Oro Menahem

This is a photo of my husband's mother, Oro Menahem,who lived in our house on Ekzarh Josif Street to the end of her life. The photo was taken in 1949 in Sofia. My husband's mother was born in Pleven in the 1870s. She married Israel Menahem in Pleven. My husband's father, Israel Menahem, was an important egg merchant - he exported production wholesale to Austria. He lived in the town of Pleven. There was such a concurrence of circumstances that he went bankrupt and died. His family moved to Sofia in 1935. They rented a lodging in the town and started to work. The Jewish choir was a meeting place for young Jews. My husband and I met each other in the choir of the synagogue where we both used to sing. I married him on 30th June 1945. Our marriage was one of the first civil marriages in Sofia. Our love lasted and we waited for several years for each other while we were interned from Sofia. My family was interned in Kjustendil and his in Byala Slatina in North Bulgaria. I was already close with Oro in the 1930s. We often used to meet and go shopping of for a walk. My husband's mother came to live with us on Ekzarh Josif Street after we married in 1945. She was a very good housewife, she observed Sabbath and she tried to make sure that there was always kosher food at home. The Sofia Central Synagogue was just next to our home and she went there regularly. During the totalitarian rule of the Communist Party only old people could go to the synagogue. Thanks to my mother-in-law we kept observing all Jewish traditions and holidays at home during this time.