This is me with my brother Faivel . The photo was taken in Sofia, in the late 1930s.
My younger brother Faivel (like our paternal grandfather, Faivel Fridman) was born in the village of Karamanovo, Svishtov region, in 1928. He also emigrated to Israel with his family. He is a constructor. They have three children with his wife Shoshana: Pnina, Hanita and David. Their children also live in Israel. Before she retired, Shoshana worked as a host at the Bulgarian old people's home in Rishon Lezion, while she was living in Yagur with her family, near my mother.
I was born in the village of Slatina, near Sofia, on 17th December 1925. Our family was often forced to move from one place to another, because it was difficult for our father to find a permanent job. That is why my brothers and I were born in different places in Bulgaria. All this, however, didn't mean that my childhood wasn't good. But I should mention I never attended a Jewish school. All the schools I studied at were Bulgarian, except for the first one. I started my primary education in Ruse. There I studied up to first grade only. It was the local Catholic school, and I don't know why my parents decided to choose exactly this one, but it was perhaps because of the better education it seemed to provide. In my second grade I was already at the Sofia's school 'Father Paisii'. In fact, I studied there up to my fourth grade. After that the Law for Protection of the Nation was introduced and I didn't study during this period [1941-1944]. In 1946, however, I continued my education at a night school. At this point all my relatives had already emigrated to Israel. After the night school I attended the so-called RABFAC [Workers' Academy: In socialist times Workers' Schools were organized throughout the entire Eastern Bloc. Modes of instruction included both evening and correspondence classes and all educational levels were served - from elementary school to higher education.]. My favourite subject in the workers' faculty was Physics. I don't remember who the teacher was. I remember only my teachers in Bulgarian and Mathematics - Mrs. Denkova and Mr. Radulov. I can't remember any other details about my early childhood.
