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Then came that sad occurrence, the Topolcany pogrom against Jews, in October 1945. At that time I was already not living in Topolcany. I lived and worked in Bratislava. On the day of the pogrom, however, I was in the town. Because at that time I was working as an army journalist, my editor- in-chief sent me there as a Topolcany native. I went in an army uniform, I had the rank of second lieutenant. They told me to take a pistol with me! We got to Topolcany around 4pm. At that time the town was already calm. I visited my sister and father in the apartment where they were staying. What happened there I don't know. I only found out later from documentation. At home we didn't talk about it and later, when my sister and father moved to Bratislava, we never got around to the subject.
After the war I stayed in Topolcany for only a few days. In May of 1945 I left for Bratislava. Later, one of my friends, who was editor-in-chief of the daily army paper Bojovnik called me to his office. [Editor's note: an organ of the Slovak Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters. The word 'bojovnik' means fighter. Was founded after the merger congress of Slovak resistance organizations in the spring of 1948 (press run of more than 20 thousand). In the year 1951 it merged with the magazine Hlas Revoluce (Voice of The Revolution).] By the way, he was the well-known playwright Leopold Lahola [Lahola, Leopold (1918 -1968); b. Leopold Arje Friedmann, dramatist and filmmaker]. So he was editor-in-chief, and he called me, for me to come work for that magazine. I accepted the offer. Because it was an army paper, I stayed in the army as a journalist until 1949.
After the war I stayed in Topolcany for only a few days. In May of 1945 I left for Bratislava. Later, one of my friends, who was editor-in-chief of the daily army paper Bojovnik called me to his office. [Editor's note: an organ of the Slovak Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters. The word 'bojovnik' means fighter. Was founded after the merger congress of Slovak resistance organizations in the spring of 1948 (press run of more than 20 thousand). In the year 1951 it merged with the magazine Hlas Revoluce (Voice of The Revolution).] By the way, he was the well-known playwright Leopold Lahola [Lahola, Leopold (1918 -1968); b. Leopold Arje Friedmann, dramatist and filmmaker]. So he was editor-in-chief, and he called me, for me to come work for that magazine. I accepted the offer. Because it was an army paper, I stayed in the army as a journalist until 1949.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Alexander Bachnar