Jack Weinberger - February 6, 1983
Moving On
Yeah. You met your wife in this country?
No, see when I came out of the army, I was, I was, I was in Korea here, too. When I came there--see, I was always Pro-Israel even--I wanted to go to Israel before I came to the United States, that was my first choice. I couldn't go, they had a quota and the Arabs, and the English were there. So in the mean time this came up first. So I figured, well I go here first. I was uh, called up ???. When I came out of the army, I, I said, I made up my mind. I said well, listen I'm gonna take a trip to Israel. I have family there too, from my father's side, my father's sisters and well, I'm gonna go. So, that was it. I figured I'd go out, I'd go there for maybe two months or maybe two weeks, I didn't set no time limit. But I stayed there probably nine months. I liked it, and I stayed with my aunt I didn't have to pay rent, I didn't have to pay food.
Mm-hm.
So the only thing cost me was the ticket and then I met my wife and I got married, and that's it. If you meet my wife uh, so happens she had to go away.
Mm-hm.
See my wife, actually she was born in Germany, she was born in Germany. She was born in 1935. Now when Hitler came to power, I think it was in 1933 if I'm not mistaken. My wife was born two years after Hitler came to power. The trouble in Germany started.
[interruption in interview]
They went to Belgium, so they lived in Belgium for a long time. Until, until the war ended actually. Her father, my wife's father, that means my father-in-law.
Mm-hm.
He worked in a coal mine. He had false papers that he was not Jewish. The older brother, they found out he was Jewish. He was taken away and shot ???. My wife didn't even know she was Jewish. She was raised in a Catholic school, a Catholic nun school, nun school. But she always uh, until after the war she was told who she is actually. A ??? she still was--my wife all the time uh, married after all. Then she was told that uh, you know, her brother was shot because he was Jewish and uh, she wasn't told that. And then she said oh, and then after the war she still went to school the way she was called a few times, "dirty Jew you survived." They always in school, they thought she was non-Jewish but then she finally. So then, she said, all she keeps on, "well I want go to Palestine." Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, she went, so they went to Palestine. They settled down there ???. In the mean time, I came, I met her and, you know, just proposed and got married. Her mother died, I brought her here, her mother. She lived here for twenty years in this house. She died here last March. Her father died uh, just before we came.
Mm-hm.
So her mother died--lived with us for twenty years here until she died.
And how many children do you have?
I have two. My, my ??? son just called from earlier, California, took off two weeks ago. See they live in a different mind, generation today then we lived in Europe. Of course thanks God, I'm glad they have a different uh, they don't have to worry about so much. You always had fear what the next day will be. We always had food and clothing, and all kind a things. Today, I lucky my son uh, he has a job one day, works, saves up a little money, goes uh, blows it, you know.
Mm-hm.
Doesn't bother him.
Mm-hm. [pause] Do you ever have nightmares about what happened?
I do once in awhile and before I go to bed, every night, this is seven days a week, seven days a week, I always think about ???.
Mm-hm.
I will never forget it and I can never forget. And I don't want to forget.
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