Aranka Meizlik was born to Meyer and Rise Meizlik in Beregszász, Czechoslovakia (present-day Berehove, Ukraine).
Her mother's maiden surname was "Rosner", which she changed to Meizlik after her first marriage to Meyer Meizlik, and later to Davidowitz after her second marriage to Ignac Davidowitz.
Aranka Siegal's father, Meyer Meizlik, died when she was nine months of age. While Aranka Siegal was still an infant, her mother remarried to Ignac Davidowitz. Aranka was the fifth child of seven children (Lili, Rózsi, Etus, Iboya, Aranka (Siegal), Sandor, and Joli; her four older sisters, herself, a younger half-brother, and a younger half-sister, respectively).
Aranka, 12 years old,
in the center of her family
Growing up, Aranka Siegal would often spend her summers visiting her grandmother, Babi (born Fage Rosner), in Komjáti, a small farming community just across the Hungarian border in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine. Most of Siegal's family were relatively conservative with their religious practices, keeping up with many of the Jewish customs and traditions. Aranka Siegal's grandmother, however, lived a strict orthodox life.
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 Komjáti |