Ilona Seifert's aunt Iren Wollner in Abbazia

My father´s sister, Irenke, on holiday in Abbazia, in a photo from the 1920s. Irenke married Oszkar Wollner, who was one of my mother's brothers. In this way, our families became doubly related. Oszkar Wollner also owned a bakery and bakery shop, where they sold bread and bakery goods. On Fridays cholent, a traditional Sabbath stew, was brought to them from the neighborhood, to bake in their oven. Irenke worked in the shop. They never had children, but they loved all the children in the family. The whole extended family went down to Abbazia (Yugoslavia, now Croatia) at the same time. We traveled by train. Oh, that was a big journey! It took almost a whole day, and we had to change trains at Fiume, not very easy with our large amounts of luggage. In Abbazia we stayed at the Breiner Hotel, which was a strictly kosher hotel. I remember that the meat table and the meat section were set with red covers, and the milk table and section with nice blue tablecloths. You could eat either meat or milk-based meals, but the two parts were kept separate. This hotel was the only kosher hotel in Abbazia, so all our Jewish acquaintances also stayed there. The family all went together, my mother and the two of us children, the two of us and, of course, Fräulein Herta. Since she worked all year, it was natural that we wouldn't leave her out and go on holiday without her! My mother's younger sister with her two sons also went to Abbazia, as did our grandparents, and I think, others as well. There were a lot of children in Abbazia, acquaintances, relatives and neighbors. Everybody knew everybody else. There was also always a rabbi, who spent his summer holiday there, because the place was kosher enough for him. He gave a religious service every Sabbath, as there was a synagogue there, too.

Photos from this interviewee