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I worked there up until 31st January 1944. Back in 1943, Sano Mach [Alexander Mach] came out with the following statement: “Come March, come April, and the transports will come!” But in 1943 the transports didn’t come. My wife Anicka said in January 1944: “Come March, come April, and in ’44 those transports will come. Let’s not wait for the transport!” We decided to escape from the camp. We lived near the main gate. We’d noticed that every day at midnight the Guardists walked around the camp, and the gate wasn’t as closely watched. We slipped through the gate and literally jumped into a riverbed – there was a small stream there. There we squatted, waited for signs of anything behind us, and then on our feet! Across fields, above the town of Kos [Trenciany region] to Prievidza [Trenciany region]. We had been getting wages of 50 halers a day. We were farsighted enough to not spend that money on any trifles. We put it all away. We managed to save enough to buy train tickets during our escape. We set out for the town of Rozhanovce [Kosice region], in Eastern Slovakia.
We aimed for Rozhanovce, Anicka’s hometown. Before the war her father had been a doctor there. Out of principle he had treated poor people for free. During the night Anicka knocked on one poor Rozhanovce resident’s window and he looked out: “The doctor’s Anicka!” So he immediately welcomed us. Anicka had an aunt, her mother’s sister in Budapest. Her husband was a lawyer. She hoped that as a relative her aunt would take her in. That’s why we told this person that we needed to get to Budapest. My wife spoke Hungarian, but I didn’t and to this day don’t. He said that at night he’d lead us through the mountains and forests to Kosice. [18]. That apparently another person from Rozhanovce was working there, a formerly poor person whom Dr. Rosenfeld had also treated for free, that he’ll help us for sure. So we got to Kosice, to Presovska Street. Back then it of course had a Hungarian name, Eperjesi Utca. That person greeted us very warmly and hid us in the cellar.
We aimed for Rozhanovce, Anicka’s hometown. Before the war her father had been a doctor there. Out of principle he had treated poor people for free. During the night Anicka knocked on one poor Rozhanovce resident’s window and he looked out: “The doctor’s Anicka!” So he immediately welcomed us. Anicka had an aunt, her mother’s sister in Budapest. Her husband was a lawyer. She hoped that as a relative her aunt would take her in. That’s why we told this person that we needed to get to Budapest. My wife spoke Hungarian, but I didn’t and to this day don’t. He said that at night he’d lead us through the mountains and forests to Kosice. [18]. That apparently another person from Rozhanovce was working there, a formerly poor person whom Dr. Rosenfeld had also treated for free, that he’ll help us for sure. So we got to Kosice, to Presovska Street. Back then it of course had a Hungarian name, Eperjesi Utca. That person greeted us very warmly and hid us in the cellar.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Jozef W.