Autobiographical interviews of Jews born in German speaking countries ("Yekkes") - 50/60 years after their immigration to Israel

Born 05/07/1925, Vienna. “Volksschule” primary school and some classes of “Gymnasium” (grammar school) in Vienna. Emigration to Palestine in January 1939. Conservatory and external “Matura” (comparable to Brit. A-levels). Marriage at the age of 18. ; Alisa Patai's childhood in Vienna: About her schools. Her parents did not educate her religiously. She emigrated to Palestine in January 1939 with visa together with her parents. Her grandmother grew up in a Christian home. Jewish religion did not play a great role in their lives. Alisa Patai and her parents had many Christian friends. She has no personal memories of antisemitism in Vienna. Her aunts and uncles did not emigrate because they believed that there would be a swift end to National Socialism. All of them were killed. In the view of her father, Hitler was the only creator of antisemitism: If he had been assassinated, the system would have collapsed immediately. Alisa Patai had already studied Hebrew in Vienna to prepare for Palestine. She estimates that she is able to speak Hebrew, English and German with the same easiness at present. Her father was not a Zionist in Vienna. Analysis of the disdain of the Jews who were born in Vienna for the Jews coming from Eastern Europe. Alisa Patai's life in Palestine/Israel: At the time of their arrival and during the following years, life in Palestine was modest. Alisa's father founded a factory. For one year, she went to a school run by a teacher they had already known in Vienna. Then she attended a conservatory and did her external “Matura”. She married at the age of 18, her husband died recently. There were many immigrants from Germany and Austria in the conservatory. A.P. also briefly studied graphic arts. She does not have any personal experience of antisemitism. Her daughter lives in England and is the head of a Jewish-Christian association. ; Alisa Patai's knowledge of languages and her relationship to Austria: She has learned Hebrew quickly, then English. Currently, she hardly ever speaks German. Sometimes she tries to read German books to brush up her German. With her children she mainly speaks English. Her grandchildren in England understand Hebrew, but they only speak English. A.P. hardly knows Austrian dialects as she has never spoken one. Other people recognize the Viennese intonation in her Hebrew and in her English. English is the easiest language for her. At first she spoke German with her children, then English, but hardly ever Hebrew. She almost only reads English, sometimes Hebrew. Some professors from Germany often visited them, but A.P. does not have any friends in Austria. In approximately 1970, they visited Vienna for the first time after the War and felt fear but has repeated returned since then often with her children and grandchildren. She still feels like a European.