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The beginnings of my grandma’s life in Zilina were very hard for her, because she didn’t know even a word of Slovak. My grandfather tried to help her learn Slovak as best he could, but somehow it didn’t go very well for her. He also brought in a young maid from Liptov, so she could learn Slovak from her, but the opposite happened and very soon the maid spoke better Hungarian than my grandma Slovak. There was one cute story about my grandmother that was told in Zilina. When my grandmother could already get by with her Slovak, she went out to the market. In those days, fowl pest was common in the Zilina region. It used to be a custom to bring live poultry to the market. Well, and she saw some farmwoman selling a goose that had already been killed and cleaned. She became suspicious, whether that goose hadn’t died of the pest. She tried to find out with her broken Slovak, and began to ask the farmwoman, ‘Lady, does that goose kick?’ Meaning did it kick the bucket [die of disease], that’s how she meant it. And the woman answered, ‘Well, my lady, I’m old, gray, but I’ve never seen a goose kicking!’ So this was a story they told about my grandma in Zilina.
My father’s parents at first lived in one house in Zilina. During the time of the Slovak State [2] they moved into the building owned by my other grandparents, the Picks. The building stood on the main square. In the courtyard there were several small houses, and in one of them there was a nice two-room apartment with a bathroom and everything. So that’s where my grandparents moved with my father’s younger brother. What did their first apartment look like? It’s very difficult for me to describe it in detail. I don’t remember their first apartment at all. I only remember how my grandma [Donathova] brought her mother Cecilia Polacsek from Hungary. She died in Zilina at the age of 92. I could have been maybe three or four at that time, I remember that she had terribly thick lenses in her eyeglasses. I was terribly afraid of her. She sat me on her lap, but I would pull away from her. I have only this memory from their first apartment. She also has a grave in Zilina, which I take care of. Well, and then the next apartment, where they moved during the time of the Slovak State, that one I remember. It had typical furniture for the times, mainly I remember the carved furniture that was in the dining room.
I don’t remember my grandparents’ neighbors in their first house. When they moved to the second house, the owners of the surrounding houses were also Jews. There were also several Jewish families in our building. During the time of the Slovak State we had to move from the main street to those small houses that we had in the courtyard. At the Donaths’ they spoke Hungarian, and at the Picks’, German. My grandparents dressed normally, not at all like religious Jews. My grandfather didn’t wear a kippah or a hat. They were completely modern, I never saw them dressed like people that strictly follow their religion.
My father’s parents at first lived in one house in Zilina. During the time of the Slovak State [2] they moved into the building owned by my other grandparents, the Picks. The building stood on the main square. In the courtyard there were several small houses, and in one of them there was a nice two-room apartment with a bathroom and everything. So that’s where my grandparents moved with my father’s younger brother. What did their first apartment look like? It’s very difficult for me to describe it in detail. I don’t remember their first apartment at all. I only remember how my grandma [Donathova] brought her mother Cecilia Polacsek from Hungary. She died in Zilina at the age of 92. I could have been maybe three or four at that time, I remember that she had terribly thick lenses in her eyeglasses. I was terribly afraid of her. She sat me on her lap, but I would pull away from her. I have only this memory from their first apartment. She also has a grave in Zilina, which I take care of. Well, and then the next apartment, where they moved during the time of the Slovak State, that one I remember. It had typical furniture for the times, mainly I remember the carved furniture that was in the dining room.
I don’t remember my grandparents’ neighbors in their first house. When they moved to the second house, the owners of the surrounding houses were also Jews. There were also several Jewish families in our building. During the time of the Slovak State we had to move from the main street to those small houses that we had in the courtyard. At the Donaths’ they spoke Hungarian, and at the Picks’, German. My grandparents dressed normally, not at all like religious Jews. My grandfather didn’t wear a kippah or a hat. They were completely modern, I never saw them dressed like people that strictly follow their religion.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Judita Schvalbova
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