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Our living arrangements and furniture were very poor. In the best case we had an apartment that had two rooms with quite old-fashioned furniture. There were only two rooms and a kitchen. When we lived on the aforementioned Hitler Street, we even had a small larder there. We didn't have a bathroom. We had a trough, and that's where our mother bathed us. We'd always heat water, and then we'd bathe. We didn't even have a toilet. Only out in the courtyard was there one. When it was colder, we heated only with wood. We had an iron stove. As I've said, we used to go for water to a well in front of a pub belonging to Mr. Machac. We'd always go there for two pails of water. There were another four families living in that courtyard along with us. So there could be no talk of a garden. Of mice and rats yes, but not of a garden, because in that courtyard it wasn't possible to grow anything or raise animals.
What I do have to mention, though, is that at home we had a very large and rich library. Books were the only things that we were capable of paying for. For books, plus partly for records. I don't know how it was possible, but in some fashion we came by an old record player with this big horn. And I know that we used to borrow records, but also bought them. They were those old 78-rpm records. And there, with that old record player, I basically came by my affinity to music, which I still have to this day. I've got a huge record collection. I've got almost 600 LPs, around 120 CDs plus around a hundred cassettes. Mainly with classical music.
But let's get back to books and literature in general. At home we had some religious literature, but secular literature dominated. Everyone in our family knew how to read. My mother read the least of all of us, because with having to take care of the household and children, she didn't have much time left for books. My father used to read, but it was mainly we children that read. The books that made their way to us were written mainly in German and Hungarian. Otherwise, I've got to mention that I was one of the most faithful members of the town library. I used to go to the library regularly. It used to cost 20 halers to borrow one book. And I still remember the name of the librarian, he was named Drahos. He became fond of me, because every week I would come to borrow books, which helped me immensely in school. Thanks to those books I knew more than what they taught in school.
So I remember that in Social Studies we were discussing ships. Some Queen Mary or some such ship was traveling from Southampton to New York in five and a half days. [Editor's note: The Queen Mary, in its time the largest and most luxurious ocean liner. Her maiden voyage stared on 27th May 1936, and on 10th December 1967 she dropped anchor after her last voyage at her current berth in Long Beach, Los Angeles.] And I interrupted our teacher and said, 'And that's why she was awarded the Blue Ribbon [an award that was given for the fastest traverse of the Atlantic Ocean].' Our teacher was a little surprised, and asked where I knew that from, and I told him that I had read it in newspapers and books. So I'll say again, we read a lot at our place.
I can even tell you that when the anti-Jewish measures began in 1939, I stored the books we had at home in a large box that measured 1.5 x 1 meters, and took this box and buried it deep underground in our courtyard. We had a very large Marxist library and I didn't want to lose those books. It's quite possible that it's still buried there to this day.
What I do have to mention, though, is that at home we had a very large and rich library. Books were the only things that we were capable of paying for. For books, plus partly for records. I don't know how it was possible, but in some fashion we came by an old record player with this big horn. And I know that we used to borrow records, but also bought them. They were those old 78-rpm records. And there, with that old record player, I basically came by my affinity to music, which I still have to this day. I've got a huge record collection. I've got almost 600 LPs, around 120 CDs plus around a hundred cassettes. Mainly with classical music.
But let's get back to books and literature in general. At home we had some religious literature, but secular literature dominated. Everyone in our family knew how to read. My mother read the least of all of us, because with having to take care of the household and children, she didn't have much time left for books. My father used to read, but it was mainly we children that read. The books that made their way to us were written mainly in German and Hungarian. Otherwise, I've got to mention that I was one of the most faithful members of the town library. I used to go to the library regularly. It used to cost 20 halers to borrow one book. And I still remember the name of the librarian, he was named Drahos. He became fond of me, because every week I would come to borrow books, which helped me immensely in school. Thanks to those books I knew more than what they taught in school.
So I remember that in Social Studies we were discussing ships. Some Queen Mary or some such ship was traveling from Southampton to New York in five and a half days. [Editor's note: The Queen Mary, in its time the largest and most luxurious ocean liner. Her maiden voyage stared on 27th May 1936, and on 10th December 1967 she dropped anchor after her last voyage at her current berth in Long Beach, Los Angeles.] And I interrupted our teacher and said, 'And that's why she was awarded the Blue Ribbon [an award that was given for the fastest traverse of the Atlantic Ocean].' Our teacher was a little surprised, and asked where I knew that from, and I told him that I had read it in newspapers and books. So I'll say again, we read a lot at our place.
I can even tell you that when the anti-Jewish measures began in 1939, I stored the books we had at home in a large box that measured 1.5 x 1 meters, and took this box and buried it deep underground in our courtyard. We had a very large Marxist library and I didn't want to lose those books. It's quite possible that it's still buried there to this day.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Alexander Bachnar