This prompted a question from me about women friends. Herta shook her head firmly, then smiled, a warm smile. Her eyes were expressive too. “Everyone was always saying to Leon, ‘When will you get married?’ He always said he never wanted to get married.” I asked again about girlfriends. She remembered none. “He was always with his friend Max.” That is all she said, repeating the words. Doron asked if she thought Leon might have been gay. “We didn’t know what that was back then,” Herta replied. The tone was flat. She was not surprised or shocked. She didn’t confirm; she didn’t deny.
