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Újfehértó Family Life
Husband, Father, Grandfather and Country Squire
My picture of Ferenc is as a very complex man, both stern and
aloof, but capable of great tenderness. These two portraits of Ferenc by
his daughter and his granddaughter show two very different sides of the same
coin. One time when I interviewed Kato and she was talking about her
father's sternness, I was surprised when she began to cry. I thought that
after all these years, she still feels the sting of not being able to reach into
her father's heart.
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Kato-neni on her Father
Ferenc |
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Kato BREUER
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Ferenc was a cold, strong man. He never showed his feeling. But
when his grandchildren came into his life he showed them....but showed his
feeling to Agi. One day he woke up and wanted to go to Budapest...My
mother asked him why do you want to go to Budapest. He said because he
wanted to go to see Agi.[8] |
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Religion
The family was not religious. Just ordinary people. We kept a
kosher home because of my mother. My father who came back from the United states
didn't care too much about religious things. I never thought he was not a good man.
There was a casino every day. Not all Jews were allowed in. He went to the casino every afternoon and played cards with gentile
people.[8]
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My father was a strong man, not a bad father, but he was a strong
man. He kept his distance from you. He kept 3 steps far away. We had to kiss his hand. He was a very strong man.
Different than my mother. I was surprised. She was a fine lady. She
was a lady and he was a strong man. [7]
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Agi's Story: Grandfather's House |
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Agi's Story
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Every summer we visited my father’s parents, Ferenc and Amalia (Mali)
Breuer in Újfehértó (New White
Lake). The village was about 300
kilometers from Budapest, but in those days it took a whole day to get there by
train. I loved to visit there. I was spoiled by my grandparents and by my
aunts and uncles and I was treated like a sophisticated city girl by my friends
and cousins. I was left with my
grandparents when I was as young as two or three years old. Újfehértó was my
Camelot. I spent three months of every
summer there as well as Christmas vacation too.
I remember everything: how the
house was furnished; One room had
heavy, carved marble topped furniture, two large mirrors, and a plush divan in a Turkish pattern. This room was used only to receive visitors,
and it smelled of apples stored in the breakfront. The middle room had modern,
lightweight white furniture. It had
been the room of my Grandparents’
youngest daughter before she left home.
The third room, my grandparents’ bedroom which was the center of all activities. It had a beautiful honey-colored tile hearth, my
grandfather’s rolltop desk, and a large
bowl with a pitcher for washing up.
There was an adjoining bathroom but there was no running water in my
grandparents’ house. The tin bathtub
was used to store walnuts.
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My grandfather Ferenc was a different story. He was tall and walked erect with the help of a walking
stick. His black hat was on straight
and his expression always stern. He was
a taciturn man with a cigar. He was
only friendly with his grandchildren.
According to family lore when Ferenc got mad at one of his sons, he
would not talk to the offender for years thereafter.
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Grandpa wasn’t a great success in the business world, but they got by even though once in a
while the pigeons from the roof ended up
on the dining room table. They raised
their own poultry and grew their own vegetables. There was always a young
maid to fetch the water from the well and to wash up the dishes. On the Sabbath, she would do all the things
religious Jews are not allowed to do;
light the fire and flick the switch to turn on the electric light.
After eating his delicious lunch, often in the cool, green ivy covered
gazebo, Ferenc took a nap and then was
off to the club where he played cards with the local dignitaries, all the while
sipping a glass of red wine. The “old
man”, as his children called him behind his back, liked his wine.
My grandfather often took the train to Budapest to visit us. He arrived with grandma’s cookies, goose
liver in fat and a demijohn of wine for medicinal purposes. I thought everybody’s grandfather came
equipped with a demijohn.
When I was visiting my grandparents in
Újfehértó, my grandfather and I
often went to the farmer’s market to do the marketing and when the fair came to
town, he took me to see the freaks and to sample the Turkish delight and pink
cotton candy. I always took a turn on
the Ferris wheel. My grandfather told
me to stay away from the gypsies
because they stole children.
Poor gypsies, they had a terrible reputation.
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Sources:
[1] Frank BANYAI
[2] George SARLO notes (taken from Cila SARLO)
[3] Kato BREUER (oral)
[4] Braunschweig ships manifest for 27 Feb 1893
[5] 1891 Industry & Trade Directory
[6] Újfehértó Jewish
birth/marriage/death register 1852-1895 (LDS Film)
[7] Taped telephone interview of Kato done by Paul on April 12, 1998
[8] Video tape interview of Kato done by Agi & Peter on October 10, 1992
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