Kestenberg Archive

NM was born in Zagreb in 1936. Her parents were not religious but kept some traditions and NM was raised surrounded by a large extended family. In 1941, NM's father sent her and her mother to live with maternal relatives in Bosnia but they did not stay there long. NM was frightened by the airplanes overhead and to this day is frightened of planes and flying. In 1942, NM and her parents fled Zagreb and smuggled themselves across the border into Slovenia (which was then under Italian rule), reaching Ljubljana. After some time they were deported with other Jews to a mountain settlement, Apprica. With the capitulation of Italy in 1943, NM and her parents made their way to Switzerland through the mountains. NM and her mother went to live at a boys' boarding school near Zurich, where her mother worked in the kitchen. However after her mother became ill, NM was sent to live with foster families. With the first family she felt lonely and afraid. At her parents' insistence she was moved to a nicer lady who made her feel welcome. After the war the family returned to Zagreb to find someone else living in their home. NM's father had trouble finding work at this time and NM felt hurt and debased. After her parents became ill, NM became responsible for running the household and taking care of her parents, which forced her to mature prematurely. After finishing high school, NM studied German and French at university and became a language teacher. ; NM's marriage was very difficult for her parents since they did not like her husband (a Chetnik and a Serb) and relied upon her for help. After her parents left to live in Germany, NM felt freer. NM has one son who is a doctor and is involved in the Jewish community. She does not like her daughter in law. NM did not talk about her experiences in detail with her husband and son. She and her husband are both atheists but she sometimes attends the Jewish Community Center. NM describes herself as a very happy woman. However during the war in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, she felt unhappy and frustrated that she could not do more to stop the hatred.