Blanka Gallo’s father, Jakab Leimseder

My father Jakab Leimseder. The photo was taken in Nyiregyhaza in the 1930s.

My father was a tropical fruit dealer in Nyiregyhaza. Until the outbreak of the war in 1939 my father brought the fruit from Italy. There (were) oranges, mandarins, chestnuts, dates, grapes, figs.

It was a big business. The shop was totally separate and had a big warehouse. Since my father sold to retailers. My father was the only tropical fruit dealer beyond the river Tisza.

So they came from all around Nyiregyhaza to buy from him. He always traveled on Saturday night or Sunday morning. The big center was in Trieste. And he came home either on Thursday night or on Friday - in the winter months.

The business was closed on Saturdays. He started to export in the summer months. Beginning with morello cherries, apricots and apples which were the biggest.

At that time there was only a big refrigerated store in Pest but it wasn't a problem as the storehouse was cool enough to store fruit in the winter, but he would take huge amounts of apples to the Pest fridge after the apple harvest as you could get the best price for them in the spring. He rented huge orchards.

My parents were Orthodox. They obeyed every Jewish law to the letter. My father always wore a kipa, made of black velvet. In the past they were only made of that.

He dressed in a suit and hat. He wore tzitzith - boys also wore them under their clothes. He went to synagogue every morning. (In Nyiregyhaza) there were two separate ones: the Orthodox and the Status Quo.

Both were big but there were also many prayer houses besides. My father attended the Orthodox one. It was (not far from us), there were no great distances in Nyiregyhaza.

He was sixty in 1944 (when he was deported).