Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982
Religious Community
Mm-hm. And how, how many people belonged to this big synagogue would you say?
Oh, oh about uh, four hundred--five hundred people in each synagogue.
Were they Orthodox?
Uh, no, this wasn't Orthodox the main synagogue.
Did the men and women sit with each other?
No they didn't sit uh, the men were sitting downstairs and was the upstairs women you know.
Do you remember was there a main rabbi in...
Yes, there was a main rabbi but I don't remember the name
You don't remember
Name. Rabbi's name.
Okay. Can you tell me something about life in Beregszász before the war? You were Czechoslovakia then?
Yes, in uh, we was Czechoslovakia 'til '38 and then the Hungarian came.
Mm-hm.
Came. And uh, at that time you know, I was young. When the Czech went away I think I was uh, 'bout thirteen or fourteen years old in '38.
Mm-hm.
And it was a good life, it wasn't a bad life. We didn't uh, hear the anti-Semite uh, slogan or anything yet. Just when the Hungarian came in, then you know, you uh... Right away the first day when they came in, if they see a man with a beard they uh, right away was thinking they Jewish and they went and, and beat them up. And then we know what's going to come afterwards.
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