Category Archives: New York City

#1 Polly: Our Parents, Ida Boshan and Charles Politzer

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There was an enclave of new Boschan and Politzer immigrants in New York City in the early 1900’s where relatives congregated as they emigrated from their birthplaces for a variety of reasons.  My father; to escape the inevitable draft in the army, my mother; to escape an arranged marriage.  The emigres supported one another during the process of adjusting to their new way of life in the United States.  Eventually, they moved on to other parts of the country when opportunities arose.

My mother, Ida Boshan, did not know my father, Charles Politzer, before arriving in New York.  However, each had gravitated to that area where their relatives had already settled and they found that they had relatives in common.  I have learned that Boschans and Politzers had married before them.

A cousin of mine, Lilian Politzer Rubin, told me that our fathers (who were brothers) came from Siefer, Hungary.  My father had done his apprenticeship as a butcher in Vienna, Austria, and, rather than face mandatory conscription into the Austro-Hungarian army, he immigrated to New York around 1906.

My mother also arrived in New York in 1906.  She left home rather than become party to an arranged marriage to a local farmer, perpetrated by her parents.  She grew up in Trnava, Austro-Hungary, which is now Slovakia, the eldest of ten children; two brothers and seven other sisters

Ida Boshan is the lady in the middle, Charles Politzer is the gentleman in the middle
The Boschan family before Ida, on the far right, left for America.

It was the custom then that the oldest girl in the family must marry before the younger daughters could marry, and her younger sisters were already engaged and applying pressure.  Their father had been in Kaiser Franz Joseph’s army in Herzegovina and, later, became an overseer of the Kaiser’s fields, so the family resided on a large plot of land and were farmers.












Though I have been resentful of my father’s attitude that girls were less valued than boys, it also provided me with the impetus to prove him wrong, and to strive to do my best whenever possible.

Between the two of them, I feel that I have inherited healthy and quality genes, a respect and admiration for family, and regard for citizenship.  Hopefully, I have passed some of these qualities on to my own children.

Ida Boschan and Charles Politzer were married in New York city on 3 March, 1907, in a Jewish ceremony and here are their Katubas in English and Hebrew.

#2 Polly: The Politzer Daughters

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My parents met at that Boschan / Politzer enclave in New York City. I do not know the story of how they decided to marry.

But, they were married in New York City on March 3,1907.  After they were married, they produced a daughter every year for four years.  My four older sisters were born in New York City. 


Josephine was born in 1907, Frieda in 1908, Bertha in 1909, and Gertrude in 1910.They lived in a walk-up New York City flat.  My dad, having completed an apprenticeship as a butcher in Vienna, worked in a meat packing plant, going to work early in the morning and putting in a long day.  This was also not an easy life for Mother managing four babies, with the laundry four flights down.

The Girl’s first language was German (Hungarian being the private language between the parents).  English was “picked up” from the environment by the parents until the children started school.  Then, I am told, the children began to insist that English be spoken.  By the time I came along, 9 years after Gertrude, I heard German spoken when adult relatives got together, but English was the prevalent language.


Having grown up on a large farm my mother was not happy with “city life”.…..The family moved from New York City first to Flint, Michigan, and later, to Detroit, where I was born when Gertrude, their youngest was nine years old.  (I learned much later that a birth control devise, a gold ball, had to be removed because it was creating a health problem for my mother.)  Maxine was born three years after me.  Viola was born fifteen months after that.

and still not all Seven Daughters
Polly is in the picture they are holding…..

#18 Fritzie: Fall 1940, Looking for a fashion job in the Big City

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Finally we arrived in the Big City of New York, to look for work…

Eve Marie and I found an apartment in Greenwich Village for a month. 

I found a job in a dress shop doing alterations.

Eve Marie’s job hunting escapades were fantastic and exasperating.  She was born in Germany originally and this was during World War II and she was considered an enemy alien.  She was trying everywhere with no luck.

One time she was supposed to go to an interview in a man’s hotel room and she was suspicious of the set up.  So she asked me to wait in the hotel lobby and if she didn’t appear after a certain amount of time, I was supposed to go looking for her.  Well the man turned out to be a real gentleman, with a very interesting job to offer her and her qualifications were perfect, except for her alien status and she didn’t get the job.

At the very end, I tried again to find a job at Valentina’s fashion design house and others, but it was summer, 1940 – the war and there was very little going on and since I had no documented experience in fashion design to speak of; no references, no resume, no one was ready to hire me right away. 

We had to leave New York City…………………..

We had enough money to keep the apartment for a month, but at the end of the month Eve Marie still hadn’t found a job and we had to go our separate ways.

I went back to Detroit, Michigan and Eve Marie went back to live with her parents in Tampa, Florida.

Years later, when her daughter was already 10 years old, we saw each other again.  We were both married by then.  We had a good time reminiscing about our Summer at the Mount Washington Hotel and our time in the Big City.