WEBVTT
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Fritz Ottenheimer [Ottenheimer]: That cafeteria in Washington Heights
performed an extremely important function for these people and that it gave
them.
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Ottenheimer: A place where they could meet socially and socially, meaning
strictly for conversation. They could exchange experiences and finding jobs
and talk about the old days and talk about what was going on in the old
country. The people that were lost and killed. Who was related to what and
so forth.
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Ottenheimer: It was sort of a spontaneous thing, but it was the social
center.
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Ottenheimer: Of these refugees. All for the price of a cup of coffee. They
could spend the evening togther iscussing things and trying to solve their
problems.
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Strasser: Was it much of a conflict between the American culture and the
way your parents wanted to bring you up or they were happy with New York
culture?
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Ottenheimer: Well. Oh, I have to do a little thinking. I don't remember
any strong conflicts in our family. I think perhaps because our family was
rather close.
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Ottenheimer: And we were working together trying to make ends meet.
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Ottenheimer: Parents were extremely proud of my progress in school. This.
This was our biggest thing in life.
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Ottenheimer: The fact that I was admitted to Bronx High School of Science
and I think only about.
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Ottenheimer: 12 or 14 kids from from the public school I went to tried to
get into.
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Ottenheimer: Bronx High School of Science. I think 1 or 2 of us were
admitted and I was one of them.
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Ottenheimer: So this this was the greatest thing.
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Ottenheimer: That happened to them after that. And occasionally my father
would ask me what I'm learning in school and I'd show him books and work.
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Ottenheimer: And he also felt--- my parents were both very anxious.
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Ottenheimer: To have me. Go to college. It was just the big thing.
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Strasser: You were a studious youth.
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Strasser: You didn't give him any trouble, running about?
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Ottenheimer: That's right. I had some friends that run around with. Well,
okay. You're interested in organizations. I used to one time run around
with a bunch of kids from Hashomer Hatzair. I don't know if you're familiar
with that.
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Strasser: Hashomer Hatzair?
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Ottenheimer: I don't know if they're still in existence. I suspect they
are. It was a very leftist Zionist organization.
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Strasser: Could you spell it?
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Ottenheimer: I'll try. Well, H. A. S. H. O.
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Ottemheimer: M.E.R. Hashomer. Which means guardian, I think.
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Ottenheimer: Hatzair H.A.T.Z.A.I.R. I don't know what that means. Guardian
of something or other. Uh they were a very enthusiastic group. I was not at
all.
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Ottenheimer: In agreement with their political views, but I love
associating with them because they were so full of life and full of
enthusiasm to the point of almost being fanatical. And they had uh there
wasn't an adult in the whole bunch. They were all kids and they.
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Ottenheimer: Had their meetings and.
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Ottenheimer: Discuss their plans and activities and problems, and they
sang Israeli songs and they danced Israeli dances and taught each other
right out in the middle of the street. And uh.
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Ottenheimer: Oh, it was really gung ho. And they had ideological
discussions on socialism where I was generally the opposition. They
tolerated me [laughs]. They were all of.
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Ottenheimer: Polish-Jewish background and occasionally they'd make some
disparaging remarks about these German Jews and their.
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Ottenheimer: Conservative ways. But it was really a wonderful bunch of
people.
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Ottenheimer: And I enjoyed-- Strasser: Were you with them for a few years,
during high school?
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Ottenheimer: Yes. This was during high school. Yeah. Oh, I'd say about
about 2 or 3 years probably. Then one of their one of their ideologies and
one of their principles that I did agree with was that they were in favor
of working with the.
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Ottenheimer: Arab population of Israel of what was then Palestine. They
were very anxious to.
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Ottenheimer: Not displace, but rather to work with the Arabs in Palestine
in the process of forming the Jewish homeland and to draw them into the
life of their country.
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Ottenheimer: On an equal basis.
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Ottenheimer: I think it's unfortunate that there was more we don't know.
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Ottenheimer: But. Who's to say that it would have succeeded?
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Ottenheimer: At any rate.
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Ottenheimer: During my service with the armed forces, I.
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Ottenheimer: Had occasion to come in contact with many Russian displaced
persons, war prisoners and forced labour.
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Ottenheimer: And so forth in Germany. And well, one time I was loaned out
to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration for
screening refugees. This was shortly after the war.
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Ottenheimer: And so I had occasion to talk.
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Ottenheimer: To many of the people who had lived under the Russian regime
and.
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Ottenheimer: The quite a few of them.
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Ottenheimer: Were violently opposed to the communist regime. And I learned
quite a few things that I hadn't known before. So when I.
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Ottenheimer: Came back to the States, I.
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Ottenheimer: Went to 1 more meeting with [??]. Found out about.
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Ottenheimer: Life in Russia.
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Ottenheimer: And under the Russian socialist regime, which was always
considered the ideal as far as, you know, those people were concerned. And
I suppose that was the end, they didn't want to see me anymore after that.
Strasser: [laughs]. Ottenheimer: But I'm.
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Ottenheimer: Not sure that I ever.
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Ottenheimer: Had official membership. I don't think I did as much as just
a matter of hanging around it least once a week.
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Strasser: You know, there's the Friendship Club here in Pittsburgh. Yes.
Was there an equivalent of that in New York? Did your parents say have
any-- or would you call this cafeteria that sort?
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Ottenheimer: Well, I think the cafeteria really performed that function
without any formal organization. It was a spontaneous sort of thing. There
were there was a youth organization.
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Ottenheimer: For German refugees that my sister belonged to. They used to
have activies.
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Ottenheimer: It was a self-help.
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Ottenheimer: It's part of management run by the refugees themselves.
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Ottenheimer: Which later resulted in the.
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Ottenheimer: The the publishing of a.
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Ottenheimer: Newsletter, which became.
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Ottenheimer: A newspaper which became the Aufbau [ph]. I don't know if
you've heard. Which in some respect was an excellent newspaper and used to
be and I think still have some very good editorial [??].
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Ottenheimer: But I think it was called the New World Club and it appealed
mostly to the.
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Ottenheimer: I think people in their upper teens or 20s.
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Ottenheimer: I didn't belong to the journal but my sister did.
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Ottenheimer: This is where she met her husband.
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Ottenheimer: Which was probably one of the.
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Ottenheimer: Main purposes of this club, was to allow people to meet each
other for purposes of marriage. Might be a really cynical point of view,
but.
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Ottenheimer: For social life.
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Ottenheimer: Which might result in marriage. But the upheaval of the
society of the German Jews and being transfered to New York City.
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Ottenheimer: Really messed up.
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Ottenheimer: Social interaction between people and the normal process by
which they determine that they know each other and eventually ended up in
families.
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Ottenheimer: So this organization, I think, picked up or provided a.
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Ottenheimer: Means where people could get to know each other and get to do
activities of various kinds together. Dances and so forth.
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Strasser: So you kept contact.
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Strasser: With relatives or friends in Germany? Writing or sending money?
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Strasser: Visiting?
Ottenheimer: We uh, by the time we left, we did not.
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Ottenheimer: Have any relatives left in Germany. We were the last ones to
leave. We had relatives in Switzerland and France. And we first responded
with them. After the fall of France, our French relatives disappeared. And
it turned out that they were exterminated.
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Ottenheimer: That was my mother's sister.
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Ottenheimer: And her family. Uh, my father's cousin. His family was.
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Ottenheimer: Well, let's see the way I heard it. The-- uh Sylvan [ph].
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Ottenheimer: Let's see what they'd be. My second cousin.
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Ottenheimer: He was in the French army and he was shipped down to southern
France.
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Ottenheimer: Where he met a girl that he fell in love with-- a gentile
girl and.
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Ottenheimer: When France fell, his family.
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Ottenheimer: Moved down to the family of this girl and they dug an.
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Ottenheimer: Underground shelter.
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Ottenheimer: Physically actually dug out the ground and built a little
shelter down there where they remained hidden for the rest of the war and
they.
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Ottenheimer: They shared their meagre rations with my cousin's family. Of
course, their life was.
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Ottenheimer: Very much in danger because if they were found they all will
be strung up.
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Ottenheimer: There was very little food and my cousin's mother died
apparently from malnutrition.
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Ottenheimer: They just couldn't get enough food for them and still stay
alive. But the rest of the family did survive. And my cousin ended up
marrying this girl. And then in France living happily relatively. All kinds
of subplots and--
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Strasser: [laughs] Um what was the ethnic group of your wife?
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Ottenheimer: Uh, her family came.
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Ottenheimer: Her parents came from Poland. Jewish.
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Strasser: Does she have any membership in any sort of organization? Aside
from the synagogue? Ottemheimer: Uh, no. Strasser: What ethnic group do you
feel is most like your own? Ottenheimer: Ethnic group most like my own.
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Ottenheimer: I guess I'm not as ethnically inclined as a lot of other
people. That's my problem. Let's say someone who enjoys the same sort of
activities.
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Ottenheimer: As I do. My ethnic group, whether they happen to be Italian
or Greek or Spanish or anything else is of secondary importance. I don't
think of myself as a template for pattern beliefs and activities and stuff
that may be associated with the Jewish people. I don't know, looking at it
strictly.
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Ottenheimer: Analytically in terms of appearance or temperament or such.
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Ottenheimer: I suppose there's a certain resemblance to Italians,
although-- well, my wife's best friend is Italian. So, um.
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Ottenheimer: I, uh. I find it very hard to answer that question because I
guess I don't think, uh.
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Strasser: Well, you know how, uh, the certain the structure of your faith,
uh, what do you think Catholicism in that sort of stiffness would be more
similar to Judaism than Protestantism and its freedom?
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Ottenheimer: Well, uh, Catholicism has more resemblance to the Orthodox
Jewish beliefs, whereas some of the Protestant sects are more to the reform
Jewish.
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Ottenheimer: So, uh, I'm not sure you can make any generalization except
in those terms.
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Ottenheimer: And even while I belong to a reformed congregation.
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Ottenheimer: I don't eat any pork or shrimp or such. On one hand I do mix
dairy and meat dishes so.
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Ottenheimer: And uh I fast on Yom Kippur. It's a mix. I draw my own lines
of what I choose to.
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Ottenheimer: Believe or what I choose to comply with. I consider it
myself. So I suppose I tended to.
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Ottenheimer: Not for-- not to follow any particular rigid pattern.
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:54.000
Ottenheimer: Of a secular or religious ethnic group.
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Strasser: Would you risk saying what you feel is the most different? I
guess you couldn't based on that. Ottenheimer: You know it's different--
Strasser: When you feel it here's absolutely no similarity.
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Ottenheimer: Well, I suppose since I'm not familiar with any of the people
in Dark Africa, there might be some group of cannibals there that have some
special rights that I find rather unusual. Uh, no, I really don't know.
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Ottenheimer: Uh, we have friends who are Chinese, we have friends who are
Egyptians or friends who are of course the usual Italian, Hungarian and
Polish.
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Ottenheimer: I don't find that.
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Ottenheimer: That any of them. That their ethnic background is
particularly involved in whether I do or don't enjoy their company.
Strasser: Mm. Ottenheimer: And of course, I do have a number of Jewish
friends, but they're friends because I like them because they're Jewish.
Through temple.
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Ottenheimer: Of course I do associate.
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Ottenheimer: With more Jewish friends than I would without that.
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Strasser: What temple do you belong to? Ottenheimer: Temple Sinai.
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Strasser: Where is that? Ottenheimer: It's, uh, Forbes and Murdoch.
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Strasser: What class do you identify with?
00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.000
Ottenheimer: Oh, I suppose.
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:48.000
Ottenheimer: Upper middle class. Or middle middle class somewhere in
there.
00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.000
Ottenheimer: As long as you're talking.
00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:58.000
Ottenheimer Financial class. Strasser: Yeah [laughs].
00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:04.000
Ottenheimer: Culturally, I'm probably a peasant.
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Strasser: How often do you attend your synagogue?
00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.000
Ottenheimer: Uh, well, timing is very good nowadays. I attend.
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Ottenheimer: I've been attending just about every week every Friday
evening. Although for a while it would be maybe once every two or three
months. About that much.
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Ottenheimer: My mother died last November.
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Ottenheimer: And. Since then, I've been attending. Trying to attend every
service. Also I became chairman of the worship committee at Temple, and I
felt that it behooved me to go to some more of the services.
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Strasser: What's the worship committee?
00:19:47.000 --> 00:20:05.000
Ottenheimer: Well, they're supposed to be concerned with things relating
to service and to religious aspects and Temple activity. So. I would say
around August or September.
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:21.000
Ottenheimer: I started going more frequently. Then my mother's death made
me want to go more often. So I went again, just about every week.
00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:32.000
Strasser: A list of the people in the synagogue. From the same sort of
background as you?
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.000
Ottenheimer: No. If you mean.
00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:40.000
Ottenheimer: Are they refugees? No. There are very few.
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Ottenheimer: Suppose there are 3 or 4 families.
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Ottenheimer: I don't tend to.
00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.000
Ottenheimer: Have more to do with.
00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:59.000
Ottenheimer: Them. Although when I see them I'm happy to see them.
00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:09.000
Ottenheimer: One of the people who is a refugee uh sed to work with me.
00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:27.000
Ottenheimer: At Lennox company and I got to know him quite well there. So
when I get to see him we're usually very friendly. But I think it's more
because of our work association than ethnic similarity.
00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.000
Strasser: Most of the people in it upper middle class, would you say?
00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:36.000
Ottenheimer: I would say yes, that's what most of our members are.
00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:48.000
Strasser: Do you feel your membership in the Temple or your position with
the worship committee has affected your role in the Jewish community?
00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:54.000
Ottenheimer: Well, my role in the Jewish community is just about limited
to my membership of the Temple.
00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:58.000
Strasser: Which was a position in the Jewish community?
00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:06.000
Ottenheimer: Oh, yes, I suppose. Even-- well, even though we're talking.
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:10.000
Ottenheimer: Within the temple community.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.000
Ottenheimer: I have held various positions.
00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:22.000
Ottheimer: On the board of trustees and I uh a long time ago was chairman
of the social action committee.
00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.000
Ottenheimer: Which I guess.
00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:35.000
Ottenheimer: Was probably more active under my leadership than any other
time, although even then the activity was very limited.
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:38.000
Strasser: When was this?
00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:48.000
Ottenheimer: Oh, uh, let's see. I'd say about six or eight years ago.
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:52.000
Ottenheimer: But I do have a certain status within.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:23:08.000
Ottenheimer: The temple community, which I certainly would not have had if
I was just a member and not active.
00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:17.000
Ottenheimer: Jewish community as a whole. The Pittsburgh Jewish community
I don't really play a role in.
00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:24.000
Strasser: You've deliberately avoided organizations simply you don't like
being part of an organization?
00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:29.000
Ottenheimer: Well I guess I haven't felt any need for joining an
organization simply.
00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:34.000
Ottenheimer: For the purpose of being together or doing things together
with certain people.
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:40.000
Strasser: What about donating money to?
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:43.000
Ottenheimer: Oh, yeah. We, uh, donate a certain.
00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:49.000
Ottenheimer: Amount of money every year, and, uh-- Strasser: Does that
include membership fees when you do that?
00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:51.000
Ottenheimer: Um, no, this is the.
00:23:51.000 --> 00:24:13.000
Ottenheimer: United Jewish Fund, and I'm talking now. My wife I believe
theoretically belongs to the Jewish Home for the Aged. But again, it's
simply a matter of sending a check once a year she doesn't take part in
anything else.
00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:24.000
Ottenheimer: I think in general our activities are such and our interests
are such that we engage in certain activities.
00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:29.000
Ottenheimer: And if they happen to associate-- if they happen to coincide
with a.
00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:36.000
Ottenheimer: Jewish membership, fine. If not then fine too. We uh go
square dancing.
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:41.000
Ottenheimer: Once every week or two and we
00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:48.000
Ottenheimer: Hardly ever see anybody Jewish there. Strasser: Where do you
go Square dancing? Ottenheimer: in Greensburg and.
00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:53.000
Ottenheimer: Elizabeth Township. They're the two clubs we're associated
with.
00:24:53.000 --> 00:25:04.000
Ottenheimer: Oh, I'd say about once or twice a year we meet another Jewish
couple. The rest of the time it's not Jewish type of activity.
00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:06.000
Strasser: It's more temperate [??] sort of.
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:21.000
Ottenheimer: Well, it's-- in order to join one of these clubs, you first
have to take lessons and learn about a hundred basic steps.
00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:34.000
Ottenheimer: It's a constant learning process of new steps and such.
Square dancing and line dancing, it's a lot of fun and immersion.
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:41.000
Ottenheimer: And it became evident after we belonged to it for a.
00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:50.000
Ottenheimer: While that it was rather unique for Jewish couples to do and
belong to.
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:56.000
Strasser: Mostly Eastern European people? Ottenheimer: No.
00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:06.000
Ottenmheimer: General mix. Catholics, Protestants, [??]. Strasser: Just
people like that.
00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:07.000
Ottenheimer: Just judging from.
00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:16.000
Ottenheimer: The names from all over the world. Um.
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:26.000
Strasser: When you came to Pittsburgh, did you hear about, you know, the
old Irene Kaufman settlement?
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:39.000
Ottenheimer: When I first came to Pittsburgh, I didn't know anybody. And,
well, it's interesting that when I-- I've always enjoyed the kind of
situation.
00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:47.000
Ottenheimer: Where I'm thrown into a new environment and there you are.
Start swimming.
00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:48.000
Ottenheimer: When I got off the train.
00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:58.000
Ottenheimer: Coming into Pittsburgh, the first thing I did was to go and
buy a paper so I could see, go through the market ads and see where I
should live.
00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:03.000
Ottenheimer: And I moved to a hotel right near the railroad station.
00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:07.000
Ottenheimer: Which was then the Fort Pitt Hotel. I just couldn't
understand.
00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:12.000
Ottenheimer: And wanted to buy paper, except there wasn't any paper.
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.000
Ottenheimer: Pittsburgh papers were on strike.
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:25.000
Ottenheimer: So now what do you do? You don't want to stay in a hotel all
the time. Wasn't making much money at that time. So cut out the.
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:28.000
Ottenheimer: Telephone directory and looked under J for.
00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:47.000
Ottenheimer: Jewish and there was Jewish chronicle. So I called the Jewish
Chronicle and said what my situation was and could they help me find a
place to live? So well.
00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.000
Ottenheimer: They didn't know where I could pick up a chronicle.
00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:59.000
Ottenheimer: Downtown, but they said they could read some ads to me over
the phone. And this is where I wrote down.
00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:02.000
Ottenheimer: A few phone numbers in Squirrel Hill. I didn't know where I
wanted to.
00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:09.000
Ottenheimer: Live either, but the gentleman I talked to was very nice and
he advised me that Squirrel Hill would probably be a.
00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:10.000
Ottenheimer: Nice place to live, and.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:15.000
Ottenheimer: It's convenient to downtown where I was working and so on.
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:21.000
Ottenheimer: Good place where I could eat because I didn't want to do any
cooking
00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:26.000
Ottenheimer: So one of the numbers-- I call the various numbers.
00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:33.000
Ottenheimer: That were given to me and one of them turned out to be a nice
French woman. With a bathroom. So I moved in.
00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:38.000
Ottenheimer: So this this was, uh, dependence on a Jewish organization in
the United States.
00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:40.000
Strasser: [laughs]. Do you remember the address of that first one?
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:42.000
Ottenheimer: 1724 Whiteman.
00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:59.000
Ottenheimer: Street. Very nice place. And since I didn't know anyone in
Pittsburgh. One of the first things.
00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:01.000
Ottenheimer: I did socially.
00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:09.000
Ottenheimer: To try to get a foothold and try to have something to do was
I called the YMWHA.
00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:10.000
Ottenheimer: And found out they.
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:23.000
Ottenheimer: Had dances on Saturday nights and so I went to dance. And
there were all the girls staying over there. And all the boys were standing
over there and every once in a while they.
00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:24.000
Ottenheimer: Would talk to each other.
00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:29.000
Ottenheimer: And every once in a while the boy would go over there and ask
one of the girls. And.
00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:40.000
Ottenheimer: And more likely than not, she'd say no and go back again. It
was not.
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:54.000
Ottenheimer: The most satisfying experience. I was one of the boys who
asked. Occasionally a girl would say, okay, okay, or no I just came to
talk.
00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:59.000
Ottenheimer: So then.
00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:03.000
Ottenheimer: I found out about a folk singing.
00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:06.000
Ottenheimer: Activity at the Y.
00:30:06.000 --> 00:31:06.000
Ottenheimer: Which was led by Vivian Richmond.
