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The way I met my wife was that we lived in the same village. Her father worked for my father. When I was young I liked her, and so we began going out together. In the meantime I had to leave, to save my life. For a short time, six months, we had no news of each other, at that time I was in Budapest. After the liberation I returned home, and in 1952 we were finally married.
My wife is named Heda, Hedviga, née Vozarova. She was born in 1925. Her mother tongue is Slovak. She finished high school and worked for three years as a bank clerk. She was from a Christian family. I never tried to convince her to become Jewish. Let her be the way she was born. Even today I still drive her to church. Why should I try to stop her? There’s one thing I say. I’m the way I was born. There’s no point in me converting. I’m not devout as a Jew, and I wouldn’t be devout as a Christian either. Even before the war I had offers to be converted, but there’s no point. I was born a Jew, and Jew I’ll remain.
Our wedding was a civil one, and took place at the Nitra city hall with our closest family. It wasn’t any sort of big wedding, just our siblings and parents. My wife wore a coat and skirt, and I wore a suit. After the ceremony we had lunch, and spent a little more time together in the evening. That was it.
I knew my wife’s parents very well. I had an especially good relationship with her mother, we got along magnificently. She was a very steadfast, intelligent woman. I got along with her father as well, but there the relationship wasn’t as good as that. I also had a good relationship with her siblings, I got along well with them all, especially with her oldest brother. He was very similar to his mother. She had four brothers, and was the only girl. All her siblings are dead now, she’s the only one left. As I mentioned, her father worked for my father, and her mother was a housewife. My wife’s father soon died, and her mother then often came to visit us in Nitra.
My wife worked as a bank clerk for three years. Then our son was born. She only began working again when our son began attending university. She also took care of my mother, whose health wasn’t the best. That’s why it was necessary for someone to be at home. She worked at Sazka Sportka [a betting company – Editor’s note].
My wife is named Heda, Hedviga, née Vozarova. She was born in 1925. Her mother tongue is Slovak. She finished high school and worked for three years as a bank clerk. She was from a Christian family. I never tried to convince her to become Jewish. Let her be the way she was born. Even today I still drive her to church. Why should I try to stop her? There’s one thing I say. I’m the way I was born. There’s no point in me converting. I’m not devout as a Jew, and I wouldn’t be devout as a Christian either. Even before the war I had offers to be converted, but there’s no point. I was born a Jew, and Jew I’ll remain.
Our wedding was a civil one, and took place at the Nitra city hall with our closest family. It wasn’t any sort of big wedding, just our siblings and parents. My wife wore a coat and skirt, and I wore a suit. After the ceremony we had lunch, and spent a little more time together in the evening. That was it.
I knew my wife’s parents very well. I had an especially good relationship with her mother, we got along magnificently. She was a very steadfast, intelligent woman. I got along with her father as well, but there the relationship wasn’t as good as that. I also had a good relationship with her siblings, I got along well with them all, especially with her oldest brother. He was very similar to his mother. She had four brothers, and was the only girl. All her siblings are dead now, she’s the only one left. As I mentioned, her father worked for my father, and her mother was a housewife. My wife’s father soon died, and her mother then often came to visit us in Nitra.
My wife worked as a bank clerk for three years. Then our son was born. She only began working again when our son began attending university. She also took care of my mother, whose health wasn’t the best. That’s why it was necessary for someone to be at home. She worked at Sazka Sportka [a betting company – Editor’s note].
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Bedrich Hecht