Statement

written with Hanuš Gibian, born 15. 8. 1902 in Prague, in the Nováky labor camp, Prijevica district, Slovakia, residing in Prague I., Rybná 8, Czech nationality, occupation bank clerk.

From 1941 to September 1944, I lived with my two-member family (wife and son) in the Nováky camp, Prijevica district, Slovakia. I worked there in the construction administration. We were housed in wooden buildings; families lived together, the unmarried separately. The food was fair. At first, the camp was supervised by Hlinka’s guards, who were extremely cruel. Later, Hlinka’s guards were replaced by Slovak policemen. In September 1944, at the beginning of the Slovak uprising, the camp was abolished and the Jewish inhabitants of this camp were allowed to move freely throughout the space occupied by the Slovak National Council.

As a result of the gradual occupation of Slovakia by the German army, I escaped together with my family to the area around Banská Bystrica, where I worked in the state refinery in Dubová until October 28th 1944. When the German army approached Banská Bystrica, we were forced to hide in the Slovak mountains. After wandering aimlessly for three whole days, during which the Germans twice shot at us, we were captured on 1. 11. 1944. German SSmen gathered all of us together in a meadow and asked us if we were Jews. Those who could provide papers proving they were Aryan were released. The Jews were told to immediately hand over their watches, money, and all of the valuables that they had on them. The SSmen told us that we would no longer need them. Then, the SS leader ordered us to be transported and notified us that a patrol of 2 soldiers would accompany us, promising that nothing would happen to us. On our way down from the mountains, we were joined by 4 more SSmen, so there was a total of 6. They took us to a meadow where the SSmen hung back and ordered us to walk toward Banská Bystrica and to stay together. After we had gone forward for about 10 steps, they began to shoot us in the back. They fired until everyone (42 people) lay dead or half-dead. They then examined each body and took whatever they liked, and murdered anyone who wasn’t dead yet with a shot to the dead. I pretended to be dead as well as a 14-year-old girl who was covered by her father’s overcoat. By a miracle, she was saved. This happened on November 1st, 1944, at 13:00 in the gap between Kozí Chrbát and Prašiva in the Lower Tatra Mountains, near the village of Hiadel.

Signature:

Marta Kratková

Hanuš Gibian

Signatures of witnesses:

Berta Gerzonová

Jan Müll 1Note 1: uncertain

Robert Weinberger

Karel Liewerand

On behalf of the archive: Alex. Schmiedt

Documentation campaign

19. XI. 1945

Zeev Scheck