Marta Feher as a little girl

This is me. I was born in 1924 in Zalaegerszeg.

I had no brothers and sisters. I didn't attend a Jewish elementary school; there was no such school in Zalaegerszeg. I even attended the convent school when I was 9 or 10 years old.

That was because an acquaintance of ours who lived with us was a teacher there. Then I went to middle school. The middle school lasted until I was 14 years old.

There were only Neolog families in Zalaegerszeg. Dr. Mozes Junger was the rabbi. There was a nice big synagogue. The synagogue was close to the house. I went to pray every morning with uncle Gergo.

They were our neighbors; they came to live there when they bought the family house from grandmother Malvin. And this uncle Gergo was very religious.

He worked at the post office as an administrator. We were on good terms with them and I always went to the synagogue every Friday and lit a candle.

I used to know the prayers well. I even had an exam with Dr. Mozes Junger, Chief Rabbi, and I was so good that he gave me 10 pengos.

My mother couldn't read Hebrew, but I had to read to her for a half-hour every day. There was a religious book written in Hebrew, which was like the prayer book, and I read from that. My mother listened and I was proud.

Sometimes she asked me what was I reading and then I tried to translate it but I didn't understand everything either.

I had Christian friends as well, but I mostly [mixed] with Jews. There was my girlfriend Vera and her sisters Dora and Zsoka.

We lived close to each other and used to see each other very often. My mother saw a great deal of their mother. They were Neologs too but on high holidays they went to the [synagogue] as well.