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My father, Leo Frauenglas ~ Walter's memoir
Life of Walter
Walter's memoir: My father, Leo Frauenglas
Walter remembers his father Leo Frauenglas as a mysterious figure.
-- transcript --
Walter: ... in 1985... that meant he would've been 15 in 1900, and the war broke out in ... you know, in 1914, and 15 and 14 makes 30, so he was old enough to be drafted.
On the other hand you know I have to probably add another 10 years, because my sister was born before the war, so that would make him born in 1975.
Sarah: You mean 18...
Walter: ... in 1875, and my mother, who was 10 years younger, in 1885. I think that would fit better, I'll try and check it out. You know, we never saw any documents, it just wasn't customary for people to refer to documents, you know you had one birth certificate locked away somewhere, and anyway I left you know when I was 17, and the... I guess I had just turned 18, and you know young boys aren't really terribly interested in the ancestry of their parents, I think girls tend to be much more alert and try and figure out where everybody fits. It wasn't a subject of great interest to me.
But my father who's name was Leo, was much more mysterious than my mother and all I really know about him is sort of legendary. I know that he was born in the town of [Sbaraz?], which was in Poland, and I think may now be part of Russia, and people have reported to me that the town is no longer there, it's all been plowed under into fields.
But, I really never got to know my father's family. I think he was a very bright young man. He was of course Jewish, and life for Jewish children was not easy in Poland. He was sent however to one of the upper-classy middle schools in the town of [Linburg?] but then sometime before his graduation he was expelled, and it was never clear just exactly why he was expelled. It just wasn't unusual for Jewish people to be expelled from a Polish school. There were sort of casual stories about that there was a girl involved but I don't think that, there was no proof or detailed information or anything.
And he made his way to Vienna and became, really without more than an incomplete high school education, quite a successful merchant. And... what I saw of his relatives, who were never clearly defined as far as I could see, but who may have been brothers, is they always came wearing caftans and the big black hats that go with Hasidic Jews. And my recollection is that they mostly came for money, they would be served.. They always came in the evening and they would be served a meal, but I guess I must have been too young when this was going on. I don't even remember sitting at the table when the visitors came.
And then there was one nephew who came, who's name was Isidor. He was studying medicine at the University in Vienna, and he had come with his girlfriend but she worked harder than he did, and the result was that she graduated from medical school, and since he wasn't ready with his own doctorate she left him and went on to Israel, and he went back to Poland.
So that's really about what I remember about the early history of my family.
Then, well let's make another pause.
-- transcript --
Walter: ... in 1985... that meant he would've been 15 in 1900, and the war broke out in ... you know, in 1914, and 15 and 14 makes 30, so he was old enough to be drafted.
On the other hand you know I have to probably add another 10 years, because my sister was born before the war, so that would make him born in 1975.
Sarah: You mean 18...
Walter: ... in 1875, and my mother, who was 10 years younger, in 1885. I think that would fit better, I'll try and check it out. You know, we never saw any documents, it just wasn't customary for people to refer to documents, you know you had one birth certificate locked away somewhere, and anyway I left you know when I was 17, and the... I guess I had just turned 18, and you know young boys aren't really terribly interested in the ancestry of their parents, I think girls tend to be much more alert and try and figure out where everybody fits. It wasn't a subject of great interest to me.
But my father who's name was Leo, was much more mysterious than my mother and all I really know about him is sort of legendary. I know that he was born in the town of [Sbaraz?], which was in Poland, and I think may now be part of Russia, and people have reported to me that the town is no longer there, it's all been plowed under into fields.
But, I really never got to know my father's family. I think he was a very bright young man. He was of course Jewish, and life for Jewish children was not easy in Poland. He was sent however to one of the upper-classy middle schools in the town of [Linburg?] but then sometime before his graduation he was expelled, and it was never clear just exactly why he was expelled. It just wasn't unusual for Jewish people to be expelled from a Polish school. There were sort of casual stories about that there was a girl involved but I don't think that, there was no proof or detailed information or anything.
And he made his way to Vienna and became, really without more than an incomplete high school education, quite a successful merchant. And... what I saw of his relatives, who were never clearly defined as far as I could see, but who may have been brothers, is they always came wearing caftans and the big black hats that go with Hasidic Jews. And my recollection is that they mostly came for money, they would be served.. They always came in the evening and they would be served a meal, but I guess I must have been too young when this was going on. I don't even remember sitting at the table when the visitors came.
And then there was one nephew who came, who's name was Isidor. He was studying medicine at the University in Vienna, and he had come with his girlfriend but she worked harder than he did, and the result was that she graduated from medical school, and since he wasn't ready with his own doctorate she left him and went on to Israel, and he went back to Poland.
So that's really about what I remember about the early history of my family.
Then, well let's make another pause.
Kendal on Hudson, Sleepy Hollow, NY
June 2006
Sarah Poyet
videotape recordings | tape 01 clip 005
video | Leo Frauenglas | business | trade | education | discrimination | Orthodox | Hasidic | Vienna | family history | ancestry | jewish | Life of Walter Glass
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