Arpad Erdelyi with family and friends at Christmas in a log cabin

Arpad Erdelyi with family and friends at Christmas in a log cabin

This photo is from the Turiec region, near the village of Motycky, where we were in hiding. It was taken in December 1944 and shows us during Christmastime. Despite the fact that most of us were Jews, we were very liberal and none of us had a problem with celebrating Christmas as well. From left in the bottom row: Dr. Pavol Gross, Mr. Stolpyansky, Mrs. Wintersteinova from Banska Stiavnica, I don’t know the next person, my father Arpad Erdelyi, Dominik Ruzicka, Karol Kürti. The boy in the checked shirt is the son of one lady that helped us a lot. I don’t know who the two people sitting in the back are. Standing completely in the back are my mother, Ruzena Erdelyiova, I don’t know the next person, my aunt Malvin Kürti and Aliska Grossova.

We spent Christmas in our ‘log cabin.’ It was nice and warm there. We took a branch and decorated it like a Christmas tree. Vojtech Kürti was incredibly handy, and he made candle holders for the tree. We made some paper stars and it was Christmas. We had some food, but we were missing ‘kolace’ [small, usually round, sweet cakes]. Domin Ruzicka couldn’t stand it and announced: ‘I’m going to Bratislava.’ He managed to get to Bratislava and return with ingredients. In the village they gave us flour. Mother and Malvin mixed the dough. We set out for the roadman’s cabin, and baked all night. We even thought up a story for the Germans, if they came by to check. I was supposed to be an evacuee from Michalovce without anything, not even papers. We baked as much as we could and carried it back up. We had hot coffee and ‘kolace.’ Domin Ruzicka brought back news from Bratislava that they’d arrested my uncle, Ernö Duschnitz.

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