Selected text
The war went on. In view of my father’s merits, he got a local assignment in the military. He didn’t get his merits on the military field, but [got them] at home. Namely, that he had to register military loans, and my father succeeded in getting military loans from the bank and other companies [see War bonds in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy] [9].
The biggest of these was the big Stollwerck factory. [Franz Stollwerck opened his candy factory in 1839 in Cologne. After his death his five sons developed the company under the name ‘Gebruder Stollwerck,’ which became a joint stock company in 1902. The factory in Bratislava was founded in 1896 by two Stolwerck brothers, its original name was the K. K. Osterreichisch-Ungarische Hof und Schokoladenfabrik.
Despite a catastrophic fire in 1900, the company showed more than a million crowns profit that year. In 1948, it was formally nationalized.] Then there was the Patron factory [in Bratislava, founded by the Viennese private firm, Gyorgy Roth et Co. around 1870, to produce ammunition for the Austro-Hungarian army.
During the war, 3000 people worked there, and by 1918, it was a separate company called the Bratislava J. Roth Rt. In 1928, it was among the biggest factories in Czechoslovakia.] And then there was Dynamit. [One of Slovakia’s oldest chemical factories.
One of many similar enterprises around Europe, it was officially known as Dynamit Nobel, for its founder Dr. Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor. The state nationalized the factory in 1946.]. My father raised such a large sum of money, that for his merits, they hired him here. He could go into the bank also, but just for military service.
After the death of Franz Joseph [1916], Charles IV and Queen Zita followed. They came in March of 1918 to Bratislava to introduce themselves. They floated down by boat from Vienna, got off in Bratislava, were here for a couple hours, and then went to Budapest. Naturally, there was a big reception here in their honor, various organizations were expecting them. On the corner of Market Square [today SNP Square – Namestie Slovenskeho Narodneho Povstanie (Slovak National Uprising Square)] various debutantes lined up. My father, as the head of the bank was likewise among these. I was in the eighth grade. Father said he would take me to see the King up close. Rabbi Funk – unfortunately, I don’t have my photos anymore, because after World War II, all of my things disappeared – everything and everyone was there, and Rabbi Funk blessed them. They [the royal couple] were sitting in a horse-drawn carriage.
The biggest of these was the big Stollwerck factory. [Franz Stollwerck opened his candy factory in 1839 in Cologne. After his death his five sons developed the company under the name ‘Gebruder Stollwerck,’ which became a joint stock company in 1902. The factory in Bratislava was founded in 1896 by two Stolwerck brothers, its original name was the K. K. Osterreichisch-Ungarische Hof und Schokoladenfabrik.
Despite a catastrophic fire in 1900, the company showed more than a million crowns profit that year. In 1948, it was formally nationalized.] Then there was the Patron factory [in Bratislava, founded by the Viennese private firm, Gyorgy Roth et Co. around 1870, to produce ammunition for the Austro-Hungarian army.
During the war, 3000 people worked there, and by 1918, it was a separate company called the Bratislava J. Roth Rt. In 1928, it was among the biggest factories in Czechoslovakia.] And then there was Dynamit. [One of Slovakia’s oldest chemical factories.
One of many similar enterprises around Europe, it was officially known as Dynamit Nobel, for its founder Dr. Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor. The state nationalized the factory in 1946.]. My father raised such a large sum of money, that for his merits, they hired him here. He could go into the bank also, but just for military service.
After the death of Franz Joseph [1916], Charles IV and Queen Zita followed. They came in March of 1918 to Bratislava to introduce themselves. They floated down by boat from Vienna, got off in Bratislava, were here for a couple hours, and then went to Budapest. Naturally, there was a big reception here in their honor, various organizations were expecting them. On the corner of Market Square [today SNP Square – Namestie Slovenskeho Narodneho Povstanie (Slovak National Uprising Square)] various debutantes lined up. My father, as the head of the bank was likewise among these. I was in the eighth grade. Father said he would take me to see the King up close. Rabbi Funk – unfortunately, I don’t have my photos anymore, because after World War II, all of my things disappeared – everything and everyone was there, and Rabbi Funk blessed them. They [the royal couple] were sitting in a horse-drawn carriage.
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Slovakia
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Katarina Löfflerova