The wedding of Helena Kovanicova

This is my wedding picture, taken in Prague in 1946. I met my husband, Rudolf Kovanic, in Terezin. I was working in the mechanized woodshop, and he was my boss. I remember that it was my birthday, and he somehow found out about it, because otherwise we didn't really talk much, and suddenly for my birthday he brought me some chocolate-covered orange peel, which I loved. I was completely in seventh heaven from that orange peel, I kept it under my pillow and didn't eat it at all, because I wanted to save it! In Terezin my future husband was trying to convince me to marry him. He explained to me that if we weren't married, they could send me away alone on a transport, and he wouldn't be able to help me in any way. In the end I agreed. We found some rabbi in Terezin, who married us, but after the war the officials didn't recognize our wedding, so we had to get married again anyhow. Our second wedding wasn't big either. In attendance were only my husband and I, and witnesses - our relative Vaclav Pavelka and my husband's brother-in-law, Vaclav Pustina.