Link to Family Tree to understand family relationships.
Domestic scenes – the life they left behind
These two photographs of Helene’s nephew Paul Zerzawy’s apartment are dated June 15, 1938. They are a nice window into his homelife in Vienna. I wonder whether he took these photos because he knew he’d be leaving Europe and wanted to have a keepsake of his old life.
Perhaps the following photo was taken at the same time for the same reason.
The entire Zerzawy family enjoyed music. Below is a photo of Paul’s brother Robert with their father and step-mother in the 1930s.
Photos from the 1930s of Eva and Harry show them in their apartment on Seidlgasse in Vienna. Snapshots of happier, more carefree times.
Harry on a swing:
Harry and Eva in fancy dress:
Eva busy at the sewing machine
A portrait of young Harry which he doodled on, adding a mustache and monocle as well as other details.
Eva walking through the park
Harry and Eva on the piano. The photo of Eva is very dim but shows clearly the drawing of Helene which appears in other photos we saw in an earlier post.
Eva and Harry brought the portrait with them when they came to San Francisco in 1939.
Music played a central part in everyone’s lives – something we know from Helene’s many musical references in her letters and because she named her daughter after a Wagnerian heroine. Happily, music knows no boundaries and the family could enjoy music in their new home as well as their old. Nearly everyone in the family played piano, some better than others. This was a lifesaver for Paul Zerzawy — he was unable to practice law when he came to America, but was able to make at least some money in San Francisco by teaching piano and accompanying singers.
Eva loved music but was never a musician, for many years having season tickets to the opera and symphony in San Francisco. Harry had perfect pitch. He never learned to read music but could imitate anything he heard. He entertained himself and others, often spending hours each day playing piano.
Below is a photo of Eva in front of her piano in San Francisco - if I recall, she inherited it from Helene’s cousin Bertha with whom Eva lived while she finished high school. When my husband and I moved back to San Francisco several years ago, we had no room for the piano and had to give it away. That was the one possession that was difficult to part with and brought me to tears.
Eva’s piano leaving our lives forever.
Below is a photo of Harry playing piano at home and at my wedding.
