I was born in Arad, the lovely city on the banks of the Mures, in 1929, but my parents and grandparents are from Banat, specifically Grabaț. [...] My grandfather, who at the beginning of the century moved from Grabaț to Timișoara, was a well-known entrepreneur; he founded the "Schlosser and Temmer" leather factory, on the banks of the Bega... [...] I attended primary school in Arad, in the "Moise Nicoară" High School, located in the beautiful and famous Cultural Palace. During the war, starting with the legionary rebellion- I had just successfully passed the admission exam at the "Moise Nicoară" High School - I was expelled, based on my Jewish ethnicity.
(What year did it happen?)
In the '40s; And then, I attended the courses of a private school for four years, made up of Jewish students and teachers who could not practise at state schools. So I came to Timișoara, to the Jewish High School, which had the right to publicity. We didn't have one, and then we took our exams there.
(What does this right of publicity mean?)
That is, the private school in Arad did not have the right to confer diplomas and certificates, but luckily for us, this difficult period for us, and not only for us, passed relatively quickly; in '44, after the liberation, we were co-opted into the state schools, where in '48 I completed my baccalaureate.
(Could you please go back a bit to this more difficult time in your life? What did it mean to you and your family?)
It was a difficult time for the family. My father was a merchant - he had a Serbian recognised, nevertheless, he dealt with the export of feathers/leather especially to Germany. He was a recognised specialist in this matter, but he was not allowed to practise because of his ethnicity, and we have had quite serious material problems for this reason [...]
In '48, with the reform of higher education, the Faculty of Chemistry was established in Timișoara; for economic reasons - I had an uncle here who helped me -, and being not far from Arad, I enrolled in Chemistry, a fact that I have never regretted.
