Old world

Adam Gutman, George Adams, Benjamin Rajzele, George, and Daddy were all born on March 20, 1918……in a small city in Poland called Radom. He had a loving father, three caring mothers (the first two passed away) three brothers and two sisters. Unfortunately, only two brothers survived the war.

His hard work and the talent displayed as a child earned him the status of “wunderkindt”. By the age of 13, he was performing to large audiences. He then became the first Jew from his city ever to be accepted to the Warsaw Conservatory of Music. These studies were unfortunately cut short when the war broke out in 1939. Miraculously both him and his wife survived the atrocities of the Nazis.

While trying to figure out their future in Europe after the war, my father came across a survivor carrying a violin on the street of Modena, in Italy. This was an unusual sight - survivors generally only had very basic belongings after liberation. He approached the man and was determined to play his old friend, the violin once again. He played so wonderfully, despite years of not practicing, that the man struck a deal with him. My father would find small jobs playing that violin, and the two would split the money. This did put bread on the table, but it was at that point that my father decided he would never have to borrow a violin again, and in fact he would try to gather the largest collection that he could possibly get.

This eventually became one of his many specialties in the future as a violin collector and connoisseur. This kind of optimism fueled many of the survivors of the war. Mom and Dad packed up little Betty and made their way to the best city in the world, Montreal.