The Story of the Jewish Community in Bratislava
This video is part of the online exhibition, The Story of the Jewish Community in Bratislava
On the eve of the Holocaust the Jewish community in Bratislava was the largest Jewish community in Slovakia; it was a Jewish religious and political center, and home to the renowned Pressburg Yeshiva as well as the Histadrut of Slovakia. In 1930 over 15,000 Jews lived in the city, constituting some 12 percent of the population.
In March 1939, with the creation of an independent Slovak State, the Jews of Bratislava were subjected to discriminatory practices and persecution. By the 1st of March 1942, nearly half of the city's Jews had been evicted, and dispersed in smaller towns across the country. During 1942 many of the Jews of Bratislava were deported to the death camps in Poland.
During the war the city was home to the Bratislava Working Group, which was devoted to rescuing Jews. The group's efforts, however, came to naught and most Slovakian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.
This is the story of the Jewish community of Bratislava.
Memorializing the Czech and Slovak Victims of the Holocaust
We visited the Jewish Quarter in Prague and didn't want to combine that experience with fun and food so it stands alone.
We have spent a lot of time on our trip learning about Jewish life before and during World War II. Krakow, Budapest and Prague have many tours, memorials and places to visit that have been eye-opening. Books and film aren't the same as seeing mass graves, gas chambers and ghetto walls with your own eyes.
We haven't filmed most of our experiences since we wanted to be in the moment. On our day in Prague's Jewish Quarter, we are sharing a bit of this horrific history.
Bratislava and the Second World War
April 4, 2015 marks 70 years since the Red Army liberated Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, from German control. To commemorate this event, we took cameras along to interviews which are normally reserved for radio alone. From the deportation of the city's Jewish residents, to bombing raids, to the arrival of battle-weary Soviet troops, this was a war which affected everyone in every corner of the city, with this bi-lingual video providing an insight into life during the Second World War, as told by those Bratislava residents who survived it. Therefore we hope you enjoy this video and find it educational and entertaining. Likewise, we invite you to tune in to Radio Slovakia International for more in-depth interviews and features on this topic.
©/℗ 2015 - Radio Slovakia International -
The Working Group - The Attempt by Jewish Activists to Rescue the Jews of Slovakia
In the summer of 1941 an underground organization of public figures formed in Bratislava; it became known as the 'Bratislava Working Group'. This group originated in response to the policies of the head of the Jewish Center (Ústredna Židov or ÚŽ), Arpad Sebestyen, who unhesitatingly obeyed the Slovakian authorities.
The Bratislava Working Group, was devoted to rescuing Jews. The group's efforts, however, came to naught and most Slovakian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.
This video is part of the online exhibition, The Story of the Jewish Community in Bratislava
Outside Bratislava Synagogue, Bratislava, Slovakia
We couldn't leave Bratislava before seeing the Bratislava Orthodox Synagogue. It was lucky we did go to see it, as it is such a well preserved building and only goes to show that the Jewish community was substantial.
According to the Jewish Museum in Bratislava, there at one time 80,000 Jewish people living in Bratislava alone. Due to WW2 and other situations, there are only 1,000 Jewish people now living in Bratislava, which is sad. We were told that many families go to Vienna and Budapest, where the communities are bigger.
Unfortunately, the Synagogue was closed, but this gives you an idea of the community that is still there.
The only remaining synagogue in Bratislava is located on Heydukova Street, not far from the historic city center.
It was constructed in 1923-1926, decades after restrictions on Jewish residence were lifted, enabling them to move out of the Judengasse district and settle throughout the city.
The synagogue exterior has a towerless, seven-pillared colonnade facing the street. The interior includes a large sanctuary in which modern steel-and-concrete construction and contemporary Cubist details are combined with historicist elements, such as the arcade of the women's gallery, a metallic bimah, and the ark.
The architecture fulfils traditional religious requirements, such as separation of men and women and placement of the bimah in the center, but it also features modern facilities: Cloak-rooms, toilets, and an array of additional rooms for study and social gatherings cluster along the western façade of the building.
The synagogue still serves as an active Jewish house of worship.
There are several Holocaust memorial plaques here, and a community memorial exhibition is being prepared for installation in the women's gallery.
Filmed using the Sony HDR-HC5E HDV1080i High Definition Handycam.
Holocaust Survivor Testimony: Yisaschar Dov Goldstein
Yisaschar Dov Goldstein was born in 1929 in Bratislava, Slovakia, the third of five children. His father, Moshe Shraga, was the rabbi of the Jewish community, which suffered persecution by the antisemitic Slovakian regime. After Germany occupied Slovakia in the summer of 1944, Dov joined the underground Working Group, and learned what was happening in Poland. Preparing for the worst, he built a wall in the storage room of his family home.
In the fall of 1944, Dov's mother Chaya Feige, his infant brother Eliezer and his 12-year-old sister Buna were deported to Auschwitz and murdered. Dov and his father hid in the storage room, but the Germans found them, too. They were taken to the Sered’ concentration camp and deported to Birkenau a week later, where Moshe Shraga was murdered on arrival. Dov was transferred to a factory in a satellite camp of Buchenwald.
Dov tried to observe Jewish practice every step of the way. On Hanukkah, the prisoners made a makeshift menorah, which gave off a strong aroma. The German commander came to check the source of the smell, but a bombing raid began and the commander ran out. During Passover 1945, a Jewish prisoner acquired a handful of flour from which they made a single piece of matzah. Every prisoner in the shack received a crumb from the matzah during the Seder.
As the Americans advanced, Dov was sent on a death march to Buchenwald. Two days after he arrived, the US Army liberated the camp. Dov had contracted typhus and was hospitalized in an infirmary, but he returned to Bratislava once he recuperated. When he arrived, he discovered that everything in his house had been stolen, except the holy books.
In August 1946, Dov boarded an illegal immigrant ship bound for Eretz Israel. After a seven-month incarceration by the British in Cyprus, and a month at the Atlit internment camp, he settled in northern Israel with a Bnei Akiva youth group. He was one of the first members of Kibbutz Ein Tzurim and fought in the War of Independence.
Dov established the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Beer Sheva, taught Talmud and Bible for many years, and guided students and tourists around Israel. In the 1990s, he was the rabbi and kosher butcher in Košice, Slovakia. Dov continues tells his life story to young people and accompanies student trips to Poland.
Dov and Shulamit have three children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
For more Information:
ONCE THERE WERE JEWS HERE p1 פעם היו כאו יהודים
THE movie was filmed in the cities of micolash,zilina,bratislava.in thecapital Bratislava-the tomb of chatam sofer ,the holocaust memorial andthe new jewish museum
Slovak Memorial Train (Auschwitz Memorial)
A special Memorial Train from Slovakia arrived at Auschwitz along a historical route commemorating the 70th anniversary of the deportation of the first group of Jewish women from Slovakia by the Nazis to Auschwitz
Holocaust Survivor Testimony: Viola Torek
Dr. Viola Torek was born in 1916 in Slovakia. In 1934, she studied medicine and married a physician. In 1944, the Germans invaded Slovakia and Torek's family was sent to Auschwitz. She was transferred to the Lichtwerden forced labor camp in Silesia four months later. Torek worked in the clinic and in May 1945 was liberated. She returned to her birthplace, and upon learning of the fate of all her loved ones, her husband included, lost the will to live. Encouraged by relatives, she returned to Bratislava and continued her medical studies. Upon completion, she worked at a Clinic for Holocaust Survivors in the Tatra mountains. There was a common bond of partnership and of belonging to one another. We had all been left alone. For me, it was a commitment. She remarried another doctor, and they decided to immigrate to Eretz Yisrael. They misled the Soviet authorities and escaped from Slovakia. In Eretz Yisrael, they worked as physicians at various places, and Torek worked at a clinic in Beer Ya'akov which treated Holocaust survivors. In 1959, the couple moved to Beer Sheba and were among the founders of the Beer Sheva Medical School. Her husband established the Orthopedic Department of the new hospital. Viola worked for 22 years as District Physician. She was crucial in developing the medical services in the Negev region. At 72, Viola retired. She is intensely involved in volunteer activities.
Online Torchlighter Film Archive
Historic Bratislava, Slovakia
I visited Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, as a day trip out of Vienna. I knew very little about the city, but it was only a short train ride away, so I thought I'd check it out. What I found was a compact city center with a lot of history.
The region became part of the Kingdom of Hungary more than 1000 years ago. When the Ottomans captured much of Hungary in the 1500s, the city became the capital of Hungary under the Habsburgs of Austria, and served in that role for almost 200 years. During that time it was the site of a number of coronations. Following World War I, Slovakia became part of Czechoslovakia. It gained independence as a country in its own right in 1992, and Slovakia became its capital.
The Photos (in order)
G07A3357 - Old Town's Michalska Brana, or Michael's Gate, one of four historic gates to the city, was built in the 14th century
G07A3370 - Primacialne Square, or Primate's Square
G07A3374 - Primacialne Square; the Primate's Palace on the left today holds the offices of the Mayor of Bratislava; the tower of the Old Town Hall is visible in the distance
G07A3331 - Presidential palace
G07A3450 - The modest St. Martin's Cathedral is one of the largest and oldest churches in Bratislava; for almost 300 years starting in 1563 it was the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the period when the Ottoman Empire occupied much of Hungary
G07A3423 - Bratislava Hrad, the main castle of Bratislava, dates back to the 9th century; it was gutted by fire in 1811 and was not restored until the second half of the 20th century
G07A3389 - The Holocaust Memorial pays tribute to the 105,000 holocaust victims from Slovakia; behind it is a black granite wall that features an etching of the Neolog synagogue, which the communists tore down along with much of the old Jewish QUarter for a highway construction project
G07A3464 - The Slovak National Theatre
STV News: the Holocaust Memorial in Bardejov
V Bardejove chcú postaviť pamätník / They want to build the Memorial in Bardejov
(STV 04/24/2013)
Slovak National Televison
rtvs.org
ONCE THERE WERE JEWS HERE p4 פעם היו כאן יהודים
THE movie was filmed in the cities of micolash,zilina,bratislava.in thecapital Bratislava-the tomb of chatam sofer ,the holocaust memorial and the new jewish museum
President of Bratislava Self-Governing Region, Mr Pavol Frešo at Miranda exhibition's opening
Opening of exhibition Miranda - the Roma Holocaust in the Sered´ Holocaust Museum / Slovak National Museum in Sered, Slovakia 2 Aug 2017
Time off: Jews of Slovakia
In the heart of Europe, a small Jewish community remembers the past and looks with hope towards the future. Come see Jewish Slovakia!
Jewish Suburbia in TV Show Slovakia in the pictures / Židovské suburbium
The Jewish Suburbia and Holocaust Memorial Site in Bardejov as a part of TV show that was broadcasted in prime time at Slovak National Television. This show called Slovensko v obrazoch is very popular magazine about traveling and exploring the most interesting places in Slovakia.
Broadcasted on 28th June 2013.
rtvs.sk
Holocaust Survivor Daisy Gross - In hiding in Slovakia
Daisy Gross was born in 1939 in Nitra, Czechoslovakia. Her father was the director of the local sugar refinery. Due to his position, the family was at first exempt from the anti-Jewish laws after the German occupation. In 1943, however, Daisy’s parents decided that she had to go into hiding. In this excerpt, Daisy describes her life in their family cook’s village. Source: Montreal Holocaust Museum, 2014
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Daisy Gross est née dans en 1939 à Nitra en Tchécoslovaquie. Son père est le directeur de la raffinerie de sucre locale. Au début de l’occupation allemande, la famille n’est pas sujet des lois anti-juives grâce à la haute position du père. Mais en 1943 les parents de Daisy décident qu’elle doit se cacher. Dans cet extrait elle décrit comment elle vivait sous une fausse identité dans le village de leur cuisinière. Source : Musée de l'Holocauste Montréal, 2014
Once there were jews here.p 5 פעם היו כאן יהודים
THE movie was filmed in the cities of micolash,zilina,bratislava.in thecapital Bratislava-the tomb of chatam sofer ,the holocaust memorial and the new jewish museum
Bratislava(UFO bridge,Bratislava Castle,Holocaust memorial,Old Town Square)
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia.Bordering Austria and Hungary,it is the only national capital that borders two countries.River Danube flows through it.It is known for
UFO bridge(MOST SNP Bridge)
Bratislava Castle
Svatopluk statue
St. Martin's Cathedral
Holocaust memorial
Michael's gate
Schone Naci statue
Man at work statue
Old Town square
Roland Fountain
Slovak National theater
The tragic fate of Slovak Jewry
During WWII, as the Nazis pursued the mass extermination of European Jewry, some Jews in Slovakia were able to find shelter in hiding in villages with local residents. They were helped despite the threat of death for those who sheltered them. But by the end of the war, 60,000 Slovak Jews were murdered. #WeRemember
Ambassador of Finland in Slovakia & Czech Republic, Helena Tuuri at Miranda exhibition's opening
Opening of exhibition Miranda - the Roma Holocaust in the Sered´ Holocaust Museum / Slovak National Museum in Sered, Slovakia 2 Aug 2017