Stories from Communist Hungary
The lady I am staying with tonight told me these two stories. We were listening to Charles Aznavour sing Meine Yiddishe Mama in French, and she asked me when was the first time I had ever heard the song. I told her I really had no idea, and then she told me this:
The little girl and the question
When she was a little girl in Communist Hungary she did not know that she was Jewish. one day in school all of the little girls and boys were told to go home and ask their parent what religion they were, and if they would be permitted to attend religious lessons in school. Well, this little girl had never heard the words "religion" or "religious instruction" before (they are different words in Hungarian) , and she kept repeating them to herself again and again. When seh arrived home her grandmother answered the door, and right away shw asked: What religion am I?
The grandmother did not answer right away. She went away, and when she came back into the room she took the little girl onto her lap and explained that they were Israealites, and that she would hae to aske her parents about religious instruction when they arried home from work. Well, she did, and though at first they said Absolutely Not, she pestered them during the evening and the following morning until they consented.
St the bus stop the little girl met her best friend and of course the first thing they did was tell what religious they were, since no one knew before. These two girls were bittely disappointed, as one, it turns out was an Israelite, and the other one was Jewish!
The next week the school abolished religious instruction.
The Song
In Communist Hungary in the 5ös, travelling outside of the country was basically unheard-of. However, for some reason the little girl's father had been hired for the inport-export business and he was being sent to Amsterdam for some business.
When he returned from his trip, he had with him a few forbidden treasures, and one of them was a record. In the evening he gathered all of his friends and the few relatives who had survived the war into his small apartment, and he played one song on the record, over and over, while everyone was silent, and just listened.
And that was the first time my host heard Meine Yiddishe Mama.
The little girl and the question
When she was a little girl in Communist Hungary she did not know that she was Jewish. one day in school all of the little girls and boys were told to go home and ask their parent what religion they were, and if they would be permitted to attend religious lessons in school. Well, this little girl had never heard the words "religion" or "religious instruction" before (they are different words in Hungarian) , and she kept repeating them to herself again and again. When seh arrived home her grandmother answered the door, and right away shw asked: What religion am I?
The grandmother did not answer right away. She went away, and when she came back into the room she took the little girl onto her lap and explained that they were Israealites, and that she would hae to aske her parents about religious instruction when they arried home from work. Well, she did, and though at first they said Absolutely Not, she pestered them during the evening and the following morning until they consented.
St the bus stop the little girl met her best friend and of course the first thing they did was tell what religious they were, since no one knew before. These two girls were bittely disappointed, as one, it turns out was an Israelite, and the other one was Jewish!
The next week the school abolished religious instruction.
The Song
In Communist Hungary in the 5ös, travelling outside of the country was basically unheard-of. However, for some reason the little girl's father had been hired for the inport-export business and he was being sent to Amsterdam for some business.
When he returned from his trip, he had with him a few forbidden treasures, and one of them was a record. In the evening he gathered all of his friends and the few relatives who had survived the war into his small apartment, and he played one song on the record, over and over, while everyone was silent, and just listened.
And that was the first time my host heard Meine Yiddishe Mama.
posted by Melamondiale @ 1:18 PM
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