Eugene Hertz, Interviews with Jews in Utah, Accn 998

Page 23

Hertz ( ,a_ e 22) rr. u Yr. v Mr. K r.:r. - hr. K ~~ r. K If a letter goes to America, trere ~as to be signal on there and :I. '~ r.--: -+c thev considered that a Jewisr letter and would ,1see what it is and <;\),., e 'oc~ \ , L'hr tu_l""e. it goes to~ i~t the:v thini.< is a Jewish £-a~ily in America and that was enough to read tbat letter. 5o , there was a reality that it could be opened, huh? And t hen ~y uncle sent an affidavit to ~e and to two other cousins to come h8re. Ru t it too~ a certain length of time then to get a number from the consulate to get here; you know. Did they have a quota of ~eoule coming out? ~very country at that time ••• A~erica had so many Ger~ans, so many Poles, so ~any other ~inds coming in. So, there was no special thing for Jews - you couldn't .get in because you were Jewish? No. Pow lon9did the whole process take? ~ow much time after you ~~1:~ to your uncle did it take? I would say a year,·and at Jeast ~or 8 months before my~~~~~\ \JP• carne~. I had a number long before I got the affidavit. ~rs. ~ You have to have the number before. ·1r. B l"r. K Mr. R rt.r. K When I found out it was hard to get a nu~ber, I got me a number. Every thinking young man or young woman got himself a nu~ber, and if you couldn't use the number that's the works, somebody else gets it. How did you get the number, just go into the consulate? And just as~ them for a number, I think, I've really forgotten the details. How did you ulan on saying 'good-bye'? What did you ao to prepare yourself to leave?