"Some Memories - not Memoirs"

Notes: Not sure when Dad wrote these pages. I have left a PDF here and paragraphs that haven't fit into other pages.

I have been reluctant to jot down recollections of my family and of my own life because I find my memory hazy and probably unreliable. Now I wish that my father had left us some written record pertaining to our kinfolks! Alas, in spite of his intense devotion to the family he only jotted down a few sparse notes which are included in Ralph's baby book. In "ordinary" times there are usually family members around who pass on information to subsequent generations. Such oral tradition is useful albeit often flawed by convention, discretion or attempts to clean the family escutcheon. We do not have the benefit of this tradition. Your mother and I did not grow up in ordinary times. From 1933 on our lives deviated markedly from the theretofore customary lives of middle class German - or in mother's case Polish - Jews. As a matter of fact, mother's family experienced upheaval one generation earlier, and she already grow up in alien environment. Thus we have to rely on our memory since we have access only to few documents, nor can we seek information from more knowledgeable family members. But I will try to reconstruct events and connections to the beat of my ability without excessive distortion. I shall indicate whenever I am not entirely certain of happenings. So much has happened in the course of my life that I sometimes wonder if the overload of stimuli did not help extinguish individual experiences.

...

My career plans were somewhat unsettled, partly because of Hitler, partly because of my own indecision. In my early years in the Realgymnasium I vacillated between the study of languages, political science or economics and drama director. Then in early 1930 a very traumatic event affected the whole family. My father became desperately ill with a sepsis (blood infection) - in those days essentially a fatal condition. Half a dozen or more physicians took care of him at home. Hospitals were not highly prized then. of course, antibiotics or chemotherapy were still undreamed of, and the physicians used supportive means only. But their unbelievable dedication and skill made a great impression on me and changed my future plans. Father recovered fortunately and eventually resumed his dental practice. He supported my career ambition. After a couple of weeks I got a phone call from father to let me know that I had been accepted by the University of Bern. So I left Uh.Brod toward the end of

April to start my medical education in Bern.

Of course I knew that this was only a temporary arrangement. Switzerland was even then very expensive, it was difficult to transfer funds from Germany to Switzerland and, finally, foreigners could not take the State Board Exam nor practice in the country. Therefore I did not study very assiduously, but took some courses in philosophy and psychology in addition to the prescribed courses in Chemistry, Physics and Botany. My social life was quite limited. I got together with some Jewish students from Lettland who were ardent Revisionist Zionists, followers of Vladimir Jabotinsky, who tried to convert me to their cause. At first I was somewhat intrigued - but soon realized that they were essentially Jewish Fascists. As I had already mentioned, I was never taken in by Zionism - but during my brief stay in Bern I did develop some interest in the movement. For some reason which I cannot explain at this time I became also interested in Semitic languages. Of course I have always been attracted to the study of languages and linguistics - but it must have been the contact with the Zionist students that aroused my interest in Semitic languages. I inquired about universities where one could study these languages and discovered that there were actually three preeminent places Oxford, Rome and Beirut - for the study of semitics. I went so far as to write to the most distinguished scholar in Rome, Professor Cassuto. He discouraged my plans because I had no background in classical Greek which he considered important. Actually I had never intended to go into archaeology or biblical research where Greek would have been essential. My intention was to become a political scientist and journalist in the Middle East. I cannot remember how long I entertained this romantic idea - somehow it crept up again even after I had started my medical studies in Italy. In those days the concept of " finding oneself " had not yet become popular even though we had good reasons for thinking along these lines. In retrospect I realize how lonely and confused I must have been in Bern and probably for some time in Italy. I had been uprooted from a very sheltered and reasonably comfortable existence, had no idea of a future, perhaps not even a present and had essentially lost contact with my past. Attending a professional school created a semblance of normalcy because this is what I would have done anyway at that stage of my life, although not in a foreign country. The ostensible goal was to finish my education and then what ? Initially it had been possible to get a licensure in Italy - but with the influx of refugees such opportunities were restricted.