1900-1950, My Grand-Parents Generation
The Fitoussi Family
Henri (Aaron) Fitoussi
Henri Fitoussi
Henri Aaron FITOUSSI was born in Setif, Algeria in 1899.
As he was the only surviving child of his parents, he was very cherished by them. Nevertheless, he was raised very strictly. Here is, for example, an anecdote that he liked to tell. At age 11, he decided to try smoking (!), and locked himself in the bathroom to do so. He was discovered however, and his parents made him wear at school a sign reading “here is the child who smokes”. He never tried again...
He was a very gifted student, so gifted in fact that his French Elementary teacher went to his parents’ house and asked them to let him study beyond Elementary school. It was very rare at the time, especially among not so well-off people. Don’t forget that his parents were already old, and it must have been a real sacrifice for them to accept, considering the fact that he was the only one they could rely to for money.
Anyway, he went to secondary school (on a scholarship), where he was still considered a gifted student. Then at age 15, World War I started, and Henry decided to enlist! As he was still too young, he just lied about his age. I can’t even begin to imagine his Mom’s reaction…
As he was the only surviving child of his parents, he was very cherished by them. Nevertheless, he was raised very strictly. Here is, for example, an anecdote that he liked to tell. At age 11, he decided to try smoking (!), and locked himself in the bathroom to do so. He was discovered however, and his parents made him wear at school a sign reading “here is the child who smokes”. He never tried again...
He was a very gifted student, so gifted in fact that his French Elementary teacher went to his parents’ house and asked them to let him study beyond Elementary school. It was very rare at the time, especially among not so well-off people. Don’t forget that his parents were already old, and it must have been a real sacrifice for them to accept, considering the fact that he was the only one they could rely to for money.
Anyway, he went to secondary school (on a scholarship), where he was still considered a gifted student. Then at age 15, World War I started, and Henry decided to enlist! As he was still too young, he just lied about his age. I can’t even begin to imagine his Mom’s reaction…
World war I (1914-1918)
Dardanelles Battle, 1915
Like many Algerian French Jews, Henri was a volunteer to fight for France.
He fought many battles, but wasn’t really a soldier type, because he wasn’t good at obeying with orders. His captain was a well-known anti-Semite, and because of him he spent a lot of time in jail. One day, the captain asked him to ride a horse that was notorious for its viciousness. Henri refused. “Are you disobeying, Fitoussi?”, asked the captain.
“No, I’m not” said my grand-father.
“Then ride this horse.”
“No, I won’t".
"Then ride this horse."
"No, I won't" and so on and so forth.
Needless to say he ended up in jail that day!
Don’t think that my grand-father spent the war in jail either. He fought in the Dardanelles and even got a medal !
He fought many battles, but wasn’t really a soldier type, because he wasn’t good at obeying with orders. His captain was a well-known anti-Semite, and because of him he spent a lot of time in jail. One day, the captain asked him to ride a horse that was notorious for its viciousness. Henri refused. “Are you disobeying, Fitoussi?”, asked the captain.
“No, I’m not” said my grand-father.
“Then ride this horse.”
“No, I won’t".
"Then ride this horse."
"No, I won't" and so on and so forth.
Needless to say he ended up in jail that day!
Don’t think that my grand-father spent the war in jail either. He fought in the Dardanelles and even got a medal !
First encounter with Alice Hadjadj
Alice Hadjadj at 19
At the beginning of the 20th century, people didn’t just meet and fall in love, at least not Jews in French Algeria. When a young man was of age to marry a girl, his parents would ask around and soon enough they would find a nice Jewish girl suitable for both families. The best case scenario was when a boy had had a glimpse of a young girl, found her pretty, and asked his parents to meet her parents. Henri had a good situation (he was working at the Banque d'Algérie), he was handsome, and when he felt ready to marry, he asked his parents to find a nice Jewish girl for him. After a few failures (he met a few girls, but didn't like them), they made a trip to Algiers, to meet with Alice Hadjadj's family.
Alice’s parents were thrilled, because he was a good catch: he was handsome, a single child, and most important an intellectual! Working at the Banque d’Algérie at the time was really a huge step ahead compared with being a cobbler.
A meeting with both parties was set up. Alice was to see her future husband for the first time, and if she liked him, a match would be made. She was to serve tea and a few pastries that she had herself made, like dates stuffed with marzipan, almond cigars, or Algerian doughnuts. She came into the room with her tray, saw my grand-father and immediately fell in love. She got so nervous that she poured tea all over the place, and that’s how her parents knew she would agree to the match. Of course, there were a lot of discussions regarding the dowry in the following months, but once everyone agreed, it was a match made in heaven!
Alice’s parents were thrilled, because he was a good catch: he was handsome, a single child, and most important an intellectual! Working at the Banque d’Algérie at the time was really a huge step ahead compared with being a cobbler.
A meeting with both parties was set up. Alice was to see her future husband for the first time, and if she liked him, a match would be made. She was to serve tea and a few pastries that she had herself made, like dates stuffed with marzipan, almond cigars, or Algerian doughnuts. She came into the room with her tray, saw my grand-father and immediately fell in love. She got so nervous that she poured tea all over the place, and that’s how her parents knew she would agree to the match. Of course, there were a lot of discussions regarding the dowry in the following months, but once everyone agreed, it was a match made in heaven!
After the wedding
They married in 1927, she was 19, and he was 28. They went on their honeymoon to Biskra, where they lived with his Aunt Simha for a while (she was then still rich), and Alice was in awe of the lifestyle she had the chance to live there. After being married, the young couple decided to live in Constantine, to be closer from Henry's parents (Setif is a small city in the district of Constantine). They stayed there until 1937, when they decided to move to Algiers, where Alice's family lived, with Henri's mother (his father had passed away in 1935). Henri got a job working for the Banque d’ Algérie, which was a subsidiary of the Banque de France. By the way at the time, getting to work for the Banque d’Algérie wasn’t an easy feast, especially for Jews. But my grand father was so gifted and got such high grades that the bank had no choice but to agree to hire him.
Avenue de la Bouzareah, Algiers
Once in Algiers, they rented an apartment on Bouzareah Avenue, in the Bab el Oued neighborhood. It was a middle class neighborhood, but my grand-parents could hardly afford anything better: at the time, banks didn’t loan money easily, and unless you were very rich, people could no afford to buy.
They rented a 3 bedroom apartment, and kept it their whole life, even though they had 5 children and Henri’s mother lived with them until her death in 1947.
The Children
Together, Henri Fitoussi and Alice Hadjadj had 6 children. The first born was named André (Abraham) in honor of Henri’s father (Sephardic Jews honor their elders by naming the children after a still living parent). He was born on November 1st, 1928 and died at the age of 18 months from pneumonia. Alice never completely recovered from his death, and until her own death at 87, she always claimed that he was the most beautiful child of hers. Her father-in-law Abraham Fitoussi was devastated too, because he thought that the curse he went through of losing all his children was happening again, and made them promise never to name another of their children after him. He died in 1935.
In 1931 they had their second child, Arlette (Esther), quickly followed by a son, Georges (Itzhak) after his great uncle Rabbi Itzhak Draï, in 1932. In 1935 they had Eliane (Zerdouda), another girl. They didn’t intend to have any more children, but then World War II began.
They rented a 3 bedroom apartment, and kept it their whole life, even though they had 5 children and Henri’s mother lived with them until her death in 1947.
The Children
Together, Henri Fitoussi and Alice Hadjadj had 6 children. The first born was named André (Abraham) in honor of Henri’s father (Sephardic Jews honor their elders by naming the children after a still living parent). He was born on November 1st, 1928 and died at the age of 18 months from pneumonia. Alice never completely recovered from his death, and until her own death at 87, she always claimed that he was the most beautiful child of hers. Her father-in-law Abraham Fitoussi was devastated too, because he thought that the curse he went through of losing all his children was happening again, and made them promise never to name another of their children after him. He died in 1935.
In 1931 they had their second child, Arlette (Esther), quickly followed by a son, Georges (Itzhak) after his great uncle Rabbi Itzhak Draï, in 1932. In 1935 they had Eliane (Zerdouda), another girl. They didn’t intend to have any more children, but then World War II began.
World War II
Since Henri had been a soldier in World War I, he was automatically enlisted again as a soldier in the French Army for WWII. He didn’t really want to go this time though, because he was now supporting his mother and his family. The only way he would be exempted from the Army is if he was a father of at least 4 children. Guess what happened? Blanche Hélène was born in October 1940… After that, there was no need for another child, but “accidents” happen, and Andrée (named after the first child André) was born on October 31st 1942. She was really born on November 1st like their first child André, but my grand-parents didn’t want to tempt fate once more, and declared her birth on October 31st.
Anyway the war was on, and unfortunately for the French Jews, after France lost to the Nazis in 1940, the French government (led by Pétain) became overtly pro-Nazi, and started an anti-Semitic policy going above and beyond what the Nazis asked. In October 1940, both Arlette and Georges were asked by their teacher to not bother return to school. They were both traumatized, thinking that they had done something wrong to deserve such a shame. The Banque d’Algérie wasn’t officially asked to fire its Jewish employees, but an over-zealous director in Alger decided to do it anyway. Henri Fitoussi lost his job, and tried to find another job right away. It wasn’t easy, because a lot of Jews were in the same predicament, but he finally found a job as a representative for a wine company. The only problem was that he came back home drunk every evening, and it didn’t sit well with his wife. She made him quit this job, and he finally got another job as an underpaid accountant in a small company (the owner of the company actually told him: "Given your qualifications, you should be paid this amount of money. But because you're a Jew, I'll give you half !"
Fortunately, the Americans arrived in French-Algeria in 1942, saving the Jews from ever having to face the threat of the Holocaust.
After the war, things returned slowly to normal, although my grand-father swore he would get justice from the anti-Semitic director who had all the Jewish employees fired. He issued a formal complaint, and after a few months got told that he had a choice: he could either abandon his complaint, and move on with his career in the Banque d’Algérie, or persist, have the guy fired but never progress any more in his career. He chose to have the guy fired, and never progressed in his career, although he passed all the exams he could to progress. He never regretted his decision.
Anyway the war was on, and unfortunately for the French Jews, after France lost to the Nazis in 1940, the French government (led by Pétain) became overtly pro-Nazi, and started an anti-Semitic policy going above and beyond what the Nazis asked. In October 1940, both Arlette and Georges were asked by their teacher to not bother return to school. They were both traumatized, thinking that they had done something wrong to deserve such a shame. The Banque d’Algérie wasn’t officially asked to fire its Jewish employees, but an over-zealous director in Alger decided to do it anyway. Henri Fitoussi lost his job, and tried to find another job right away. It wasn’t easy, because a lot of Jews were in the same predicament, but he finally found a job as a representative for a wine company. The only problem was that he came back home drunk every evening, and it didn’t sit well with his wife. She made him quit this job, and he finally got another job as an underpaid accountant in a small company (the owner of the company actually told him: "Given your qualifications, you should be paid this amount of money. But because you're a Jew, I'll give you half !"
Fortunately, the Americans arrived in French-Algeria in 1942, saving the Jews from ever having to face the threat of the Holocaust.
After the war, things returned slowly to normal, although my grand-father swore he would get justice from the anti-Semitic director who had all the Jewish employees fired. He issued a formal complaint, and after a few months got told that he had a choice: he could either abandon his complaint, and move on with his career in the Banque d’Algérie, or persist, have the guy fired but never progress any more in his career. He chose to have the guy fired, and never progressed in his career, although he passed all the exams he could to progress. He never regretted his decision.