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My mother fainted when I appeared at the door, because until then they
didn't know what had happened to me. They had only heard about the bombing.
They told me that the same day, the Independent State of Croatia had been
declared. The next day, news arrived that the synagogue in Osijek had been
burned. We were all shocked and we no longer went out on the street. My
father did not open his shop. Every day, new limitations on Jews were
announced: forbidding our movement, instituting a curfew, confiscating
shops, banning us from using public transportation. We could not even go to
the vegetable market in the morning, but only just before it closed. A new
Jewish community was formed and we all had to register. In the community
they gave us a little bit of help in the form of food.
On July 10, 1941, the first 50 Jews and the first 50 Serbs were arrested.
We Jews each received a yellow armband with numbers, and a little Star of
David which we had to wear on our arms. In some respects, the Croatian
Ustache (a political and military organization of Croatian nationalists
before and during World War Two who supported the Nazis) were worse than
the Germans.
On July 2, 1941 I gave birth to my daughter Mirjana. I was in the hospital
when they announced that Slavko Kvaternik (a Croatian politician and
nationalist during World War Two, who was declared a war criminal after the
war) would arrive in Osijek over the weekend. A decree stated that from 11
on Saturday to 11 on Sunday, Jews and Serbs were not permitted to appear on
the streets. A big rally was supposed to be held.
I asked the doctor to let me go home, because I did not want to be
separated from my parents. They let me go. At the rally, they carried
coffins and burned Jewish books, while yelling anti-Jewish slogans. After a
few days, a group of Ustache raided our house with the intent of taking
anything they wanted from it. My mother recognized one of them and
courageously told him: "Can't you see that this woman just gave birth to a
baby? Are you going to take the bed she is lying on, too?" As if she could
feel something terrible happening, my baby began to cry with all her might.
The one that my mother recognized flew out of the room and screamed to the
others: "Can't you hear how that baby is crying? Let's get out of here."
And they collected themselves and left. So we were saved, but from the
great fear I lost my milk and was no longer able to breastfeed my baby.
Soon a decree came that several Jewish families would need to live
together, and a Ms. Papo came to live with us.
didn't know what had happened to me. They had only heard about the bombing.
They told me that the same day, the Independent State of Croatia had been
declared. The next day, news arrived that the synagogue in Osijek had been
burned. We were all shocked and we no longer went out on the street. My
father did not open his shop. Every day, new limitations on Jews were
announced: forbidding our movement, instituting a curfew, confiscating
shops, banning us from using public transportation. We could not even go to
the vegetable market in the morning, but only just before it closed. A new
Jewish community was formed and we all had to register. In the community
they gave us a little bit of help in the form of food.
On July 10, 1941, the first 50 Jews and the first 50 Serbs were arrested.
We Jews each received a yellow armband with numbers, and a little Star of
David which we had to wear on our arms. In some respects, the Croatian
Ustache (a political and military organization of Croatian nationalists
before and during World War Two who supported the Nazis) were worse than
the Germans.
On July 2, 1941 I gave birth to my daughter Mirjana. I was in the hospital
when they announced that Slavko Kvaternik (a Croatian politician and
nationalist during World War Two, who was declared a war criminal after the
war) would arrive in Osijek over the weekend. A decree stated that from 11
on Saturday to 11 on Sunday, Jews and Serbs were not permitted to appear on
the streets. A big rally was supposed to be held.
I asked the doctor to let me go home, because I did not want to be
separated from my parents. They let me go. At the rally, they carried
coffins and burned Jewish books, while yelling anti-Jewish slogans. After a
few days, a group of Ustache raided our house with the intent of taking
anything they wanted from it. My mother recognized one of them and
courageously told him: "Can't you see that this woman just gave birth to a
baby? Are you going to take the bed she is lying on, too?" As if she could
feel something terrible happening, my baby began to cry with all her might.
The one that my mother recognized flew out of the room and screamed to the
others: "Can't you hear how that baby is crying? Let's get out of here."
And they collected themselves and left. So we were saved, but from the
great fear I lost my milk and was no longer able to breastfeed my baby.
Soon a decree came that several Jewish families would need to live
together, and a Ms. Papo came to live with us.
Location
Serbia
Interview
vera tomanic