Gerardo Weinstein
Gerardo Weinstein was born in Germany in January 1924 into a middle-class German Jewish family whose roots he traced back to the eighteenth century. His father, a veteran of World War I who returned from the war in poor health, was more a social man than a businessman, and the family endured the collapse of a small business during the great German inflation of the 1920s. In early 1933, after witnessing the first anti-Jewish boycott and having read Mein Kampf, his father became convinced the family had to leave not only Germany but Europe entirely. Prompted by a letter from an uncle in Peru, he sent his wife, sister, and two young sons to Holland and then arranged passage to Lima.
The family arrived in Lima in May 1933, among the first refugees to reach Peru from Nazi Germany. Gerardo's father managed a mineral water bottling plant and devoted himself to helping other Jewish refugees, later serving as president of the local Jewish organization and working with relief efforts to resettle newcomers. Gerardo grew up amid Peru's German, Sephardic, and Ashkenazic Jewish communities, helping to organize a young people's association that bridged those groups. He attended a German school until Jewish students were dismissed, learned English, and eventually apprenticed in the international cotton trade, training for six years with a major firm and traveling widely for the business.
Gerardo came to the United States, first to New York, and after complications with military service and citizenship, returned to Peru, became a Peruvian citizen, and later worked selling cotton and coffee in Europe. A career opportunity organizing a Latin America division brought him to Dallas in 1951. He married Helga, whose family he had known abroad, in a ceremony arranged with the help of Max Burnham at Temple Emanu-El, and the couple settled permanently in Dallas in 1953. They raised three daughters and lived in several homes over the decades. Gerardo became active in the community, serving as a vice president of the Jewish Welfare Federation, supporting Golden Acres, joining AIPAC, and serving on the Jewish foundation, all while emphasizing that his family and his children's Jewish futures came first.
Full Transcript
I'm Nancy Rothman and I'm here today November 6 2008 with Gerardo Weinstein at his home on Keller Springs in Dallas to talk about his life in Dallas for the Dallas Jewish Historical Society so good let's start off with what country did your parents come from and my parents came from Germany they were not in Jilin you know technology or what is their color geneology geneology of the family we go back to seventeen hundred and eighty my my father was born in year in yeah and which is not germinate my mother was born in Wichita and which is the year in the Rhineland next to it's
a small industrial bit louder okay it's a small a it was a small but important textile a city of approximately 250,000 people and it's where my mother was born and that's in between our path I was also born in nineteen and in January of 1924 and how did your parents meet and they I really don't know exactly how they met but they met my parents both my parents were born in in July of 1894 at the ripe age of 20 in 1914 my father volunteered to defend his fatherland most eligible young men did and and the only thing I know is that he was engaged
to my mother prior to his 14 where they met and the word circumstances events I Oh what did you father do a my father was a human being he was more of a social nature than he was not really a a businessman and it didn't really interesting much he was in excellent health when he went into the army and four years later he came out of ready I'm a sick person for the and I remain sick almost for the rest of his life and after the war my mother and my father started a little store of goods which were manufactured in the city of the
other areas and unfortunately in 1923-24 when the terrible inflation took place in Germany it destroyed 75% of the of the small business people and they went broke as many others did too and this was in 1924 and then he had several jobs administrating mainly office building for a for a wealthy person which he had who lived in Holland to make investment in Germany and this is where he stayed until 1929 when the words the fashion took place and the wealthy relative from Holland it apparently was over leveraged and he took his life and lost everything and your father that was done no no that's a
state wealthy relative from Holland who owned this building he must have been well over leveraged because he lost everything and then decided to take his own life like many of the people did at that time what my father did exactly since 2930 until 1933 when we left people he visit several jobs and my uncle his father who lived in Temple helped him to find something and he was working there in 1933 in Alton at the beginning of the earth of 1933 which I remember very clearly because when we take the first when the first boycott took place in Germany particularly not in the northern fact
that in environment in below in southern Germany it was the first day when April the first 1933 when the stores were identified was the Bourbon dogged and which letters don't buy again it was Jewish people and so on and my mother called him on the phone because he had travelled from Wichita to Alton I guess the weekend maybe I don't know the the exact details and he she called him and she said I want you to come home because I'm afraid to walk on the street and she told him briefly what happened and he told her I'm taking the sale of a train and you
go and call up my friend so-and-so which was a Gentile person who belonged to the SA because he was also unemployed at that time and tell him to put on his uniform and you and him come to the station and pick me up which she did and when my father saw what was happening in Germany you couldn't believe it and he turned out that evening and told my mother he says we have to leave Germany we have to be Germany but we also have to leave Europe because one day all of you to put burn the reason why he reached that conclusion was that he
understood the nature of evil of the German extreme movements he had read Mein Kampf and he was convinced he believed every word Hitler said and Hitler practically announced to the world in this book which or the 1924 what his intentions were and so he recommended all his friend particularly the wealthier to get out and which they said that he was crazy this was passing matter etcetera etcetera so my uncle who was in the cotton business and close relationship with the Biddle's family and one brother was a bad spot merchants in Vienna and the other one was an early Zionists to move to to Palestine and
they opened a year a exporting firm in Alexandria and Egypt and he started some activities in Palestine and Tel Aviv so mom to recommended that that he should seriously considered moving towards to Palestine at that time my father who was a very convinced national Jew was not a Zionist he had no intention of going to Palestine and and he was too young to understand the concern and their potentials and I wish but I was only five years older than I was I was nine years old I just had become nine years old and I didn't have the maturity which I have today to ask the
type of questions which I should have which of course I didn't understand and my mother had a brother called uncle Herman we call him uncle Herman who was a who had to leave Germany in 1921 because he was a gambler the least was after him going to put him in jail and my beds bought him a tickets and in those years really this would send the black sheep of the family either to the United States or to Latin America in his case he went to Latin America he bought him a ticket and he was supposed to take a ship out of general for Argentina and
by the time he arrived a genuine he called up my dad and he said you have to send me money he says I lost the ticket gambling anyway this is just to give you a little bit of a background of this man of my uncle and he went to South America - lost practically contact with him until 1928 when they received a letter from him from Ecuador inviting his younger sister to visit him in Ecuador so my mother was apprehensive because her sister they were strict they were three in the family one male and his two females one of them was my brother and my
aunt was not she wasn't 100% but she wasn't you know she wasn't sick in any way anyway she they did they sported a ticket and off she went to Ecuador and when she arrived in Guayaquil my uncle was in Buenos Aires he had forgotten that he invited me just so you can imagine the entire baby they felt for him anyway it's said that in 1933 in in impotent April at the end of April they received a letter from my uncle from South America he happen to live in Lima Peru and he addressed a letter to my father's father in Hamburg with whom he tried to
develop some business and he had his address he didn't let his Beatriz of his own system anyway the in the letter contained the note please forward this letter to my sister and do I know who's at least I don't have in my possession let us say that I fled what is to appear in the newspaper what happened what is happening in Germany particular to the Jewish Germans people go to the pollutant consulate in in turn your visas authorized now what year is this that was in in at the end of April of 1933 and how old were you I was nine years old and my
mother of course you remember what he did to my sister he is a gambler I'm not going to go out to live amongst the Indians we don't speak the language we don't have any money anyway my father was so convinced that this was an act of the Almighty and he says we are going and he put his foot down and contrary to be to the complaints of my mother he sent her my mother and and to us to children I had a brother whose failures over there by the name of her at once then and he sent us to live in Holland with the with
a year relative who was happy to do two houses but a couple of weeks and then he saw it whatever little we had in furniture whatever else and bought the tickets to to Peru and had exactly fifteen hundred dollars left in his pocket to take care of a wife a sister and two young children let's stop here okay because before we talk about your life in Peru I want you to discuss your life in Germany would you say that my family was middle-class my father yes we were middle-class some of them looking back there were cousins of Silla professional people there were a middle average
middle-class German Jews and and to tell you if you ask me about my life in Germany it is amazing that I can't remember anything except for the occasional flesh you know of something which I did or which they said I did what about schools do you remember anything about this did you go to a public school or private school was it did you go to any kind of a Jewish I guess I imagined we went to a Jewish school I have no no idea okay all right and you don't remember anything about this to going to the synagogue or anything like no okay Noel my
father this is an interesting point which you raised and I thought that was as it was customary and though she is for those young people who didn't go into the academic world that they would be sent into an apprenticeship which was a custom in Germany for three years to learn whatever trade they were interested in or assigned to and my father is a young man after he left school before he went into the army and it was ready for some very religious Jews who demanded that he baby he would get up every morning at 5 o'clock and late for two hours the Torah the Torah
and he made the promise to himself that if he had children he would never submit his children this type of tyranny which he felt when he was 16 or 17 years old because that was born in nineteen years in 1918 1920 went into the wound in 1914 so he must have been he went he must have finished school at 17 imposing apprenticeship when the world walked out which he welcomes just to get out of this as I said what is he handsome devil experiences he was covered up with 24 hours in a battle and he came out as sick men from which she already never
recovered so this is as fast I know about Germany the only flesh which comes to my mind was that one day I was on the street and the Nazis came marching back and I ran over to a kiosk which showed these sacrifice you know the swastika put it on my lapel and walked with the match with them you can imagine what that would be youngster I was and and that's it I mean I it is amazing I remember everything from the first day we arrived in in Lima Peru but I don't know anything I can't visualize the home which we lived in the apartment which
we did accommodation I remember anything about celebrating holidays would you marry the Jewish holidays the Jewish holiday no I don't remember anything I mean we celebrated my father was very traditional in that respect he celibate even after to do in to the end of his days he he was a traditional in we celebrated the Jewish holidays but the problem was that David body edged the prayer books one and he bow there was no translation we never learned him I never went to jail he was school or so to me going to the synagogue we went my mother forced us to go for other perspective to
make the father who spent the whole day you know at synagogue at the time and the meaning of the players celebrating Friday night only became I already became aware when I came to Dallas as a 20 year old man because I went to temple Emmanuel and you had the English and Hebrew so that you could follow in English language and understood what you were reading and that impressed me greatly and which of course that feeling we never had before then so okay so your father your your with your brother in Holland and your father in your - respective week that's right and which made me
for three weeks and we left in May on the Dutch steamer to Lima Peru and this was 1930 1933 we were the first refugees so-called refugees to make the distinction between an immigrant and refugee to arrive in Lima Peru and there was a German of a Jewish organization and according to the records we kept in the future innovation limited we will debate first refugees who arrived in d-man as a result of the jews escaping from germany as a result of the persecution allegedly persecution right so let's talk about in your life when you got to Peru when they left to do to all to our
amazement and the tranquility of my mother my uncle and his son he had a little son at that time my cousin first cousin it was six years old at that time we're on a boat because in India at that time when you arrived they didn't have a habit so you stayed outside and you were unloaded into into small lunches they for the small boats and and one of the small boats today is coming along the chief was my uncle and my little cousin waving at us so that was a relief that somebody was there to take him uncle had event at the house and he
was wonderful he was still the same gambler who made what a fortunes one night and lost at the next night that was his nature but he was wonderful to my parents and my parents were wonderful to him so it worked out very well we arrived oedema and my uncle of course and in the relationship was a with the manager of the Life Insurance Company and they bought and he persuaded them to buy a bottling company mineral bottling company and that was appointed to manager or this one of this bottling plant and these were wonderful years until 1939 those were wonderful years because my father was
very dedicated he to the Jewish refugee problem and he became president of the like in if you have to remember that in those years you still have the separation the distinct separation amongst the Jews the s kinases the bees and the Yankees the Germans and even Italy back when we arrived there were three organizations you know the Aeschylus's were considered the mainly they polish in the Eastern Jew via scanner see the severity with the spanish-speaking Jews and then they had a small German colony which each one had their own synagogue and their own social Ashkenazic the Sephardic and what did the Germans what were they
I call them Yankees because yes the German Jews we're known as Yankees amongst the other two it's not a nice thing yes no because they would be anything but more what would it translate to me did the German Jews consider themselves superior to the other two gravy unfortunately yes it and unfortunately yes this is some people I didn't understand that assignment but in retrospect I think it was a stupid behavior and because Hitler told us there was no difference between Jews whether they were rushing you the police used a German adventure industry he just sent them into the concentration and into the desk without making
any distinction so a however I must say that there was a they were smart enough to form a a little organization where each one of the three segments was represented and they spoke with one voice when it came to you know political matters because in Latin America as long as you stayed out of politics they left you alone there was Jews as anybody else could live bait freely and do whatever you wanted to as long as he would not get involved in politics because he exposed himself to not necessary the suffusion back to he exposes himself to a danger so when it came to speaking
it was one voice when the government or any standard element it was some relationship some need to speak to them they the Jewish community spoke with one voice which was good and so what you say that all this you said each one of the Jewish groups had their own synagogue and then did they socialize pretty exclusively within that group oh yes they all live do they live in separate separate areas too mostly they bit and they seldom wear the Indian marriages between one and the other now this was something which I am very proud of because when I was 12 years old as we only
wear amongst the German Jews that we've got eight kids and so we formed a little organization and they asked me because I was the oldest I suppose it's time to to help the group and think which I didn't notice I said well if it's a Jewish group that's called ourselves with a Jewish name so I read about her show me a house a year no idea what they wear what their political out of course it's Saturday turned out to be the Communists anyway and when when we found this little girl I said to myself this is ridiculous I was very friendly with the people in
the Sephardic oh and because they were the majority and so I went to the president of that world I said to you know it's silly we are eight youngster you had the largest coat why don't we make an effort to form a a young Israelite group because the he association of young is alliance he liked the idea then we went to the to the Colossus and they had to group they had the intelligentsia the and of course the intelligentsia turned us down flat but the other group a great so we found this young group of what we call Association of young and there's a result
of it open because we all spoke Spanish because the German group spoke German the authority spoke Spanish and the the Eskenazi spoke Yiddish so you had this language and cultural difference I could call it which which were which was difficult to overcome you know when you're older you're referring to your own way of life but this association which flourished long after I was gone into a interactive and active and permanent group and there's also a bit intermarriages took place between the authorities it's a there but it's from a personal experience I was 15 years old and I was crazy for little girl 14 years old
and now I was older sorry about 17 years old she was 60 years old and I wanted to go out with her and when I what found out because she had lost her father and when the total of a mother found out that she was going out with a young kid he prohibited it I mean the older generation were crazy and it's this this negative aspect of our addiction it's not unique to anyone who they were very intolerant right but so the group was a primarily social group associated and what about your schools did you go to public schools did you go to Jewish schools
no I didn't I went to yes it's an interesting thing but we are in Peru my parents put it in the German school and this was a Jewish school or just about you okay okay so we put this in the German school and I went to school there a figure 8 only real schooling ahead I went in 1933 34 and 35 and at 35 the German school received orders from Germany to dismiss our Jewish kids and the principal of the German school refused to obey the order because she said he couldn't understand it and he was forced out which formed his own school and the
German colony tried to destroy that school I mean that said the school then maybe you went no no no I didn't go to his desk or stairs I could Lee left the school at the Bailey schooling in 1935 I was 11 years old but then my and my parents thought that I always said I liked my I wanted to be in the cotton business because my uncle was in the cotton business and he traveled all over the world and I thought that was just nice so I stood my parents I want to go to cotton he said they decided but if you do you have
to learn English so they sent me to an English school which unfortunately was a headed by a father Scottish father you know released released and he was a drunkard that school was had a wonderful reputation but by the time I got there it was it was physically in decline and all the year the organization had left and his father who was from he was the only teacher that we were six people there and he was fifty minutes after we started class he said played because he and I meant to the kitchen each other's other was in his home to go and and when his beer
so we didn't really I stayed there for two years but one thing I did learn I learned the language and I liked him because he would take the young six kids to the boxing fight he liked boxing and then he would take us and this was our delight so we didn't learn much and I quit that school at 38 and you were 17 years and then and then for the year I didn't do anything I wanted to become a jockey wait but a DVD the owner of the business my father managed and also was interested in my father was interested in horses and he persuaded
him to buy racehorses and I used to go twice a week to work not to learn to train these sort I mean to run Mondays and Fridays but that's idea was dispelled and we waited for my uncle to come to Lima because I know that for him to make arrangement was one of his cotton connection to engage me as an apprentice in the trade and this is when I started that that was 50 we're getting it 15 year what they put me in a year in a he but he placed me with an English comment and verses in Lima yeah edema this was in 1939
and I worked for them for nine months and then the war broke out in September and one day I was called into by the manager and he says I'm very sorry but I got orders from London dismissed all German citizens I told him I'm not a German citizen I'm a Jew don't you know the Germans are being here being persecuted in Germany he says I'm sorry he happened to be an American by the way this manager so I left and that was probably the best thing which could have happened because I transferred over to to boo me which was which they just started this was
an international continent I mean an international firm headquarted earlier in Belgium and then moved some sort of the First World War to Buenos Aires and they were just starting out in Peru and I was number seven in the area relation from the big boss to the squeeze switch you know to be and this was a German manager and he was he accepted me as my uncle talked to him and he accepted me under one condition that if he would train me I should know that my own promised him that I would not work for him and which meant literally to and number two he said
I'm going to it addressed me and business and where to put you every six months I put you in a different session and you better have to work hard and had I worked and he fulfilled this world and I had for six years I really trained with them and then I decided to come to decided to come to the States that's another story okay let's let's backtrack a little bit so while you were living in Peru and your father was managing the bottle plant would you say that you were middle class would be will would you say that you were no class oh it's a
middle class like all the other Jewish people and because you have to remember that Latin America is different from the United States of Europe you had the Indians here at the middle class and the upper class which the upper class said baloo consisted of maybe 75 to 100 families who owned practically everything and who lived a life of them of their own relationship with business people but their social life was completely excluded you know then we hit the large middle class and as far as the Jewish group they were treated just exactly like the British group when the French growth and the and the you
know each group had their own social environment the social activities and the social clubs and etc so they didn't really make in a distinction whether you were Jewish to them you were you know we are German Jews I mean they were they considered as hungry as Germans because we spoke Germans just like their most of the Jewish people you didn't really have any poor people in though we didn't it amongst of course like everywhere else you had a few who made it they became very wealthy who were the leadership community and most of them were well established they all had their own home so most
of their their own homes they thought they were past and maybe to people you had probably a few somewhere or whatever lose just some losses in every society whatever in the temple the synagogue he went to was the German the German synagogue the German and did they have a Sunday school did you ever know Sunday school he met effect when in 1933 when they the High Holidays approached they were just 11 German middle be amongst them a doctor and they were celebrating Rosh Hashanah and the he was caught on an emergency case in the services had to stop they didn't have a meaning so no
and the German girl Esther years progressed more German Jews at remember all through the efforts of my parents we arranged the coming of order of family plus 93 people told they could have bought in 930 people because the first my father differently right the diamond was a little bit established go to everyone his family and his friends come to Peru it was easy in that time to get the diesels you went to be that foreign ministry and they were delighted to receive Europeans but as the years passed it became gradually more difficult and by the years 38 said he that came along because the doors
were closed it was absolutely no way of getting them in with money or otherwise and so he wrote to a lot of people and one of his good wealthy friends wrote back in 1934 he said they have to stop get me out before I think of leaving my country you know they some of the German Jews were more German than Jews than the Germans and so when we even Dean Minow as far as I'm concerned I only I only had you know the holidays we were forced to go to synagogue because my out of respect to my father and but I had no the only
thing my father did what I did before I started working and when I was 13 at 14 years old a I used to go with my dad chill to the porch and she was the one who would receive the ships who would either arrive the the few immigrants stateís a demon or many went to Bolivia on false passports and to Chile and he went there to help whatever they could do and he was appointed the joint later on to organize they made the money available to rent a house and set up you know bed center a kitchen so that these people had a place some
of them arrived in the later years but only their shirts under there on their body and so that they wouldn't be under strain that would be taken care of that was very what my father was basically a a dedicated social worker than a businessman money didn't mean anything to him to me this may of my mom that was always a struggle between when he lost it or in 39 he lost his job because the the the manager was a german german but he got sick and he went into the German hospital and they're being started working a name you have to dismiss that to a
niece who came but wasn't their niece who came from Germany yeah yeah we're here the knees to lift with him and the better not that's something else really this is when he died she became the owner but by that time they'd already left so your father but your father lost his job we've had enough his job and that was I think that really took out of him not [Music] and then she find another job where the yes he he started representation and you know he had a couple of connection in the States and Argentina and he he made they made a living and you know
by doing you know the presenting he said and the marriage femtocell you know good don't you have to remember that in those years the whole trait was different from what it is today so he made a living and as I said that was more interested in his social social activities that I was so there so but she did go to the synagogue you really never had any religious training you didn't know how to speak Hebrew and you're your mother which would you celebrate with other families so no business me there's the High Holidays we had at the house or the family would cover your family
yes whatever the holidays but I mean today is what when we come together like we do here at the temple you know you need to get excited but so let me ask you when when you got to Peru did your family and you did tell me your family experienced some forms of anti-semitism no they don't well you told me that when you were in in one of the schools that day was the German school the German school yes leave because you were you you were Jewish yes that's why soon and you also didn't you have to leave one of the cotton merchants because they they
were owned by the English and the English didn't want any Germans working yes I know but this wasn't it this was in the form of anti-semitism this was a form of I mean with a British firm I was ordered because they consider me a German right there okay they considered you a German and be a German school is because we were Jewish but the anti-semitism in Lima I really didn't exist I mean you lived laughing and spoke to us who spoke the language I did never to tell you the truth and almost 85 years of age personally I never confronted an open anti-semitism that's lucky
with its shade in this blue with its enormous rebels live in business travel Sonora in the United States I really have never confronted somebody okay so let's go back now you have you worked for thee in the cup for the cotton merchant yes for six years no but six years and I came to the States so now what year was it that you left Peru and came to the US the United said 1946 how old were you I was 22 years old and I left Lima because I hate the idea I wanted to have an avocation and you contributed for munication and that I thought
the idea of say I would serve in the Army for two years and then you would become immediately an American citizen and you would have played college study everything I didn't understand it because either even to bake you have to go to college I have to have finished high school finished high school so anyway when I came here to the States I went the first thing I went to the Selective Service the message and when I registered all right where did you come did you come first to Dallas no no I went to be young and you did you choose New York did you have
relatives there was my mother was said there for one day when I arrived because he lived in Detroit okay and are you talking about Angie human that's true when I wasn't your I had a recommendation of course for my people in agreement to the president of the New Year cosmic change and so I went the first day to the New York Cotton Exchange introduce myself and I need a job and I spoke to two Swiss per and he said yes we can use you go downstairs and fill out the form so I filled it out this is a religion and I put Jewish of course
and the girl took it in and then she will came out and said we will let your dog I said the guy upstairs let me do the damn job yes I know but we will call you and that was at the end of that in that respect I saw that anti-semitism because of these that this whisper wouldn't take any Jews but I didn't consider this as a is an anti-semitic to me I didn't even understand it but what it was all about and then I went to a register and they said you have to let you serve us in 90 days I said fine like
and I just immediately and I said do you get your immediate your nationality you are making nationality because I was home stateless at the time I had no nationality so when you so you never became a citizen yes I did afterwards I kept okay but not not I think that I didn't want a German passport and after the war I could have had a German passport but I didn't want to travel on that German so what we did you are may be sympathy no in a stateless piece of papers when she's a paper with your photograph and which is valid for one year okay so
I said well if I get it any problems he said unfortunately the guy told me that law rescinded two years ago after the after the war that never failed said even if you study further if you want to be on for two years you don't get any fresh studies that law was rescinded I said thank you I said what is the latest and I can register it says 90 days I said thank you and I went across the street and on the eighth the United State I hooked my trip back to Lima to serve in the Army for two years and be in the same
position as I was before as I said anyway I went back to the man and I went back to what did you do for those 33 months that you were there I worked for there it's funny I didn't have much money and one night I saw when I could maybe job I saw that the cable company was looking for before I said I so that is a reserve and it's lucky is it I was working one night on the makes it straight in New York and simply because my money and it's just this is what are you doing here I expect things for the next
three months I've been a fan of time the job is come and it was a gentleman from Lima Peru he took me to his cousin and cousin immediately employed he said he wasn't the export business of good to Latin America and and he said to me at the time he says how much you how much will I get I said I don't have much money today no he says we'll pay you $75 a week they said is there enough is that when it smooth and I would pay to somebody else this was in 1946 I said well okay I take it and he was involved
in shipping is it mainly women's pocketbooks every type of particle you can imagine in little packages of $50 or less because they could be imported without an import license so he says you handle all the shipment and etc are you get the message of course I am and so I worked for him for about months in my head he asked me to double invoice make an official in this is the invoice and this is the issue involved no no no for the Galleon in South America and for him I don't know I said I don't like this I'm leaving that and I tried to find
something else and it worked out there wasn't time to heart and then I went back to the sky I said look I'm going to stay here another five weeks as he wanted to work for you but don't ask me to you do whatever you want to do that's not matter I have the shipping business and besides that I said I'm under $25 raised okay enter a week and that was it and then I went back to Lima and when I write the beam on a Friday morning I went back to go get you know the carnival and when I walked in the manager laughed at
me as he said I knew you were going to come back I said no you don't really know the reason why I came back he said anyway anyway he I he immediately took me back and I meant certain conditions and he accepted all three conditions and I started working on Monday morning and that was that was in the much higher position as when I left so this worked out very well and during the next three years until 49 and I became a Peruvian citizen and because the term which I worked for boom it was one of the leading companies and their president of the board
of director was the ex Minister of Foreign Affairs so I went to see one day and I said can you help me is just what is your number next week I became a through and then I ask of this gentleman I go to this anyway I asked my manager I said I want to be transferred to Brazil I wanted to get out of limit for the personal reason I had an affair with a young lady for five years and we separated and she left me man I won't leave you anyway he served you separately as your parents disapproved no no no this was a matter
of a love affair went sour and so you needed a change so I needed I wanted to get out of Lima because it was impossible for both of us to be there and I asked for transfer to Brazil and he promised me that he said that six months and when the six months were up be a lawyer for the firm who was a friend of mine came in and he said congratulations I said congratulations for what he says you've been appointed yesterday at the Board of Directors is the manager for the for the southern no no no for the certain activities I said no I
said sit I'm sorry you're mistaken I'm going to preserve he said no sure you were approved unanimously to become the president the the manager of it in eco manager for what area in southern Peru for the area servant hello so I said to him I and you see this he says I went into the manager's office and I said mr. Leslie when am i leaving for Brazil plans have changed I said maybe for you not for me when I meant good when you say to me brother he says you're not going to okay I'm leaving you I just walked out of there he says you can't leave I said you see you see me walking out of him and I walked out and I walked over to my uncle and I told him that and he says wonderful he says would you like to go to Europe to hear they had a small interest in the firm and Colin and he says to sell cotton from me in
Europe I said sure so I went the following week women off $2 and that's where I stayed for two years and I was just you just okay and we had a what two wonderful years an income but they gave me a little capital your day you know open God and open this expense account Guttenberg to this one and gent back to Manchester you know I could arrange my trips according that I wanted to so I was three weeks on the on the on the go and one week I stayed in the in the office you know and that your relatives did you have your uncle's
family still live in huh no no no he did in Peru right okay you said there were no relatives no I stayed with them I became very close to the you know to the owner of the company and then I had a Purdue in passport and the pollutant transport required that I should go back to him every two years otherwise that would lose the American citizenship so I left for Peru and I spent two days in New York and visited two people which we are represented in Europe and they offered me a job which I couldn't refuse and this is what brought me to Dallas
they said they required that what they wanted was to organize the Latin America Division and Mexico and Central America I spoke the language I had the qualification and they offered me a wonderful opportunity which I couldn't say no to and this is I came to that was in 1951 and how old were you I was 20 in 51 I was 28 years old and so he asked me when can you start I said in one month this is why one month I said I'm getting married is it wonderful congratulation who is the lucky one but the faintest idea read five minutes and then we even
change the tape right okay so what happens with you in hell how did you mean know that well I was very close to my father very close well in Europe we used to bite each other twice a week and he would tell me all about what happened and in the mind is full of Swiss mama so honest I told him everything what I did and it was wonderful relationship and I wanted to get married I had made a met a young lady from a Jewish lady from Venice is a and it was understood that we liked each other so when I went to leave I
told my dad and my dad told me mrs. dirty says there's only one girl I'd like to use to get married to I said who is that he said to climb a helical world I said don't worry you invited for the dinner on Friday and anyways so to make a long story short I had exactly 30 days and two weeks have gone by and everybody was pushing me to make up my mind and the finally I decided to you know we hated it we one day I took there up in the mountains to see how we would react you know physically instrument and everybody but let's suppose should be in time yes okay let's
go so I went over to the house and and went to her uncle and that's a good thing we all expect and ask for and admit it I said to him I said okay engaged it was exactly 18 years and you were 28 down to two weeks two weeks English and they made a big party and Eman and we were supposed to and she didn't speak a word of English so we decided to find a girl school closest to them as as possible and we came up with colleges and Gulfport Mississippi and that's where she went and went to work in in Dallas and one
day I received a phone call from the positive of the reason I said anything happened he says no he says so you said that you got a call for the present of the Gulfport College yes and that was would it I said did something she says and further I received a call from the Immigration Department in the audience that they were going to pick up they have got next week because papers Receptus a is going to expire to explain this and I have no nationality and when she came to the United States she was given by the marriage which needs to be undertaken in order
to and in order to establish ability to remain in this country besides it's not going to be a consummated manage do you understand what I'm saying and he said to me well and and the one condition I said what is your condition is this nobody shouldn't talk about it and I said dr. Cox I promise you if you don't talk about it I won't talk about it so finally he became the next stage we went to the City Hall and we at that time you had to take your blood and wait for two days blood test and Max Burnham who was a that's another story was I was in the cotton in the cosmic change and it was a member of temple Emmanuel arranged my request a a managed by Holly so on certain morning we went to the to temple Emmanuel in South Dallas max burnin mister mister shipment from the office George from the office Helga and I
and their two children we walked into another Orleans study study and he got up and we introduced till he put on his spine you put on this coat walked in front of the desk introduced himself and I said with you many of you says yes you've got your papers and I be determinism editors then we are asked to be airports flew to the audience I had maybe arranged okay Portman was at the Louvre in consulate he put it in my passport he congratulated us and then we went to the bus station she took the bus back to school and I took the plane back to
the earth this was our marriage when you think about it the other day I was thinking about it this is a sad story we have three daughters we have four Jewish weddings and when I could be there with [Laughter] her she called me she says don't you think it's time to come home I said if you think so come so we came and a few weeks later and at that time how much school had she finished she anyway so this was it she came and we rented an apartment and then I I mean where were you living I was getting an apartment which makes Vernon
at the time and we're in the city was the apartment it on Kings Road in Dallas was that South Dallas near temple me no it's late it's eliminated in the area of lemon and then when you're a lot of cheese and they here know and have a quiet word that they do living Jews or Gentiles and that's it anyway we've elected the max moved out and we stayed in the apartment for a few weeks and then we went to Europe because I was waiting for my merit for my immigration visa you see when we when Lima we applied for the indication be that ain't no
visa to come to the I had a business visa which allowed me from wonderful trips for a period of four years but it would not allow me to work him over here so I am also interesting its learned that the American concert and my brother were bridge partners so when you have it took me to the concert to introduce me and we applied made the application for an immigration visa and he said this will take approximately nine months to get a set time so you must I said what are you going to do until then I said I'm going back to Dallas and we're [ __ ]
you know I'm supposed to answer your visa I said you can't do that because I have to go back this is okay so my father said you can do that so he left my visa every day and we applied this when I was over here I've working you know I said one day to my partners here I said you know this is I think what I'm doing is not good better I can't be in the States we've been waiting from an immigration visa I said let me go back to Europe third for next six months or whatever it takes and I'll sell coffee what I
did for the previous two years and they agree to it so six months later we got advice that recipes that have been planted in Lima Peru so we flew from limit from Amsterdam to and sapelo and to Peru and we got the Peruvian city we got the American citizens American immigration visa and we officially immigrated in February of nineteen nineteen hundred and fifty three so this is that's it you know I was supposed to be a worker that they were that they were helpful so when you came here 1953 where did you live rented an apartment in the oh yeah no but every words we
lived in when we came back we rented an apartment at the Town and Country which was the only place which remembers it which had centralization where is it it's sad it's hours of not with highway and yeah president Douglas every negative and then when she became pregnant we went out one afternoon about out and and where was the house on globally Midway and globally okay yeah so it's a little bit farther east yeah and did you pick the house because of the location or did you know someone we like that house when we bought it then I was pregnant Bonita so we needed in that
house with with the D you were pregnant with heavy that's when you bought the first time anyway but the first time and then when you which and whatever second house we stayed there with taxi with me with a fax it was born oh yeah us it when the sibling did the house was too small but he said that first one was born you were the one he house and with it and then a second one Patricia also was born that same house in the same house when she became pregnant with Anita then we decided to buy to buy a larger home and I asked Erika
in the saleslady to look around and and select the house which they liked and one afternoon they said I think we found the house and just put on ordinary lemon Dale and I drove out and I like that we got it on the spot and yes nice but they nice and if we lift there and happily for twenty years and when the children it's changed when the children left my wife told me we don't have enough closet space after the after 20 years with the three children we had enough closet space but once they left we didn't have enough closet space you said you wanted
to have a walk-in closet space so I caught the Advocate to see but whether we can work it out and one day and we had just returned from Israel and miami-dade fallen and that quoted from the office on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 I said I'm coming home make a sandwich and then we go and buy a new camera and she said to me on the way to leaving the house there's a house which our environment or an or lane which is a walk-in closet I want you to see it so that you can discuss it with the architects - it's full of luck we walk
into town I was two times and I said why do we want to build a walk-in closet this Chase is one and bathrooms I said why don't we buy the house and she said when the people sings well we made it in that afternoon we both that after said you know what that was that is a nice house - yeah and we bought the house and we live there happily for 30 years 40 so let's go back a little bit he's rabbi over marriage you and then you went to Europe for a while then you came back and did you get involved in the in
the temple when you came back yes one second once came back and when did I get involved with determination you know yes I remember it was to me it was the manage their children to to get started to accomplish what I was supposed to accomplish and so once I have this I had a little bit of a normal life and didn't ever so much I started to have an interest in the community and this is when I this was in 1954 55 56 this is when I really got involved what organizations did you get involved in this I think when I got basically in the
Federation what did you do for Federation vice president of the federation and one of the things which I never I really wanted to I didn't want to get too much directly involved because I work required that I travel a lot so what my function was and I always made it clear that I will be happy to help but I'm available about it I couldn't you know I am committed to this so I got involved and neighbors and both will see with the home which go naked and in any Jewish activity I mean I became involved in the collecting money for and I went on several
trips of another presidential trip to Israel which was a murder trip at five days one days to go over there three days couldn't sleep and then come back and this wasn't good and but I was following in his footsteps as my father I did you know it was an obligation to be committed to the community and over the years I never wanted to if they offered me the presidency of the year of the home and I didn't accept it because you either do a good job or you don't and so I they appointed me in dynamic life because I ain't the contraption it wasn't by
it so there was Jewish welfare Federation there was golden acres and did you did you get involved in all in any committees at the temple the temple died another temple person I go to the I paid my dues I paid my contributions and I go to the honor to the holiday I would have liked him yes sing in the choir for two years and if there was a debate enough to go to Temple I left who ever listened to her by Orleans pretty nice sermons I always thought that he was tricky to be alone not evil to say God he had that ability that gift
that he would be talking but you thought he was only talking to you and then when she could when she quit because of the children and and he is say is a wonderful person but she because of background and she is not they committed to any religion she doesn't believe in she believes in God but not my religion and so I had to make a choice either you know I didn't want to leave it alone so I decided if that's my future that's so it be and the only thing we do we have not only the Jewish holidays family and I was babe make sure
the proof of the pudding is that we make the necessary effort to make sure that our children with many a Jewish men and that respect you know we had for what anything and they were Jews so I think we did a good job at that that's it's a matter of fact in 1960 I decided to help guys talk to my father as I said you know I I have three daughters and I want them to make Jewish boys and maybe we should go to Israel and I said the only way I can find out how to I said let me go for a month and
and which we did and we didn't go into the best hotel we went in the little motel I didn't rent a car with all the buses and yachts or whatever and we stayed for four months and I realized then that I could do more for Israel in the United States that I could ever do living in Erfurt I didn't like it the people who were loud and aggressive and the country was so small this was a 1960 before the expansion and this was not my cup of tea so I said I handed you up over there because the brother of my senior partner in Dallas
was a big man in Israel and he wanted Ben Israel he wanted me so badly he says whatever you want I'll get for you so it wasn't a question of making a living it was just it wasn't and have that didn't particularly like it either because she likes to go to good hotels anyway I'm joking but we didn't like it and we decided no we're not going to Israel you know we're going to stick to it together many Jewish boys year now and they did so we were they they also what do you think you did to encourage them to marry a Jewish man I
started to work on that when they were two years old he was sleeping at them I started to work with them when they were two three years old and I said always whatever you do in life you have to marry a Jewish man whatever else you can do it this potentials in which you have to do you have to send it with sex in the bay 30h and let me accept didn't they think it's normal things to do and we never had any problems except for Patricia she had a French boyfriend like I told her this boy is not for you he's a Frenchman his
parents a divorce and he was cool around excuse expansion hey you don't like that she wasn't that way she didn't listen to you so so we go back there was a Jewish welfare Federation golden acres and did you get involved in the Holocaust music no okay any any other no a medic and I have discussion involvement well in a bank I couldn't boys because of my friend Sam Wilson he was very active I like to eat that yeah I was one of the early I joined it beckoned in the in 1972 or 73 because I remember I was the only Dallas representative to AIPAC in
1974 and it's it's a wonderful institution and I basically you know whenever I could help but the financially or otherwise I helped you know because it comes natural it's not nothing you have to do send some Jewish students to college well yeah but this is only financially done easily yeah well of course you did the institution we did every year to every University in Israel I mean it's part of the publication so you have the three daughters yes and just let's do you talk about your grandchildren and that I give their privilege to my life okay so let me ask you do you feel that
there any differences between the Jewish community when you first came here and the Jewish community now well I was much closer to the leadership of the Jewish community when I was active that I am today the only cynical happiness that pointed as a permanent member of the Jewish foundation of the daleks foundation but those were people and you know who became friends we traveled together we socialize together and and today young people and that helps that that these young people are doing a wonderful job I mean in this the community is strong but we went when I came here I mean they were lesson maybe
early 52 51 maybe 20 25 thousand Jewish today you have anywhere from 75 to 100,000 and the organization was I would say I would say well some people complain about the Federation that their knots that they only favor certain people I don't think so I mean I found that they accessible and they're doing a magnificent job but they have accomplished just like in Israel a little country 60 years respecting every date for its existence but they Disick Amish the same thing has happened in in Dallas when you think that these few people have accomplished what they have accomplished when you see the various organizations you
know the extent of the help and but it's a Jewish family of the Jewish Federation today when we came there with tools there were three synagogues today you have 25 or 26 temples synagogues and whenever close it comes with a price so let me ask you now is there anything you feel that looking back that we couldn't discuss that you that we missed that you want to talk about I can only say this life has been exceedingly good to us in every aspect how my soul I have with the privileged to have a wonderful life together and we have a healthy family I mean a
good family and and there's nothing nothing in the world which I miss the check would have made them in it so you ask me that's the honest truth and what was the question you said you never had a chance to ask your father well when I got married to her again and we went one of the points which I have which we decided to do was to go to every place she has been before contact all the people which had an influence on her go to the concentration camp in the very south fence where her parents were and in retrospect I should have had the
full side of taking down notes that's when it happened where she was from which data today and inhibit and I attribute this to the fact that I was younger we had totally different priorities and didn't understand the significance because in and he danced with defense and I didn't speak French there was another thing and they didn't speak Spanish a German though they only spoke French I didn't speak French so but it always had to be back translation and you lose a lot by day no it was I able to ask that to ask the type of question which I would ask today you know but
that comes with was maturity I suppose and the damage has been wonderful to us I think that that that people here are basically serious they take serious obligations you know to which the tobert Jewish family year and in towards Israel one of the things which I discovered in my life is that the Eastern European Jews I have a far greater heart for Judaism then the German Jews ever had there is a kinda is a certain amount of mensch kinda saving humanity amongst these people which I don't think the the Western European Jews hey there are perhaps much sophisticated more educated but as far as main
street I despise you know being honest and warm and feeling I think that is far deeper in the the Eastern European Jews and that is I suppose because they depend upon each other over the centuries the lived in ghettos and they had be good in the bed whatever it was but as I noticed that and this this discovery is not unique to - to the Jews in riveted / - same thing year the United States you have a certain amount of if you go back into the history of that you're in Dallas they speak about the German Jews but when you see what they have
accomplished other than their own achievements you know whether they are in the medical field or business field etc there a dedication to - to Israel and to the Jewish causes exhaled too much the Jewish God didn't exist but that's - did to the same extent into the same bridge si s those who you know which we have this I learned and I'm glad to say that I did not behave like that because I don't you know very fortunate my education is mainly due to due to my to my activities in fact is a taking me - in another world and obviously you learn from a
different point of view you learn it this is also it goes back to the to the year you know in them what I think I said enough I think it's been wonderful it just you have such an interesting life and on behalf of the Dallas Jewish Historical Society I want to thank you girl Einstein for talking with us today thank you well I'm delighted and very privileged to be interviewed by such two young and beautiful lady you