Gabrielle Azar-Levin and Philip Azar

00:04 Hello. My name is Philip Azar. I'm 52 years old today is October 1st 2016. We are at the Atlanta History Center, and I'm here with my mom.

00:19 Hi, my name is Gabriela is 11 and 73 years old.

00:28 Atlanta History Center Atlanta History Center, and I'm here with my son Philip Rafael Kaiser.

00:36 Okay. Well Mom, I have really been wanting to bring you here for a very long time because we really have a rich history. That's our eyes are really part of history as well. And so we talked about this and let's start mom with where were you born in Iran in 1943?

01:02 As my parents had to leave Europe because they were Jewish and World War II started and the invasion of the Germans and the extermination of the Jews were where are with your parents in prison know they left in 1940 before and so that's how you end up being born in Iran. My parents has personal citizenship and that's they were

01:34 Not known as citizens of Romania. They had to leave the country. So they went to the person Embassy and

01:44 They had passed was from before and became citizens and they even had to change religion to Muhammad dance, which was known as Muslim today. I didn't know that so your mom Grandma Leah was from Romania. And your dad Grandpa. Roofie was from Bulgaria, right? Okay, but what was their background? Okay, my father's ancestors. As far as I know where it came from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century.

02:21 So he was born in Bulgaria near the Daniel in the town called at that time. It was called Rush Troopers call drewson now and my mother was born in Bucharest Romania. My father is of Sephardic background while my mother is Ovechkin as in background the way my father ended up in Romania was because his father was a captain in the Bulgarian Army and he was a p o w during World War 1 because the bulgarians were with the access because of the Ottoman Empire.

03:01 And the Romanians were the Allies so so they they they essentially got into Iran in 1940. You told me they came in 1940. Okay, and then you said other family members came later, like like your grandma and your grandma cousin 41. My parents came from Russia Odessa by Kool and the Caspian Sea to Darren. The rest came for the Black Sea and turkey.

03:36 And they took a train to Tabriz and we went to tell her the members you remember was your grandma Miriam. That was a grandma Leah's Mom know Grandma and Uncle figure my mother. My mother died in Romania long before the war. Okay, and then you also we mentioned there's a lot of other Jewish families that came from Europe to move to Iran is most of them came in 1941 some Romanians were there.

04:17 Because they were known as

04:21 More distinguished than the Iranians and they were in orchestras. So they try to bring their wives from Romania because they were stuck in places like Egypt Iraq and Iran and then they had to leave this because of being Jewish. What are on this was not an systemic? Okay, and you also told me that when when Grandma and Grandpa Came lyrics they had nobody they didn't know anybody had friends before my parents came with a lot of money. They had $1 in their pockets in the suitcase each.

05:04 And my father came from Europe with 200 ties and he was telling the truth that European size to the person people and then they took everybody out to dinner. Wow, that's Elvis survive until they were able to work I could do that. We talked about your favorite relatives and that was Grandma Miriam because I was an only child for a long time. They spoiled me.

05:34 And you are the only child I'm an only child my parents due to the war and miscarriages did not have if they had me 10 years later. So I was a very spoiled child. You were the lucky one. I was a lucky one. I was born under the lucky star of April 7th 1943. That's the time when Churchill and Stalin and Roosevelt came to tell her on the floor meeting into that, huh?

06:12 Is so what were the Traditions passed down in your family? We talked about the evil eye. What's all that about? Okay, it's addition. That's a Superstition. The Jewish people have very Superstition because of everything they had to suffer. So the evil eye is mostly Middle Eastern that is against the Jinx like the Italians have the horn again. So we have the evil eye the 3D come from turkey and stuff and we have that comes out which is the hand of God and there is insufficient that is Jewish than my mother knew about that is like turning two glasses upside down when you lose something and now the whole family is gone from generation to generation the whole family in New York and Israel are doing it and including you

07:12 To jog your memory. Good only if you misplace your keys or something. It has nothing to do if it's stolen or you lost it outside.

07:23 So so what was it like living in Iran during the forties what you can remember when my parents found some relatives who had survived and went to South America and then we came back to Iran. So how long how long was how long will you how long will you be in Chile or Chile other being you take get to it later. They were making a good living a very decent living in Iran as Europeans and we went to chili to to her brother birthday for a few months and then we came back to Tehran Iran because my father missed his mother and brother.

08:22 So tell me tell me what what grandma and grandpa did remember Grandpa roofie was a partner of the perfume Factory Orlando came back from South America and my mother was always a dressmaker to the queens and the elite in the Royals in Iran, and she was very well respected.

08:43 I never knew that I remember she helped me on a on a sewing project in 7th grade and she just some stitching from me and I took it to my home economics class and they said wow, this is some wonderful work and I just want to say yeah, well my grandma work for the Royal Court course, I don't know if you remember when she came to Syracuse used to sit outside to redo my clothes and everybody was around her watching her. So amazing. So what were your parents like going up?

09:21 They were very hard worker and they instill honesty in May and they tried to for me to have the best education.

09:32 Despite all the problems that they went through. My father was more educated than my mother but she was in that Apprentice in Romania because Taylor family of eight and she had to go to work what her twin sister went to school. She went as a facial near the hard work and they showed me honesty.

10:02 And to have fun because we did have a lot of fun. So how would you describe yourself as a child socially as an only child, what did you do with the time? It was very very difficult. I am nurse myself in books. I was a very Avid Reader and still retain. I read a lot of friend as a child. I read a lot of French books written by this contest to see which was the Russian princess white sauce and Princess living in France, and I did a lot of cut out and stuff like that a lot of pictures of with you and your dolls and and you had a lot of nice costumes in my mother. My mother bought me a dog going to South America she was as tall as me. Wow.

10:52 Well to guess when you came back from Chile grandma grandpa enrolled you in a private school in Iran.

11:01 French Catholic school elementary school

11:09 Headmistress and my T-Shirt Mart on Victoria was also Greek and she was my tutor and then you ended up going to a French school was that was also French. That was also friends. That's what I did my friends and I did very well as it as a student favorite teacher there. That's what you told me and she even came to my wedding when I married your father would so what did you do as a child? What did you do for fun? I was at um, I was going to list but I was a tomboy. I used to love two countries. We had a tree in our backyard near the pond with lilacs beautiful beautiful lavender lilacs, and I knew that my mother loves them and I wanted them also for my wedding, but they were not in bloom, but I used to go and climb the tree and cut.

12:09 Lilacs for her at one point, you were tomboy with the other part. You still have that side of you that likes flowers. So that's so funny. I know I remember that. So then Grandma and Grandpa sent you to boarding school send me to boarding school in England when I was hurting I didn't speak a word of English, but and I travel the my plane was late and they didn't know what I was.

12:42 Another one of those stats on the plane was stuck in Athens, and then I went to Paris and at the age of 13, they put me in the hotel by myself. And I got up got dressed as breakfast took a taxi and went to the airport and went to London and nobody's fault friends, but I found somebody and they caused my school and they send somebody at the Waterloo airport to pick me up Waterloo Station. I'm sorry scary at 13 know it was just something that I had to do. I was never scared of my life ever.

13:30 It's amazing. That's another thing. My parents is still need to to be my own person.

13:39 What were your best memories of boarding school?

13:43 Oh, I made lots of lots of friends and I got into trouble and I had a lot of friends that I still am in touch after 60 years. They're scattered all over the country. I've seen a lot of the country because they live like in the Isle of Wight and Brighton and stuff and they used to invite me to stay with them when we had short-term holidays. And then in the summer holidays, I used to meet my parents and we went to Europe and we went to Paris once were my mother.

14:20 Find her one of her cousins who who is still living there, but her sister had died in the concentration camp and when I was 16, my birthday present was to stay one month with her in Paris, and I had a ball. So what kind of trouble did you get into in the morning so I can tell you into?

14:47 It was a mixed boarding school. So we used to hide in the bushes to meet boys. So now you're telling me now. I'm telling you know, you never caught and then also we used to love to climb it at 1 or 2 in the morning down the fire escape plan walk the driveway. So you and then you finished boarding school. Okay, and took the exam which was given from Oxford University.

15:28 So I feel so After High School. You came back to live with Grandma and Grandpa to visit. I went through a lot of stuff, which I met lots of voice as always. I could have been a different person. Yes, and I almost married one and the one to buy them and stuff and then came back to Iran and then my father arranged for me to work for it, LOL, but because it was initially saying it was under the the Consortium Armenian table one of your co-workers and I did everything I was a girl Friday was that what's a girl Friday? Okay, I did that Telex. I did the passenger list. I arrange the immigration and sometimes we had like American women who married

16:28 Persian Jews and wanted they couldn't live in Iran. So we had to arrange with the embassy to get them out of the country while so so we had a lot of travel between Iran and Israel back at the time. Oh, yeah. Actually I went to Israel with my parents in 1951. Also when we went to Chile my mother find a sister who was waiting for the boat like Exodus the book to wait face.

17:02 They ran away from the commonest Communist. We're just as bad as in the case and they had taken all their stuff away. So they ran away and they were waiting in the display scanned to be shipped to Palestine. This was an Italy and if you want to displacement Kevin & Bean show me pictures of that we had a reservation for hotel and when she found her sister she canceled her reservation and she stayed with them in the display scan while you're so we went back to Israel from Iran because they had no food and then available starvation. So we went with bought trunks of foods my mother and I and we fed the family and we went to the tents were all the immigrants in the survivors are know who's the person you met while you're doing charity or what who was that person? You met first names with Golda even go to Meijer in Iran.

18:02 That was when I was doing the joint American join, which is a big thing and we were the first Rangers were very designed this very very and my father helped to

18:19 In 1948 bring money to Israel to the Israeli so they can fight against today.

18:29 The other side the British was a British in the Arabs and he could have been arrested for that. Yes, and my mother was really nervous. So we do have a lot going on and he did that my mother did I need he he had five thousand thousands of dollars in his pockets. It's like a lot of the American druze pay here for people to go and help.

18:57 So to see you work for El all for about a year or the travel agent and how did you meet my dad? Okay.

19:12 Your father's aunt and mother used to know my aunt and they used to meet once or twice a year of the temple and that your father was getting ready to come to the US and they didn't want him to come alone, you know, in case you marry the non-jewish. So that's my answer though. I know nice Jewish educator girl who just came back from England and introduce me to your dad just as I recall. This wasn't like dad asked you on a date you went to the movies but wasn't how it worked. Didn't know we went out with the whole family couple of times and then when we got engaged we got engaged right on my nineteenth birthday April 7th family member when we will engage we went out if we used to go out to be used to climb the mountains hiking. I love to eat corn and stuff like that. We had a good time.

20:12 Who got married in August and then in December I had to take it to a free ticket from Ella. We went to Euro and he met a lot of my school friends and the people I stayed with and England in December 27th. We arrived in the in Brooklyn. So being all over the world. What was the light moving in Brooklyn that must have been the most foreign thing you've seen it was not because I spoke English and your father was an intern and work 56 hours a day. So I did most of the thing I knew to go to the Chinese Laundry and have our sheets washed and then the post office when it was free sense to mail a letter. I wrote a lot of reading went to the Brooklyn library went to Manhattan. I used to go to Broadway and see a lot of English place.

21:12 So well, and I we had a lot of friends that I knew from Iran before my mother's workers and Romanian and they used to take us out and took care of me never. It was just something you had to do and then you were pregnant with me. I was pregnant with you and you were barely living in the US for 11 months. I'll never forget the day.

21:43 Are you came early? Because 4 days before you were born? JFK was assassinated.

21:51 And I was in Brooklyn food shopping in bohac, which is one of the supermarkets that was at a time and it was a cold snowy day and all of a sudden everybody was panicking and screaming.

22:07 The president was shot and I ran home in four days that you were not supposed to come until December for days later. I had you and my first Thanksgiving in America was in the hospital our first Thanksgiving. See you little baby and your dad to join us have been very odd of all the countries you've been to and you come to the United States and our president is assassinated that must have you lived under the Shah of Iran you lived under queens or prime ministers and they must have been very unusual because I was I was in history major and I knew a lot about that as I sent Nation, that's how the World War 1 started because one of the king's I think one of the Kings from Prussia or something, I can't remember was assassinated and that's what started World War 1

23:08 To a few years back you end up going to Romania and Bulgaria with your with my what was that like Bucharest my mother from my mother's way. I loved it because she said it was like the little Paris of the East but when we went it look terrible it was it had been under, churches to the Tacoma list of prime ministers and it was old Bland. It was horrible and dirty and people were out of work and starving area was absolutely gorgeous. You have to realize that the Romania and Bulgaria are across each other on the Daniel.

23:53 So you actually traced that the most cities of Grandma and Grandpa actually my boss stopped where my father was born and raised used to be called Roush Roush truck when my father was born in this cold brew say now Russe villager. I had tried to find out any Jewish community and one of my friends tried Google that then we couldn't find anything and in Romania you found you were on the tour. So, you know, the experience is just it's just rich in history and in the roots and I know you've told me a lot and other times that you're telling me and I'm just like I can't absorb it all cuz you know life and everything and it's just it is just amazing that you know, we are apart of the our lives are part of world history.

24:53 Change this and made me who I am today. My parents left Iran before the showers supposed and move to Israel. That's where my parents are buried 1960s 68. They left two years before 69 to do America. They came to visit us in Syracuse and we went to the state fair and stuff. So

25:26 So we did you know, they did quite a lot they came actually they came by boat from Haifa. They stopped at the azureus before they came here. I remember wishing them off to go back. We forgot something we had to go back on the boat to get it. It's basically, you know, I just amazing history. I mean, it's just again the way the way World War II shape us all I also went back to you.

25:59 I don't remember cuz I went to Aaron from Brooklyn when you were five months old because in Brooklyn when I lived it was a terrible place where I was living and it was always cold and I was always on the fire escape because a lot of people were on Social Security and was smoking and we always were and and my parents sent me a ticket and I went to Iran review by myself.

26:26 I know so I went to Iran when you were seven years old better remember and we flew from Israel you from the do you say I only came back to insurance that we went visiting Grandma and Grandpa and then your grandmother my Mother's Day.

26:41 My father's mother.

26:44 Is very dinner on his father in Bulgaria or Romania? I really don't know my grandparents on my maternal size are buried in Bucharest. I did not have the time to go and find the Symmetry babe might have been looted by the Germans.

27:02 But I have a lot of stories from my cousin Rachel and stuff. I come from my mother's side from a very great family and for my father sign his mother comes from 12. So well children with two wives and one died. And so my father's family was much higher.

27:29 Nobility that my mom being Sephardic and they came from the Astro family one of my mother's family came mostly from polish and German and stuff. You know, they were farmers.

27:44 My grandfather was a banker and stuff like that on my father's side.

27:50 So I mean out of all that means you have anything. I mean anything that points out to you later on. I had another Son by the name of Mark. I know him and I have two beautiful grandchildren 17, which is your son and Mark has a little daughter Sophie and both the kids are have some names from my grandparents.

28:28 I continue with having a full life. You know, I'm very proud first generation American next to my parents coming here and I have been back to this country to the countries and I'm glad that we're here. But the thing is that I'm very proud of both of my sons ended up going to the University of Florida Gators and I both doing very well. So it was because of The Way We Were

29:09 Brought up. Well, I'm glad that you could share this with me and no I love you Mom, and we brought you to know. We love you, too, and we love all of them.

29:23 Anything else you want to ask me?

29:28 Thank you for doing this mom open again. I wasn't wanting to do this for a long time. My pleasure. Well, you see I didn't have to look at my nose.