This is one of the photos I have of my mother, Flora Trilnik, nee Hubert. I don't remember on what occasion it was taken or the photographer's name, but it is very dear to me.
My mother was born in Subotica, but I don't know when. Her mother tongue was Hungarian and she also spoke German. She was the eldest child and the last to die. She was an excellent seamstress. She learned the trade in a middle school, but I don't know which one. She sewed independently, from home.
My father, Herman Blumenberg died on the front during World War I. I was six when my mother remarried. We then moved to Subotica. My mother and Mojsije Trilnik, my stepfather, met much earlier. This is quite an interesting story. My mother's relative was married to Trilnik. After her death and my father's death they decided to marry because my stepfather was alone with two kids. He convinced my mother to marry him. She was alone and thought it would be easier to educate the children if she was with someone. We had a small apartment and a piano which we could hardly squeeze in.
My stepfather was a bill collector and a shammash in the Subotica Jewish community. His two children lived with us. We were five children in the house: my two sisters, his two sons and me. My sisters were Magda, born in Kanjiza around 1909, and Sari, born in Kanjiza in 1913. His two sons were called Lajos and Andrija. My relationship with my stepfather was terrible, but I got along well with his sons. My stepfather never hit me, but he did hit his own kids. I simply felt that he didn't love me and that he ignored me. I felt as if I was unsuccessful and stupid. He acted the same way towards Magda and Sari and they felt the same way about him as I.
