Story submitteD by: Martin Tandler
Martin Tandler
My parents were married in Prague on December 10, 1936. They were your and prosperous and they thought the world was their oyster. They were so lucky to get a visa out in early 1939. Many didn't. My father's mother didn't and died in a concentration camp.
My parents went to London. They stayed there for 2 years. It was dangerous. London was being bombed. They got a visa to Brazil and went there. After 6 months they finally got a visa to the US and arrived in New York in 1942 with few friends and in my father's case, very poor English. They had to start all over. And they did.
My father started a wholesale stamp collecting business specializing in British Commonwealth stamps. As a child he had collected stamps. In Prague he had been an investment banker. My mother took a job selling at Macys. They did what they had to do to survive. They adapted to their new world.
They also changed religions. They had been Jewish, but they were not particularly observant. They didn't want themselves or their children to suffer anymore from that. I can't blame them for making that decision. They had a very hard life and it's impossible to understand what one would do unless one goes through it themselves. I wound up being a political radical in college and taught Junior High School in Harlem to avoid the war in Vietnam. Later I joined my father's apparel textile company. He died shortly after and I took the company over. It was a very successful company for more than 35 years. I did business all over the world and met many fascinating, wonderful people. What a journey!
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