Josef Baruhovic's father Haim Baruhovic in the POW camp in Biberach

My father, Haim Baruhovic (center), was a dentist. Here he is pictured with other prisoners of war in the Biberak camp for POWs in Germany. The photo was taken in 1942.

My father, Haim (or Mika) Baruh was born in Pristina in 1898. He studied medicine and dentistry in Zagreb and in Prague.

When he finished his studies he enlisted in the military and became an active officer. When he joined the military he Serbianized his name.

He was not compelled to make this change but felt it would help his career and make life less complicated for him.

In 1941 my father was in the army. The fighting lasted a short period, only two or three weeks, before the Yugoslav army capitulated.

My father was taken prisoner, which we only found out later. All the Croats that my father served with were released and only the Jewish and Serbian soldiers and officers were taken away.

My father had worked as an army dentist before the war and in the camp too, he worked as a dentist.

We wrote to him during the war, using special envelopes the Germans issued for sending letters to prisoners of war.

We even sent him a letter from Albania but he did not know that we were in Belgrade. Every day my mother went to the Red Cross where they listed the prisoners of war that were due to be returned.

One day she saw my father's name, Haim Baruhovic. When he returned he went to see his friend Nencic.

We were in contact with Nencic and he informed my father that we were safe and in Belgrade.

We saw my father again for the first time in Nencic's apartment on Vozdavac in Belgrade.

After this joyous reunion we stayed with Nencic and his wife, Nada, for a few days while we figured out where to go.

Photos from this interviewee