The Smud FamilyAsk

Crossed the Atlantic at six months old

Aida Smud

Born in Berdyansk in the last week of July 1904, she was only six months old when she crossed the Atlantic. She was the last of the three siblings to die, and one of the voices that told much of what we know today.

Documented1904 – 1992

In the December 1904 immigration register she appears as Eide, six months old. She was the only one of the three who never really got to know her father.

She lived in the home of Alejandro and Isabel. In October 1926 she married Pablo Freiberg, a nephew of Elías Loyber’s wife and an employee of Alejandro’s store.

She died in 1992, aged eighty-eight. She was the last of the three siblings to die, and one of the voices that told Rubén much of what we know today.

Photographs

  1. Studio portrait of the Smud family: Ester Malka seated, in a dark dress with a lace front; beside her Aida, in a light dress; Marcos and Alejandro in short suits and bows, one of them holding a cane; and Felix standing, his hand on one of his sons' shoulder.
    Felix Smud and Ester Malka with their childrenFelix Smud and Ester Malka with their three children: the girl is Aida; the two boys are Alejandro and Marcos (Meyer), though it is not known which is which. Undated.Documented

In the timeline

  1. 1904

    The war with Japan and Aida's birth

    War breaks out between Russia and Japan and Felix is mobilised. In the last week of July, Eide —Aida— is born in Berdyansk.

  2. August 1904

    Malke leaves Berdyansk with the three children

    Malke leaves Berdyansk with the three children. They cross southern Russia and central Europe to the port of Bremen, by cart and probably by train for some stretch.

  3. 23 December 1904

    The ship docks in Buenos Aires

    The ship docks in the port of Buenos Aires before dawn. In the immigration register the surname is written “Smud or Smod”.

  4. c. 1908

    Malke returns to Russia with Aida

    Four years after crossing the Atlantic, Malke went back to Russia with Aida, presumably to visit relatives. The only trace of that trip is a photograph from 1908, taken on their return, in which she sits with the three children.

  5. c. 1915

    Malke dies and the siblings move to Entre Ríos

    Malke dies. The three siblings —Alejandro, Marcos and Aida— move to the province of Entre Ríos.

  6. 1926

    The store opposite the station

    Alejandro sets up on his own opposite the railway station. In October, Aida marries Pablo Freiberg.

  7. 1992

    Aida dies, the last of the three

    Aida dies, aged eighty-eight. She was the last of the three siblings.

  8. 1996

    Rubén types three pages

    In October, Rubén —Alejandro's son— types three pages with what Alejandro, Aida and a cousin had told him. Almost everything he wrote down from memory was later confirmed by documents no one could consult at the time.