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My parents programmatically spoke Hebrew. They both knew Yiddish from home and German from school. When they didn’t want me to understand what they were saying they communicated in German or Yiddish. My mother spoke and wrote excellent Polish. My father’s Polish was not as good as my mother’s because since the 6th grade he studied in a school where German was the language of instruction.
For my mom Hebrew was secondary in a sense. She used it for ideological reasons. It was Simcha, her older brother, who drew her to Zionism. She loved and respected him very much and possibly that’s why she became so immersed in it.
One way or another, I was programmatically taught Hebrew ever since a small child. My first words – mom, dad – were in Hebrew. I also remember that one of the first words that I learned was: or, which means light. I started speaking Polish only when I started to go out to play with my friends and in my Polish school. At home I would sometimes exchange a word in Polish with my mom, but with my dad I always spoke in Hebrew.
For my mom Hebrew was secondary in a sense. She used it for ideological reasons. It was Simcha, her older brother, who drew her to Zionism. She loved and respected him very much and possibly that’s why she became so immersed in it.
One way or another, I was programmatically taught Hebrew ever since a small child. My first words – mom, dad – were in Hebrew. I also remember that one of the first words that I learned was: or, which means light. I started speaking Polish only when I started to go out to play with my friends and in my Polish school. At home I would sometimes exchange a word in Polish with my mom, but with my dad I always spoke in Hebrew.
Period
Location
Poland
Interview
Noemi Korsan-Ekert
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