Class portrait of Marim Haller

This is I, Marim Haller, with my classmates on graduating high school - The Superior School of Commerce, as it was called in those days - in 1934. I am the third from the right, second row. The one next to me on the right is Sarica Segall, the one to my left is Reghina Smilovici, Clara Turcu is the one on her left, the one sitting on the ground to the right is Otilia Gold, Farcasanu is sitting in the middle, and Marcus is on the left; in the back row, the one on the left is Tony Schwartz, the second and the third from the right are Alexandra Ianovici and Marioara Siminiceanu, respectively, they are Romanian - several of the persons in this photograph are Romanian. The back of the photograph reads: "The graduates of 4th grade 1934. 4th June 1934," and we signed our names: "Reghina Smilovici, Malvina Sin Soil, Tony Schwartz, Turcu Clara, Rozica Grimberg, Ianovici Alex, Gold Otilia, Segall Sarica, Siminiceanu Marioara, Grigoras."

I was born in Harlau in 1915. Officially, my name is Marim, but people call me Maly. I was named after a neighbor whom my mother knew. At school, I was registered as Marim Nuta, even though my father's actual name was Sin Nuta, after his father. Formerly, that's how people were named, Sin Nuta, Sin This, Sin That - son of Nuta, son of this, son of that. [Editor's note: The word "sin" is a dialect form of the Yiddish "zun" (zin)=son.] Afterwards, I secured an attestation from the court of law stating that Nuta and Ghebergher were the same name. It doesn't matter, I changed it afterwards, when I got married.

I started going to school at the Romanian school in Harlau. There was also a Jewish school, but I completed [the first 4 grades at] the Romanian school. That's where my mother enlisted me. I believe we lived in Harlau until I was about 10.

And afterwards we moved to Botosani, my mother and I. We lived in a rented house on Dragos Voda St., which had 2 rooms and a kitchen, and mother would rent one of the rooms to tenants - she rented one of the rooms, and we lived in the other room - so that we could get by, she rented the room to pupils - that's how life was in those days!   

I started attending the Commercial School in Botosani, it consisted of three grades, and then, if you wanted to, you could continue studying there. After that, I attended the Superior School of Commerece, another 4 grades. I graduated the Superior School of Commerce in 1934. I didn't have to pay schooling taxes as my father had died in the war. And I was a prize-winning pupil, I was a good pupil. I couldn't continue my studies, even though I sat for an exam and passed it. I sat for an admission exam at the Commercial Academy in Bucharest, but I didn't continue my studies. There was no one to support me financially, my mother was alone, life was hard. I had a job, and I had to support my mother as well.

Photos from this interviewee