Leontin Israel with aunt and maid

This is a photo of my husband's mother Leontin Israel, nee Demayo, with her favorite aunt and the maid. The photo was taken on 25th July 1899 in Karlsbad, in the garden of the Hotel Europe. Leontin was an orphan and the aunt next to her, who was her closest relative, brought her up. When Leontin married my husband's father Marko Israel and came to live in Bulgaria, she probably was very shocked, because the standard of living in Plovdiv was much worse than the one she was accustomed to in Budapest. At home she spoke only German and Ladino. She also learned Bulgarian, but she spoke it in a very funny way. Everybody in her new surrounding loved her, because she was a very nice woman. Unfortunately, she had a sick heart and she died young. My younger granddaughter is named after my mother-in-law, which made my husband very happy while he was alive. I didn't meet Leontin, because she died young, but I know that my husband was very attached to her. She was a very nice, respected and beautiful woman.

Photos from this interviewee