Avraham Brichta
HOLOCAUST PROJECT KATZENELSON HIGH SCHOOL ISRAEL.
EMAIL: yotamshekrel@gmail.com
barakbr99@gmail.com
relationet2014@gmail.com
barakbr99@gmail.com
relationet2014@gmail.com
First Name: Arpad Ivan-Avraham
Last Nmae: Brichta
Foster Perents: Dizder-David and Mela-Miriam Brichta
Year of birth: 1936
City of birth: Malé Leváre
Country: Slovakia
The
City-Malé Leváre
Malé Leváre village lies near the river Rudava
and about 40 km northwest of Bratislava,the capitol city of Slovakia. This
community is better known by the nickname "Levárky"
Bratislava
is in southwestern of Slovakia, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the
left bank of the River Morava.
Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is
the only national capital that borders two independent countries.
It is
unknown when Jews arrived to Bratislava, but many researches claim Jews had
settled there since the 11th century. Before World War II, Jews took
an active part in the political and social life of the city. Their conditions
became worse when Slovakia got independence from the Allied and Associated
Powers, after World War I.
In 1939, Jewish doctors and lawyers lost their jobs and professional license by
the government. In 1940 up to 18,000 Jews lived in the city, the biggest number
ever. In that year, the government started to nationalize Jewish property like
houses, industrial plants and businesses. Since October 1941, Jews were
deported from the city, most of whom were murdered in concentration camps in
Poland. In 1944, only few hundred remained in the city, hiding from the
government.
After the war, Bratislava served as a transfer stations for Jews all over
Europe on their way to Israel.
Today
Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic center of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak president, the parliament and the Slovak Executive. It is home to several universities, museums, theatres,
galleries and other important cultural and educational institutions. Bratislava
is the sixth richest region of the European Union and GDP per capita is about 3 times higher than
in other Slovak regions.
Avraham Brichta's Story
Avraham Brichta told his story to his grandson and his friend. Here
is his story.
Avraham Brichta was born on 16.10.1936 in Bratislava,
Slovakia. He was named Arpad Ivan Brichta at birth. His father was born in 1904
in Velke-Bitcha village by the name Dizder Brichta (Hebrew: David Ben Zvi). His
mother was born in 1908 in Male-Levare by the name Mela Mendle (Hebrew: Miriam
Bat Ya'akob).
Until 1939, they lived in a small village near Bratislava, named
Male-Levare. Their house was big and
spacious. They spoke Slovakian at home, but the parents also spoke German with
each other. In 1939, they went to live with his grandparents (Yakov and Fany
Mendle). It was a very large house with an extensive garden.
In the summer of 1942, Avraham was taken with his mother and his grandparents
to a local concentration camp named "Sered". There, he was separated
from his grandparents. His father worked in a brushes factory in Trnava; he was
very important to the factory. Therefore, he got a "Schutzpasse"-
protecting him from being sent to the concentration camp. After a short period
in Sered, they were sent to Poprad concentration camp.Avraham and his mother
were transferred to Zilina concentration camp at the beginning of October. On
Yom Kippur evening, Avraham and his mother were loaded to a train that was
heading to Auschwitz. However, they got off the train in the last minute
because of a letter from the minister of interior that demanded their freedom.
Avraham's father requested from Dr. Tibor Toth, the manager of the factory
where he worked, to speak with the minister of interior on their behalf. It
worked. From October 1942 till August 1944, Avraham, his mother and his father
lived in Trnava where Avraham studied with a group of other Jewish kids.
It was a relatively "good" time for the family. In 1944, the Nazi army invaded Slovakia, so they had to find a shelter. They escaped to a village named "Smolenice", there they hid with Oscar Noyman (Horanski)'s family (who was a teeth technician) at the house of the hygienist who worked with Oscar. They lived there for 8 months in a haymow. In the haymow there were a potato cooking device and a wooden storage facility, which later became a very small two-story bed
for both families. In their shelter
there was an attic.
One day two German soldiers came to search for Jews in the house,
so the two families hid in the attic .The peasant started to cook potatoes in
order to fill the room with steam. Avraham recalls "I clearly remember the
two Nazi soldiers with pistols in their belt. They asked the peasant if there
were Jews there. I saw them, through cracks in the wooden floor, looking around
and couldn't find anyone so they left the house."
In April 1945, the Red Army invaded Smolenice and the family
escaped to the forests. The Nazi army retreated. After being freed, they moved
back to Trnava. When he was 9 years old, Avraham joined a Zionist youth
movement called "Gordonia- Young Macbi". In February 1948, the
Brichta family immigrated to Israel. Their journey began in Bratislava then to
Vienna by train, from Vienna to Venice and to Israel by a ship named
"Avetzia". They arrived to Haifa in April 1949.
Avraham studied in "Geulla" school, where he studied
Hebrew for 6 months and then moved to "Tichon Hadash" in Hifa.
Avraham joined the army and served in the artillery troops. After the army, he
studied political science and sociology in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
where he met his future wife, Yael Tactenberg. Today, Avraham has a professorship
in political cal science. Avraham and Yael have two
children, Taly and Lior and grandchildren.
Avraham
and the daughter of the peasnt
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