Gertrude Eckert (*1919) remembers :
A true household -joint-
We lived on the second floor with the nice balcony, which was next to our living room. It
was not a separate apartment since it was just a single family house with several
structural additions. It was full of nooks and crannies. My parents used to live there for
more than 20 years, ever since they got married, until 1933 when we moved to Fulda.
When one walked up the stairs at our place there was a rather long aisle, and in order to
get to the living room one had to walk across the parent’s bedroom. Walking down
another aisle one entered a little room, which both families used. To the right of it was
our living room, and to the left of it the Strauss’ bedroom. In that ‘pass-through-room’
there was just an armchair and a small table, and we would share that room.
On Sabbath many friends came over, like the Tannenbaums and Mrs. Kaufherr and her
Bertel. All of them would walk across our living room to the balcony where they visited.
On Sabbath the balcony was taboo for us since they would have dinner there or at times
just coffee.
We, too, would visit with the Strauss’ on the balcony quite often. The piano was in our
living room, it’s the one right here, and my father used to play it. He hadn’t had piano
lessons, so he played by heart, and that he did rather well and quite lively. We would
sing a lot in our house, and then the whole neighbourhood would lean out the window.
However, when Toni would show up, she was Mrs. Strauss’ sister, and she had a
beautiful voice.