade we would continue speaking Hungarian. So, before beginning school we spoke mostly Hungarian, and after that, almost none. This was an unsettling irony for our mother, Eva. Although it was her mother tongue, after the war she tried to limit the amount of Hungarian she spoke, in protest of the horrors that Hungarians had committed against the Jews. Her commitment was overcome by nature, and she and my father continued to speak Hungarian at home. She remained committed to the idea that her daughters should not speak Hungarian, and hearing us speak Hungarian after trips to our grandmother’s house frustrated her. It can be assumed that she was pleased when we began school and ceased speaking Hungarian. Today, I do not speak Hungarian, but I believe that if I were in a Hungarian-speaking environment for a few days, I would once again pick it up.
Jelena and I grew up aware of our Jewishness and had contact with the Jewish community, but our family was not observant of any of the Jewish practices. Our religious observance was limited to the Purim and Hanukkah social celebrations in the Jewish community, although we did have friends from the community. Our grandmother, Aranka, was more observant. While I do not remember spending any holidays with her, I'm sure that Grandmother observed them to some extent, including lighting candles and fasting on Yom Kippur.
I completed the university in Belgrade with a degree in pharmacology and currently work as a pharmacist in the Jewish community. I was married to Nebojsa Jovanovic, a journalist for the Tanjug news agency, who died of cancer in 1998. We have two children, Djordje and Jelena, who live with me and our golden retriever, Benjamin, in Belgrade. Djordje and Jelena are students at Belgrade University, and in their spare time, Djordje practices and performs with his rock band and Jelena gives aerobics classes.
My sister Murci currently lives with her husband, a Jew from Subotica, and their two children, Adam and Lily, in New York City, where her husband does research in a NYU laboratory.
Many members of my parents’ families were killed during the war. Some escaped by leaving Europe before the outset, some survived. Today, I have family in Yugoslavia, Europe, Israel, the U.S., Mexico and elsewhere.
Mother worked for the Ministry of Information. Her boss was Veljko Korac, Zarko Korac’s father. Her knowledge of many languages—Hungarian, Serbian, French, German, English—was extremely beneficial in this position. In the 1950s she left the ministry and opened her own photo news agency called Jugo Photo. This was the first photo news agency in Yugoslavia and was extremely well-known. In the late 1950s, it merged with Tanjug and became known as Photo Tanjug. My mother was the director of this agency until her retirement.
I was born in Belgrade on January 26, 1950. I have an elder sister, Jelena Blumenfeld, born in Belgrade on July, 4 1947. Her nickname, Murci, was given her by our maternal grandmother, Aranka Rozenfeld. It comes from the Hungarian word for grumpy and was said to suit Jelena’s mood and personality immediately after her birth. This name was used at home and in the Jewish community, but in all other places she was known as Jelena. I believe that their friends in the Jewish community did not know, and maybe still do not know, that Murci’s real name is Jelena.
Throughout our early childhood, Jelena and I spent a lot of time at our maternal grandmother Aranka’s house in Subotica. During these extended visits we would speak mostly Hungarian, and when we returned to Belgrade we would continue speaking Hungarian. So, before beginning school we spoke mostly Hungarian, and after that, almost none. This was an unsettling irony for our mother, Eva. Although it was her mother tongue, after the war she tried to limit the amount of Hungarian she spoke, in protest of the horrors that Hungarians had committed against the Jews. Her commitment was overcome by nature, and she and my father continued to speak Hungarian at home. She remained committed to the idea that her daughters should not speak Hungarian, and hearing us speak Hungarian after trips to our grandmother’s house frustrated her. It can be assumed that she was pleased when we began school and ceased speaking Hungarian. Today, I do not speak Hungarian, but I believe that if I were in a Hungarian-speaking environment for a few days, I would once again pick it up.
Jelena and I grew up aware of our Jewishness and had contact with the Jewish community, but our family was not observant of any of the Jewish practices. Our religious observance was limited to the Purim and Hanukkah social celebrations in the Jewish community, although we did have friends from the community. Our grandmother, Aranka, was more observant. While I do not remember spending any holidays with her, I'm sure that Grandmother observed them to some extent, including lighting candles and fasting on Yom Kippur.
I completed the university in Belgrade with a degree in pharmacology and currently work as a pharmacist in the Jewish community. I was married to Nebojsa Jovanovic, a journalist for the Tanjug news agency, who died of cancer in 1998. We have two children, Djordje and Jelena, who live with me and our golden retriever, Benjamin, in Belgrade. Djordje and Jelena are students at Belgrade University, and in their spare time, Djordje practices and performs with his rock band and Jelena gives aerobics classes.
My sister Murci currently lives with her husband, a Jew from Subotica, and their two children, Adam and Lily, in New York City, where her husband does research in a NYU laboratory.
Many members of my parents’ families were killed during the war. Some escaped by leaving Europe before the outset, some survived. Today, I have family in Yugoslavia, Europe, Israel, the U.S., Mexico and elsewhere.
Location
Serbia
Interview
Judita Jovanovic