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That same year, they rounded up all the Urban women. They were looking for my father, and set up some sort of financial maneuvers to get at him. They didn't find him, so they took all the women, except for Gizi Klinger. She alone wasn't in Piestany. They took them all to Ruzovy Mlyn [The Pink Mill]. It was a big mill where they were gathering all the Jews from Piestany and its surroundings. From there they transported them to the collection camp in Zilina. My father and I set out to go look for them. They tried to have them released in all manner of ways. In Zilina we booked into Hotel Polom. There we hid out. My father tried to make some contacts and get my mother and his sisters out of jail. That same night that they were supposed to set them free, a different event took place. Partisans broke into the jail in Ilava, and freed about a hundred prisoners. The same night, they also broke into the collection camp in Zilina. They got in over the fence, and were pressed for time. They looked for them there, but there were lots of people there. The mission was unsuccessful. My mother's parents were there at that time. In the end they all ended up in the Majdanek concentration camp in the town of Lublin. My mother and her parents were murdered in Majdanek in 1942.
After the unsuccessful liberation mission, we got on a train and traveled to Nitra. There we booked into the Hotel Löffler. The owner, Mr. Löffler, was a Jew. He was still running his hotel. You know how it is, a hotelier like that knows lots of people. Lots of people helped him in exchange for money. After everything that had happened, my father said something which he then maintained until the end of his life: "You won't find a single decent person in Zilina." Always, when after the war someone mentioned Zilina, he'd just give a wave of his hand and say: "You won't find a single decent person there."
Then we returned to Piestany. My father had an exception, which protected us for a certain time. The we had to hide again. We hid out in Alexy's villa, which had belonged to us before the war. There was a phone there, and when there was supposed to be a raid, his brother always let us know. He'd call, and the code was: "let out the pigeons, because there's bad weather coming." Which meant that we were supposed to leave. The Germans chased me as well. An entire squad was running after me, but didn't catch me. I ran all the way to a huge haystack. There were deep holes dug into that stack. Into one we used to put bags, and in the second we slept. Often I slept there all night alone. I'd stay there until someone came and told me that I can come out. In 1944 partisans started gathering there.
Mr. Alexy had a beekeeper's cottage at Havran, about five or six kilometers from Piestany. We had a key to this cottage, and when they notified us that "you have to let out the pigeons...", we'd usually go there. After the partisans arrived, things began to get bad. As I've already mentioned, by the villa there was a dock, with a couple of boats. One night, the partisans "borrowed" them, and paddled to the other side of the Vah, to Piestany. In the town they pilfered some grocery stores, and returned. It was clear that the next day the Germans would be searching the surrounding area. They increased the sentries on the bridge. We were about 300 meters away from the bridge, so we had a good view of it. They were checking the ID of everyone crossing the bridge.
After the unsuccessful liberation mission, we got on a train and traveled to Nitra. There we booked into the Hotel Löffler. The owner, Mr. Löffler, was a Jew. He was still running his hotel. You know how it is, a hotelier like that knows lots of people. Lots of people helped him in exchange for money. After everything that had happened, my father said something which he then maintained until the end of his life: "You won't find a single decent person in Zilina." Always, when after the war someone mentioned Zilina, he'd just give a wave of his hand and say: "You won't find a single decent person there."
Then we returned to Piestany. My father had an exception, which protected us for a certain time. The we had to hide again. We hid out in Alexy's villa, which had belonged to us before the war. There was a phone there, and when there was supposed to be a raid, his brother always let us know. He'd call, and the code was: "let out the pigeons, because there's bad weather coming." Which meant that we were supposed to leave. The Germans chased me as well. An entire squad was running after me, but didn't catch me. I ran all the way to a huge haystack. There were deep holes dug into that stack. Into one we used to put bags, and in the second we slept. Often I slept there all night alone. I'd stay there until someone came and told me that I can come out. In 1944 partisans started gathering there.
Mr. Alexy had a beekeeper's cottage at Havran, about five or six kilometers from Piestany. We had a key to this cottage, and when they notified us that "you have to let out the pigeons...", we'd usually go there. After the partisans arrived, things began to get bad. As I've already mentioned, by the villa there was a dock, with a couple of boats. One night, the partisans "borrowed" them, and paddled to the other side of the Vah, to Piestany. In the town they pilfered some grocery stores, and returned. It was clear that the next day the Germans would be searching the surrounding area. They increased the sentries on the bridge. We were about 300 meters away from the bridge, so we had a good view of it. They were checking the ID of everyone crossing the bridge.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Ladislav Urban