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I grew up in Utekac, which was a glassmaking community. In the center of the community was a glass factory, which actually supported everyone. The descendants of German colonists living in Utekac worked there. It was all German colonists, who’d come there as glassmakers. Along the street there were typical workers’ houses, colonies. It was a continuous row of one-story houses, with let’s say five or six apartments inside. The roads weren’t asphalt, but paved with stone. There were three cars in Utekac, if I’m correct. The manager of the glass factory had a car, my father had a truck, and I think there was one factory car there.
I know absolutely precisely how many Jewish inhabitants lived in Utekac back then. Our family had four members. Then there were the Grauners, who were five. There was Mr. Krivacek’s family, which was mixed. His wife was a Christian. According to Jewish laws, his three daughters couldn’t be considered Jewish [Editor’s note: Jewishness is inherited from the mother.] It’s quite hard to talk about the Jewish community in Utekac. We knew each other for many years. My parents ran a store that they rented from the glass factory. They also had good relations with the non-Jewish population. Not that they somehow considered us to be completely one of them. But on the other hand, we didn’t have any problems, like the Engels, we never had any real problems with making a living, with getting along with the rest of the community.
There was no synagogue or prayer hall in Utekac. The nearest synagogue was in Kokava nad Rimavicou, which was six kilometers away. There the Jewish community was already a bigger one. They had a rabbi and a shachter [or shochet: a ritual butcher]. Kokava also had a Jewish school. Especially after 1940, it was the only school that Jews were allowed to attend [8].
I know absolutely precisely how many Jewish inhabitants lived in Utekac back then. Our family had four members. Then there were the Grauners, who were five. There was Mr. Krivacek’s family, which was mixed. His wife was a Christian. According to Jewish laws, his three daughters couldn’t be considered Jewish [Editor’s note: Jewishness is inherited from the mother.] It’s quite hard to talk about the Jewish community in Utekac. We knew each other for many years. My parents ran a store that they rented from the glass factory. They also had good relations with the non-Jewish population. Not that they somehow considered us to be completely one of them. But on the other hand, we didn’t have any problems, like the Engels, we never had any real problems with making a living, with getting along with the rest of the community.
There was no synagogue or prayer hall in Utekac. The nearest synagogue was in Kokava nad Rimavicou, which was six kilometers away. There the Jewish community was already a bigger one. They had a rabbi and a shachter [or shochet: a ritual butcher]. Kokava also had a Jewish school. Especially after 1940, it was the only school that Jews were allowed to attend [8].
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Tibor Engel