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After the war, my brother, Tomas Urban, started attending electrical engineering with Duro [Juraj] Kollmann. They were like twins. Best friends, they did everything together. But my brother was lazy, to be more precise he had it good. Back then one of our uncles, Ernest Lichtenstein, who was de facto his tutor, was still alive. When Tominko [Tomas] showed up in Piestany, he always said: "Tominko, come visit me." There he'd get lunch, and some money. It gradually got to the point that when he needed money, he asked Ernest for it. Ernest Lichtenstein was alone, he didn't have anyone, and so he willingly gave it to him. He got used to not being in need, though he didn't have anyplace to live. He hung around with my friends that I played basketball with. We were a very good bunch; when he didn't have a place to live, they even took care of him. They took him to Mlada garda [Mlada garda: student dormitories at the Slovak Technical Univesity – Editor's note], and found him a place in the dorm. He lived there for about a year on the sly. No one knew about it, and he didn't even have to pay.
My brother didn't finish school. They threw him out in second year. Then he began taking chemistry, but after two years they threw him out again. By then our father began taking an interest in his ideas on life. He started as an apprentice at Slovanaft [SLOVNAFT, whose headquarters are in Bratislava, is a petrochemical company – Editor's note], where he worked after leaving school. His boss ended up being a man from Piestany, Mr. Sojcek. He began working for Slovnaft as a laborer, but he gradually worked his way up. In the meantime technology was changing. Because he knew both electricity and chemistry, he had two years in each field, he knew a lot. He had a solid foundation. He got out, to Iraq. He was there for about five years. They were commissioning a large thermal generating station.
My brother didn't finish school. They threw him out in second year. Then he began taking chemistry, but after two years they threw him out again. By then our father began taking an interest in his ideas on life. He started as an apprentice at Slovanaft [SLOVNAFT, whose headquarters are in Bratislava, is a petrochemical company – Editor's note], where he worked after leaving school. His boss ended up being a man from Piestany, Mr. Sojcek. He began working for Slovnaft as a laborer, but he gradually worked his way up. In the meantime technology was changing. Because he knew both electricity and chemistry, he had two years in each field, he knew a lot. He had a solid foundation. He got out, to Iraq. He was there for about five years. They were commissioning a large thermal generating station.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Ladislav Urban