Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Ruth Federman - February 13, 2008

Later Years II

And he started to write letters to the mayor of this little place and he sent me the letters. Beautiful Czech. I don't know how he knows so, so well Czech. And, uh, then he also said what should be written on the stone, yes, kind of a stone, so I told him, "You know, you are writing a roman--a novel." There is a few words--here was a synagogue from time this to time th...to, for, to '39, yes, when the, when the German came--finished but it was 'til '45, they left, they left it. They didn't know it's a synagogue. The Czech put it down because it was already ruined, yes? And I told him, "Look, a thousand dollars. Here, a thousand dollars, me and two thousand dollars the town--the little town." I said, "Look, who will look at it? My children won't go there to look at it, the goyim won't look at it." "No, we will do it." I said, "Okay," and we say okay. Okay. We met in Prague and we had really a very good time. He was very nice and he did everything what I said--where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see. "To the cemetery I am not going." I said, "What you are not going? Your grandfather is there and your parents are there." "No, I don't go to cemeteries. I don't believe in religion." So I told him, "That's not religion. That's tradition and to give honor to your family," because, you know, in one grave. It's, it's habit--they're all--they're his grandparents, they're his parents and they're his--mother, no. He went with me. And then he started really to say, "You are right about things," so that's John ???.

Okay, I will look him up.

Very, very intelligent. Over--intelligent.

I even have his e--mail, I think.

Yes.

So I will send him an e--mail.


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