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Well it was mainly the economic part of it because the business went very much down. My father felt it - and eventually they had to sell the shop. I always remember the last time my father put the shutters down on the shop, on the last day. He cried - the first time I saw my father cry.

It must have been about '36, '37 - something like that. 1937 - because we still lived there for another year or so after the shop... My father finished off the business from home. It was sold or it was sold under duress, if you know what I mean. It was impossible to keep it going.

I could see that my parents were worried. All the Jews had left - as I said - we were the last to leave. So for a year I was the only child - I had nobody to play with. I was always with my mother and I was terribly lonely. Weekends my mother used to take me to my uncle's - because there were children there - but it was terrible, really.

And obviously I didn't do any school work, because if nobody looks at your work or takes interest and just puts bad marks and things - you don't work. My mother tried to teach me at home and - you know - to work with me, but it wasn't the same. It was a very sad year, you see we had to go to school - but it was just going and sit there.