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