Eva Gottschick

This girl is my daughter, Eva Gottschick (nee Farkas), when she was seven or eight years old, in 1956 or 1957 I think, here in Brasov. She took ballet classes at that time, and I wanted to have a photo of her dressed in the ballet costume.

Before Eva was born, in 1951, my husband was transferred to Brasov, and when he found a place to live we moved there as well, Eva was three weeks old. I gave birth to Eva in Targu Mures, because there was no hospital or a specialist in Miercurea Ciuc, and my mother didn't want to leave me there, if a problem or complication occurred, it would have been dangerous. Taking into account that my husband's sister lived in Targu Mures, I stayed with them, and had my baby there.

After I got married, I always observed the Jewish holidays in the family. When we came to Brasov, I went to the synagogue, it didn't interest me if someone followed me or not. I didn't take Eva along, she was too little. She only made noise in the synagogue and I didn't take her with me.

We did observe Christian holidays in the family when Eva was little. We had a neighbor, who had a small girl, of her age. And on the Christian New Year I trimmed a tree, because the girl would cry. What could I tell a two-year-old child - that you are Jewish and the other is Christian? I couldn't, she would cry. But when she grew up I told her that she was Jewish and she understood that we don't celebrate that. I did dress Eva up for Purim, when she was at the temple, and then she joined the community choir. I don't think I ever gave her Chanukkah gelt, as in especially for Chanukkah, but she always had pocket money.

My daughter, after she graduated from high school, studied two years at the faculty of physical education in Bucharest, and then she did a three-year electro techniques course. Eva worked here in the country at the former ICRM, she worked with electronic computers, and it was the first time they had appeared here, in Brasov at least.