Simon Maroko - February 19 & 26, 1986
Disruption in Religious Life
At what point um, was this life--religious life in particular, disrupted by the war? I mean, really disrupted so that you couldn't, the family couldn't, couldn't function as it had before? When did Shabbos dinners take on a different tone, for example?
They never had anything different. Until the very--until my uh, family was deported.
So through 1943.
Right. Uh, I can uh, imagine because I don't have any direct recollection. But uh, I can easily, safely assume that the spirit uh, towards the end uh, even on Shabbos was uh, not as happy as it used to be because um, uh, the thousands, tens of thousands of people that uh, were acquaintances and friends uh, of my father uh, they were deported uh, way before uh, my parents were deported.
In 1940 now, the, you said the numerus clausus was passed.
Probably in 1941.
Nineteen forty-one.
They took--the Germans did it uh, the right way from their viewpoint. Uh, move in very slowly so they won't uh, have any excuse for reacting. It is like a subliminal approach almost. Any move that they made was so small that no person in their right mind would think of uh, taking this as a reason, this one step in itself as a reason to uh, start anything uh, negative, aggressive or whatever against the Germans. It, it was probably planned like that. That's my, my guess.
Do you remember the events of February 1941?
February 1941.
When...
I would have to go back to my notes, if I may.
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