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I attended a Protestant school. Actually first a Catholic one, but they threw me out of there. They didn't allow Jews to attend it. For about two months, I was at home. So that I could continue my studies, my parents had me baptized. I attended this course, where we studied the Bible. The parson's name was Dr. Alexander Barica. I've still got the baptism certificate he gave me, which later was of no use to me after all...
When I was in Grade 3, our teacher was Alica Zelienkova. She was a real Xanthippe [a reference to Socrates' wife who was said to be domineering and sharp-tongued – Translator's note], who beat me. One anecdote occurs to me in relation to her. It was my birthday, and my father's sister, Aunt Ilus Quittnerova had bought me a soccer ball. I took it to school, and almost the entire school was playing with it. There were about 50 students there. We were all chasing the ball around. Someone kicked it into the latrine. I had two good friends. One was Ivan Stankovic, and the other Dusan Goljer. They were Protestants. They held me by my feet, and I pulled the ball out of the john. It was all covered in shit. We washed it off, and Dusan took it to class. It was sitting in the corner, and smelled awful. When class began, this teacher came in. She asked whose ball it was. I admitted to it. She took a cane, and beat me so badly that I had to go see a doctor. The next day, Aunt Ilus went to complain to the principal about her, and that was even worse. After the war, I had one more incident with this teacher. I was studying in Bratislava, and I'd run into her every day on the way to school. She walked at the same time on the same sidewalk as I did. I said to myself that I won't say hello to her. She got so angry that once on Sunday she set out from Bratislava to see my father in Piestany, to complain about me.
The soccer ball didn't have a happy end either. When I returned from the doctor's, Ilus neni sent me to play with some children near the Vah [River]. Because it was my birthday, I invited them to come play soccer in a field. Ilus neni had prepared a basket full of cakes and some cocoa in a thermos for us. I didn't play, because I was so sore from the beating I'd gotten from my teacher. So I didn't get anything out of the soccer, plus the ball got all torn up, as there was gravel there. With us there at that time was my classmate Judita Goldbergerova, who they later murdered in Auschwitz.
When I was in Grade 3, our teacher was Alica Zelienkova. She was a real Xanthippe [a reference to Socrates' wife who was said to be domineering and sharp-tongued – Translator's note], who beat me. One anecdote occurs to me in relation to her. It was my birthday, and my father's sister, Aunt Ilus Quittnerova had bought me a soccer ball. I took it to school, and almost the entire school was playing with it. There were about 50 students there. We were all chasing the ball around. Someone kicked it into the latrine. I had two good friends. One was Ivan Stankovic, and the other Dusan Goljer. They were Protestants. They held me by my feet, and I pulled the ball out of the john. It was all covered in shit. We washed it off, and Dusan took it to class. It was sitting in the corner, and smelled awful. When class began, this teacher came in. She asked whose ball it was. I admitted to it. She took a cane, and beat me so badly that I had to go see a doctor. The next day, Aunt Ilus went to complain to the principal about her, and that was even worse. After the war, I had one more incident with this teacher. I was studying in Bratislava, and I'd run into her every day on the way to school. She walked at the same time on the same sidewalk as I did. I said to myself that I won't say hello to her. She got so angry that once on Sunday she set out from Bratislava to see my father in Piestany, to complain about me.
The soccer ball didn't have a happy end either. When I returned from the doctor's, Ilus neni sent me to play with some children near the Vah [River]. Because it was my birthday, I invited them to come play soccer in a field. Ilus neni had prepared a basket full of cakes and some cocoa in a thermos for us. I didn't play, because I was so sore from the beating I'd gotten from my teacher. So I didn't get anything out of the soccer, plus the ball got all torn up, as there was gravel there. With us there at that time was my classmate Judita Goldbergerova, who they later murdered in Auschwitz.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Ladislav Urban