Laura Simon

Laura Simon was born in 1932 in Kavala, Greece, after her family was forced to leave Spain during the Inquisition. After surviving the holocaust by hiding throughout Greece, she immigrated to the United States. 

Interview Questions: 

Were there Sephardic traditions, foods, songs, music, or holidays that were especially important in your family growing up?

Growing up, my family was not religious, but our home in Kavala was always filled with Sephardic culture and traditions. Our whole community was Sephardic, and I remember my home before the war was always filled with music. On passover we would listen to Ladino songs such as "Un Cavretico". Throughout my childhood, I enjoyed traditional Sephardic dishes, such as Tajicos and bourekas. 

Were there Sephardic synagogues, schools, or community organizations in your town growing up versus today?

Growing up, only men went to synagogues. All my friends growing up were Sephardic Jews, and I went to a Jewish elementary school until the war. After the war, our community was destroyed and separated. Many people, including myself, lost parents and siblings to the atrocities of the Holocaust. 

What traditions or activities do you do today to preserve Sephardic Jewish culture?

Food and music are such an important part of Sephardic culture that I have passed down to my kids and grandkids. My family has grown up eating pasticho, keftika de prassas, tajicos, marzipan, bourekas, bumuelos, dolmas, and listening to Ladino music. Because so much of our culture was destroyed during the war, sharing and spreading it to future generations is crucial to preserving such a beautiful and rich culture that for decades people have tried to erase.