Re: [Cz-L] Brettschneider

Hello Peretz and Hello Gabriele,
The meeting in a Kitzbühel hotel that Gabriele is refering to, took place sometime in the early nineties and the man seemed to be in his seventies.
Here is what I write in my book about this meeting:
"This anecdote is not the only one of that type. It often happens that my place of origin suddenly comes up in the course of a discussion. For instance, a few years earlier in Austria, as we spent a summer vacation in Kitzbühel, Tyrol.
One evening, I was relaxing before dinner on the hotel terrace, next to other clients. After a while, I discuss with my neighbor, a man quite older than me staying at the hotel with his wife, his granddaughter and a nanny – with whom they spoke in Spanish – taking care of the child.

- You are French, isn’t it? How come you speak so well German?
- Oh, it’s a long story! In fact, I spoke German at home with my parents; and I was born in a place in Eastern Europe you won’t know about.
- No, no, go on, tell me!
- Well, I was born in Czernowitz, which today belongs to…
- But, I’m also from Czernowitz!
- What? Excuse me, but I heard that you speak Spanish and I believe you live somewhere in Latin America. I even heard your name: Teodoro Bardor.
- Yes, but before my name was Brettschneider. We live in Mexico by now, for many years; our children are Mexicans and we took our granddaughter with us in order to give a little break to her parents.

We start to exchange and tell bits and pieces of our life stories. Answering his question, I give my name, as well as that of my mother, which was probably well-known in Czernowitz: her brother Edi Wagner got famous there in the thirties, resisting the Rumanian fascists before WW2. He organized a folkloric ensemble of up to a hundred young people of all nationalities, who sang, danced and played balalaika and other string instruments. They gave a dozen performances, despite interdiction. The Rumanian police finally caught him in August 1936: he was beaten and tortured to death. But, clearly, my interlocutor is not aware of this story: he emigrated before these events.

- Are there many Czernowitzers in Paris? He asks.
- I believe quite some. There was a time my parents used to attend evenings organized by some Bukowiner association. I possibly accompanied them when I was a child, but I do not remember. Maybe you know the name Kraft? This was a well-known family in Czernowitz. I was once married with a Kraft girl – actually, she was the niece of David Kraft, the ophthalmologist.
- What? You are this Charles?
- Eeh… Yes! I first married Martine F., Rika’s daughter. We divorced after a few years.
- I know that story very well: I was Heinz Kraft’s best man at his wedding long time ago; that’s her other uncle, the one who lived in Brazil. Your story went round the world!

What a small world!"

(... Also...:-):-):-), Sorry Gabriele, but I'm not your husband's uncle: don't make me older than I already am :-):-):-)! As you know, Edy's mother and my mother were sisters, which makes us first rank cousins!)
Regards,
Charles
----------
> Subject: [Cz-L] Bretschneider
> From: "E. & G. Weissmann" <EGWeissmann_at_gmx.net>
> Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 03:12:38 +0100
> X-Message-Number: 12
>
> Dear Peretz,
> About 15 years ago, in a hotel in Austria we met a very
> nice gentleman
> from Mexico called Bardor. My husband's uncle, Charles, who
> was also
> there with his family, started talking to him and found out
> that he too,
> was a Czernowitzer (of course, what else). He told us later
> that he had
> escaped as a young man during the war, then made his way
> via Israel to
> Mexico, married a pretty Jewish Viennese woman, and that he
> had a
> factory of spare parts for cars there. He came a few more
> years to this
> hotel where we used to meet  together with his large
> family (and maid).
> Maybe he doesn't live any more or can't bother with the
> long trip. He
> was a tall, good-looking man, very intelligent. Maybe you
> are related
> somehow, do you know anything about this possible member of
> your family?
> Charles Rosner might recall more.
> Good luck with your search.
> Gabriele

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Received on 2011-01-23 06:32:34