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Friday September 5, 1997

In first person... How do I define myself?A refugee, Jew, American

JOSEPH P. WEBER
Special to the Bulletin

In the case of a former displaced person, such as myself, it becomes more difficult: Born in 1922 in Austria of Hungarian parents, in 1939 escaped Nazi persecution to Shanghai, after only 10 years of schooling. Thus, no chance to obtain a formal education and a "proper" profession. During my eight years in China and subsequent five years in Bolivia waiting for a U.S. visa because of the quota system in force at the time, I never had a worthwhile job although I held many of them.

What is my nationality or ethnicity? Hungarian by family origin, Austrian by birth, Jewish by religion, naturalized U.S. citizen -- take your pick. In terms of family, I'm a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. It's not simple, is it?

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