Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2021 17:35:27 -0500 From: Gabriel Barna As for our shared backgrounds: My parents were never sent to any german camps during WWII, but my father did spend about 1.5 years in a Russian labor camp tasked with finding land-mines. The ?good news? was that during the Russian winter, the ground was too frozen for a person walking and tripping a mine. But 13 of their direct relatives were killed in the German Concentration Camps. So, when I was born in 1946, they declared me to be Protestant - being a Jew was clearly not a good thing, at that time. That turned into me becoming an atheist as I grew up. They never talked of their WWII experiences, partly it was too painful for them and partly to protect me from the details. Their assimilation in Montreal was mostly due to the multitude of Hungarians who used Barna Ltd. (built and grown my father and uncle) to furnish their new homes in Mtl. It was hard work, but it paid off well, within a decade. Somewhat to their dismay, neither I or my cousin Laci cared about taking over the business. My current views as to our shared backgrounds: We - first generation Canadians, just off the boats - were ?very lucky? in some sense. We had a clear view of our parents starting to rebuild their lives from the $15 they received upon landing in Halifax in 1957. When you start from nothing, the only direction is upwards! Most of us have benefited from this experience in our own lives. Our kids/grandkids are not so lucky; they were born into established and comfortable middle class households. From that position, they have no great incentive to move up in the world. Gabe