The first on the left is my mother Melania Donathova, nee Pickova sitting beside her is my uncle Oskar Pick. The first on the right is his wife, Valeria Pickova. The photo was taken in Zilina in 1982 at the graduation of my son Ivan.
Uncle Oskar married a non-Jewish woman, Valeria, who you could say saved our lives during the war. They lived in Zilina. They had no children, because his wife was ill and had to undergo three gynecological operations. Oskar died in 1983, the year after my son's graduation.
We were a relatively large family, and met regularly with those that had survived. Mainly we stayed in contact with my mother's brothers and their families, until Gejza left for Israel. Uncle Oskar lived beside us. Gradually everyone died, only my mother and her brother Oskar remained. That was our social circle. My parents had mainly Jewish friends, but also met with non-Jews. I can say with certainty that Jews made up the majority. As much as it was possible, we went on vacations outside of the country. I know that my mother was with my aunt in Vienna and they also used to visit Budapest. We younger ones were used to going to the seaside, my parents were no longer of an age where they could have come with us.
