Regine Canetti was born on May 16, 1921 in Sofia, Bulgaria to Albert Canetti (b. Kazanlak, Bulgaria) and Rachelle Levi (b. Constantinople or Andnopolus, Turkey, d. 1940). The family had Sephardic roots, and spoke Ladino at home. Rachelle’s grandfather was a Rabbi, and her father was a tailor for the Sultan. Albert worked for Louis Dreyfus, a large French company that dealt in grains and shipping, and was responsible for the Balkan region. Before Regine’s birth, he and Rachelle had lived in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Their first daughter, Denise was born in Turkey in 1917, and their youngest son, Maurice (1924-1940), was born in Sofia. At that time, identity papers were not required, so Albert did not update their nationalities as they moved about.
When Regine was 7, the family settled in Ruse, Bulgaria. She and her sister attended the Notre Dame de Sion school, a Catholic school located in the convent of Rousse. Although her parents adhered to Jewish tradition, they were largely secular, and chose the best school available. About half of the students in the school were Jewish. Regine and Denise were initially day students, but later became boarding students due to their father’s travels. Regine completed her studies there in 1940, and returned to her parents, who were then living in Burgas. She was largely unaware of the events in other parts of Europe, and hoped to pursue studies in medicine. Denise married and settled in Sophia with her husband and baby.
In July 1940, Bulgaria began to initiate antisemitic policies. Regine’s family had believed that they would be protected due to Albert’s profession, but he was soon served with orders to report to the police. The family had no Bulgarian documents and were given 24 hours to leave the country. They decided that their only option was to try to reach Palestine illegally. In December, 1940, Albert, Regine, Rachelle, and Maurice left the port of Varna on the SS Salvador, a rickety ship with no engine or safety equipment. Though it was designed to carry 100 people, over 300 members of the Jewish community had been crowded on board. They sailed to Istanbul, then started into the Sea of Marmara, intending to sail to the Dardanelles and on to Haifa. The ship reached a point about 300 feet from the coast, near the small Turkish beach town of Silivri, when a storm struck. The ship began to break up, and passengers were forced to jump. Regine and her father managed to reach the shore, but Rachelle and Mauricio were drowned along with 238 others. The victims were buried near the beach, which was named "Gulf of the Jews." Many years later, their bodies were transferred to Jerusalem and buried on Mt. Herzl.
Some of the survivors went back to Istanbul, where they were cared for by the Jewish community; others returned to Bulgaria. The Jewish Agency appealed to the British Mandate authorities to issue fifteen immigration certificates to Palestine for youth who refused to return to Bulgaria, and Regine was among those allowed to go. With help and funds from the Joint Distribution Committee, Regine and the others traveled by train from Istanbul to Damascus, and then on to Beirut, arriving in Haifa on February 9, 1941. There, they were met by delegates of the Jewish Agency. Regine was placed by Youth Aliyah workers in a pioneer women’s farm called Meshek Ha-Halutzot, near Tel Aviv. Life was difficult for her there, with many unfamiliar tasks, and although her father had managed to come to Palestine as well, they were not in close contact.
After several months, Regine received a visit from the Sisters of Zion from Israel, who had been asked by the Sisters in Istanbul to look in on her, after they heard of the tragedy of the Salvador. After several visits to them, Regina decided to move to the convent in Jerusalem, in the hopes of studying medicine at Mount Scopus. From 1942 to 1945, Regine was involved in the monastic process, was baptized, and took on the new name Claude Albert. Shortly after finishing her studies, she was sent to Alexandria, Egypt, where she taught kindergarten, first grade, French, and Latin. From there, she was sent to Tunisia for three years. She later went to London to study English and take a position as the Secretary of the Superior General. After some time there, she returned to Israel, and worked in Tel Aviv for two different banks. During her stay in Israel, she was reunited with her father and her sister Denise, with her husband and child. She continues to live with the Sisters of Zion in Ein Kerem.
