Certification of permanent residence of Judita Sendrei's father, Matija Bruck

Certification of permanent residence of Judita Sendrei's father, Matija Bruck

This certificate proves that my father, Matija Bruck, of the Israelite religion, was a permanent resident in Subotica from June 1, 1931 until June 1, 1941. The certificate was issued on the request of the engineering chamber so that my father could establish work relations. On March 19, 1944 the Germans arrived and I had to start going to school wearing a yellow star. My father convened a family assembly and asked his closest relatives if they wanted to try and save their lives by converting to Catholicism. I was the most vocal with my answer. I said that it was not even a consideration: 'Never! I will remain a Jew until the end.' Very quickly after that my father was taken to a camp in Backa Topolo, and they put the whole family in the ghetto. After a short time they were loading us into wagons headed for Bacsalmas, Hungary. My grandmother was put in a hospital, and my mother and I took shelter in a mill where we slept on the bare ground and I contracted an inflammation of the lungs. Through one young soldier, to whom I gave my ring, I managed to send a letter to my father to tell him where the family was located. My father in turn used the first opportunity to volunteer to register and to set out in our direction, towards the first wagon. Quickly we were transported to Szeged and later to the Strashov camp. From the moment that my parents and I arrived in the Strashov camp we were no longer separated. We went from there to a work camp in Austria, where we awaited liberation. A little on foot, a little by horse drawn carriage, and we managed to make our way to Bratislava.
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