Emlekezik - Remember

For Zsigmond Klein and his father Izrael Klein, the occupation is listed as "kisbirtokos" ("smallholder"). Per the excellent website http://www.berecz.us/tutorial/civil/notes.htm (retrieved 04 JAN 2021) - "KISBIRTOKOS: Prior to 1848, the term "smallholder" was not often used. When it was used, it meant a nobleman who owned only a very small piece of land -- one section or less. After "serfdom" was abolished in 1848, it also applied to those landed peasants who had taken full legal ownership of the land they farmed. "

For Dovid Veisz (father of the bride), the occupation is listed as "korcsmáros" - innkeeper.
For Chaja Stern (mother of the bride), the occupation is listed as "haztartas" - housewife.

"Kisbirtokos" is "smallholder"). Per the excellent website http://www.berecz.us/tutorial/civil/notes.htm (retrieved 04 JAN 2021) - "KISBIRTOKOS: Prior to 1848, the term "smallholder" was not often used. When it was used, it meant a nobleman who owned only a very small piece of land -- one section or less. After "serfdom" was abolished in 1848, it also applied to those landed peasants who had taken full legal ownership of the land they farmed. "

In the olden times, the marriages were prearranged by the parents of the bride and groom. Naturally, they always looked out for the welfare of their children's future. The young couple did not see each other before the wedding.

My mother's father, his name was David, was 19 years old when he married her mother Chaje at age 15. In many cases these marriages worked out very well but my grandmother (my mother's mother) was a city girl. She came from Palanka, near Munkacs, and she found herself suddenly on the outskirts of a little town Bilke, on top of a mountain where the next neighbor was miles away. The land as far as she could see belonged to the parents of her bride groom the Weiss family and besides that, they were mining ore of which iron was made.

The young groom did not know too much about the business. He was attending schools, Yeshivas, in the big cities. After the wedding, he had to learn the business part and his father did everything to break him into it. At the same time, naturally, they found that the bride needed to be improved also.

Her parents were business people. They traveled far and wide for merchandise which consisted of silks from France, lace from Switzerland, and iron work from Germany and other commodities which brought profit to the business. They were the Strobel family from Palanka. Between the two families was a big gap. except that they both were wealthy.

The bride arrived with beautiful silk dresses and capes. Her mother-in-law, my mother's grandmother, wore peasant-like dresses more suitable to the life of the surroundings. The countryside there in itself was so overwhelmingly enchanting that the beautiful silk dresses were lost there completely.

One morning the young bride got up and found her sun umbrella stuck in the vegetable garden to serve as a scarecrow to scare away the birds. This was the limit! She picked herself up and went home which was not an easy thing to do. At that time, there was no railroad. With a horse and buggy, it took her a week to reach her destination.

In the 1800's, this was a revolutionary thing to do for a young woman to leave her husband. Her parents were terribly upset, beside the shame this brought upon them. They could not handle the situation. Needless to say, they tried everything to persuade her to go back to her husband but there was no way. After a while, she must have felt that she was not welcome anymore in her parents' house. But she finally came up with a solution. Chaje told her father that if he would give her another dowry, she would go back to her husband.

She soon arrived in Bilke with a bundle of money and bought in the center of the town a big piece of land and had a beautiful house built on an elevation far from the main road. It had a terrace and a cellar. The terrace continued as a gangway around the house. The rooms were very large. But the most outstanding feature was in the kitchen. It had two stoves stacked one upon another. The whole town came to see this invention. In another room, the ceiling was painted with beautiful ornaments on wooden boards.

Eva Klein - Daughter

My father, Meynhert Klein, during the few times that he spoke to me about his life during the Holocaust, would describe the last time he saw his mom and sister Bella leaving on a train. I don't know when or where this occurred. And looking back now, I failed to ask the many questions that fill my head now. I'd like to believe that my inaction was because my father would be teary during these moments, and I didn't want to cause him any more pain. I hope it wasn't because I was too young and self-absorbed. But I can't say.

I chose this date for my Grandmother and Aunt Bella because between May 14, 1944 and July 9, 1944, 437,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to Auschwitz on trains. Most were murdered on arrival.

David

Auschwitz Survivor Eva Klein, a daughter of Sura Feiga Veisz, wrote in her autobiography, "And where is my beautiful sister Izabella, who never got married because she did not want to leave mother. A friend told me when they arrived in Auschwitz, an SS wanted to part them but Izabella leaned on mother's shoulder and begged to let her go with mother."

Happy 125th Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!!!

גליקלעך יאָרטאָג באָבע און זיידע

Happy Birthday, Grandma.

All My Love, Your Grandson David