Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Baruch Spergel - February 4, 2008

Religious Life

Um...

BS: What?

...were you interested in Zionism?

BS: Zionism?

Yeah.

BS: Well, we, we went to a kind of-what's its name? Organization. It was called, Blau-Weiss, Blue-White. It was for Jewish children who were, who were, who were interested in Palestine, what, what was happening in Palestine but personally I didn't feel particularly interested in it but...

ZF: My father was a Zionist.

BS:...at that time...

Ah.

BS:...we didn't-as long as we didn't have any experience of Nazism uh, and I'm, I'm sure if Hitler hadn't taken the Czechoslovakia we would've stayed there and be-probably would've prospered there.

Were you-was the family religious at all?

ZF: Yes, family was religious but not, not like the ultra religious today, you know, Mizrachi type, you know, ???

Conditional...

BS: Yes.

ZF: No, fa...my father is religious-he was religious to the ends of his days but he went swimming and he went the theater and he kept Shabbat and kosher and that.

BS: Kosher...

What was a Friday night like at, at your house?

ZF: It's just that I don't remember so much. I really don't remember.

What was a Friday night like?

BS: Friday night was pretty nice-very nice. I, I, I enjoyed it.

Tell me about it.

BS: Yes, it was religious. I, I liked the candles and the food was easily better than on other days and I enjoyed the Friday nights very much.

And did you go to, uh...

BS: Hmm?

Did you go to synagogue on...

BS: Did I got to synagogue on...

...Shabbat?

BS: Yes, on, on, on Shabbat we went to the synagogue, yes, not because I particularly liked it but my father went to the synagogue and took us.


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