This photo was taken in 1947 during my wedding to Judita Bruck. It was held in the big synagogue in Subotica.
Immediately after liberation, I was employed at the repatriation office in Bratislava. The Jewish community in Bratislava had started its work, and I was informed that the repatriation office needed employees. Thanks to the fact that I speak several languages, Hungarian, German, Slovakian and Czech, I was engaged in April 1945. The office belonged to the Czech Office of Internal Affairs. I met my wife, Judita Bruck, and her family while I was working in Bratislava. They went from the Strashov camp to a work camp in Austria, where they were held until the war ended. They went to Bratislava on foot and in a wagon and they ended up in the repatriation office where I worked.
I liked Judita immediately. Because she was hungry most of the time, whenever I could, I took her to restaurants, sometimes three times a day. Wishing to do something in return, Judita's father, Matija Bruck, invited me to visit the family in Subotica (Yugoslavia). When I could, I accepted his invitation and visited them in 1946. The love between Judita and me was mutual, and we agreed to get married. We married in May l947 and went to Czechoslovakia. On April 24, l949 Sonja, our daughter, was born.
Judita and Pavel Sendrei's wedding in the Subotica synagogue
The Centropa Collection at USHMM
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