9: A Christmas encounter with the Nazis
Oscar Sladek
On December 25, 1944, one of their partisan friends rushes into the cabin and announces that the Nazis have begun a systematic search of the mountains—they may find the cabin and its inhabitants that very day. Some families in the cabin are skeptical, but Irene immediately prepares her family to flee to a small cave nearby that they and another family have identified in anticipation of such danger. As they make their way to the cave, Frici stumbles under the weight of his heavy pack and falls down a steep ravine. Irene and a Polish man descend to find him, and after a long time, Oscar sees them carrying his father up the hill. Frici is dazed and his leg is broken.
They arrive at the cave and a girl and an old man appear also looking for a place to hide. As all of them crawl into the small cave, Oscar cuts two branches from a tree.
Interview excerpt: “He survived the Holocaust, then flourished on Colorado’s folk music scene”
Oscar: The thing that I am always happy to share with anybody. I used to carry a hatchet with me, that was my personal weapon. When we were still in the city hiding, one day we walked by an, like an Ace store, you know, a hardware store.
Ryan Warner: Like a hardware store? Okay.
Oscar: And I told my Dad, ‘Daddy, I have to have a weapon’. So he says, what are you talking about?’ I say, ‘I want a weapon.’ Okay? So we walked into an Ace, yeah a kind of a hardware store, and I found a hatchet there. He bought it for me and I always carried it with me. And I did some real interesting things with that hatchet. Because when I lived in the cabin, there was this little stove, you know? And it needed to be kept going, the fire needed to be kept going. So I would be going out around and climb on the tree and if I saw a dry branch I would cut it off with the hatchet and take it down, cut it into small pieces. They put me in charge of keeping the fire going.
Ryan Warner: That must have been an important feeling as a kid to be…
Oscar: Oh I felt terrific, you know? So what I did in this case here, my mind told me suddenly cut down a couple of branches, pine trees we had there. And I was the last one to slide into the cave.
Ryan Warner: Oh did you cover the entrance?
Oscar: And I covered the entrance. With two large branches.
Transcript
Oscar: The thing that I am always happy to share with anybody. I used to carry a hatchet with me, that was my personal weapon. When we were still in the city hiding, one day we walked by an, like an Ace store, you know, a hardware store.
Interviewer: Like a hardware store? Okay.
Oscar: And I told my Dad, ‘Daddy, I have to have a weapon’. So he says, what are you talking about?’ I say, ‘I want a weapon.’ Okay? So we walked into an Ace, yeah a kind of a hardware store, and I found a hatchet there. He bought it for me and I always carried it with me. And I did some real interesting things with that hatchet. Because when I lived in the cabin, there was this little stove, you know? And it needed to be kept going, the fire needed to be kept going. So I would be going out around and climb on the tree and if I saw a dry branch I would cut it off with the hatchet and take it down, cut it into small pieces. They put me in charge of keeping the fire going.
Interviewer: That must have been an important feeling as a kid to be…
Oscar: Oh I felt terrific, you know? So what I did in this case here, my mind told me suddenly cut down a couple of branches, pine trees we had there. And I was the last one to slide into the cave.
Interviewer: Oh did you cover the entrance?
Oscar: And I covered the entrance. With two large branches.
"What I did in this case here, my mind told me suddenly cut down a couple of branches, pine trees we had there. And I was the last one to slide into the cave. [. . .] And I covered the entrance."
Interview with Oscar Sladek by Ryan Warner, Colorado Public Radio (January 27, 2023)
Oscar uses the two branches he cut to carefully sweep away all sign of their footprints in the snow. As he slides into the tight space in the cave with the others, he lays the two branches across the cave’s mouth to hide it. They all lie in the cave pressed against one another in silence, listening to gunshots and shouts echoing through the woods.
Excerpt from Escape to the Tatras
Promptly at three o’clock, the silence was broken by several loud gunshots, followed by screams and harsh, male voices giving orders coming from the direction of the cabins.
"Raus Juden, raus Juden, schnell, schnell!" (Get out Jews! Get out Jews! Quickly! Quickly!).
We heard many voices in German and Slovak, plus the sounds of men, women and babies crying, and more gunshots. Each one caused me to shudder, and a chill ran up my spine. Then a woman’s shrill voice shouted, “Nicht schiessen bitte, kleine Kinder sind da!” (Please don’t shoot, we have little children here!).
By now, we were all shaking and had reached for each other. I held Anyu’s [my mother’s] hand.
Our nerves were stretched like rubber bands. I heard Anyu whisper in Hungarian “Istenem, segits nekünk.” (God help us!) The shooting stopped as suddenly as it had begun. No more loud noises came from below. Then we smelled smoke in the air. Someone asked in a whisper, “What? Are they burning down the forest? What are we going to do?”
The thought came to my mind that they might spread out and search the area. I peeked out, looking for fire. I could not see anything or anyone. Ten minutes went by. I heard something resembling the crunch of footsteps in the snow. They were coming closer. Someone whispered again, “Do you hear footsteps?”
Then, “Csit-csak!” Anyu warned us.
I detected the distinct sounds of heavy boots against rock and frozen snow. I didn’t smell smoke anymore, but I did smell danger. Did someone see us entering the cave? If so, we were in big trouble. Trapped! Then we heard distinct voices. It sounded like two men talking to each other in German. I could feel [the partisan girl] Anička reaching for her pistol. Anyu took my hand again. It was shaking. A total hush fell over the cave. The two German’s were walking in circles right outside our entrance. They were searching for something or somebody. My heart was racing. I closed my eyes and said a prayer. Please God, don’t let them find us. I was sure everyone around me was doing the same.
Soon, silence returned to the forest around us. But we were still afraid to move. Had they left the area or were they hiding nearby, hoping to catch more Jews or partisans?
And so, remaining cautious and vigilant, we spent the next twelve hours in the cave, overnight, in the bitter cold, eagerly awaiting the light of day.
After twelve cold hours, Oscar wakes up and hears whistling. He can see a man walking near the cave. The old man who had joined them in the cave at the last minute says he thinks it must be his son, but the other people in the cave are more cautious. The man outside continues to whistle. The old man continues to insist it must be his son because he is whistling one of the family’s favorite tunes. The old man crawls out of the cave, and the two embrace. The son tells the group that he watched from a nearby hiding place as the Nazis arrested everyone in the cabins, marched them down the mountain, and then set fire to the two cabins and their supplies.
Oscar Sladek's Timeline
-
Czechoslovakia formed
Czechoslovakia is founded after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I. The country comprises the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, Slovakia, Subcarpathian Rus [today part of Ukraine known as Transcarpathia] and parts of the Austrian region of Silesia, and is home to a variety of ethnic groups including Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, and Slovaks.
-
Oscar Sladek is born in Prešov, Czechoslovakia
Frici and Irene Štaub welcome their first son, Oskar. Later, the family will change their last name to Sladek, and Oskar will change the spelling of his name to Oscar. Oscar is born in the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia and belongs to a Slovak Jewish population that numbers over 136,000 in 1930.
-
Hungary passes three ‘Jewish Laws’
The first of three Jewish Laws establishes quotas restricting the number of Jews permitted to work in certain white-collar professions and business sectors. The second, passed a year later on May 5, 1939 defines Jews racially based on their ancestry, restricts their voting rights, and further reduces the professional quotas established under the First Jewish Law in 1938. A third Jewish Law is enacted on August 8, 1941, banning marriages and sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews in Hungary.
-
Munich Agreement authorizes German annexation of Sudetenland
Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy conclude an agreement that allows Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a largely German-speaking region then part of Czechoslovakia, in exchange for a peace pledge. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain hails the Munich Agreement as an achievement of "peace in our time" but he is criticized for a policy of appeasement. Nazi troops occupy Sudetenland on October 1, and the democratically-elected Czechoslovakian government, which was not party to the negotiation, resigns.
-
Hlinka Guard established
The paramilitary unit of the pro-Nazi Slovak People’s Party (HSLS), named after Slovak nationalist Andrej Hlinka. The group supported the right-wing party’s goal of achieving Slovakian independence and, after the establishment of the Slovak Republic in 1939, the consolidation of authoritarian power in the new regime and the persecution and vilification of Jews, Czechs, and political opponents.
-
First Vienna Award redraws Czechoslovakian borders
In the wake of the Munich Agreement ceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany, the First Vienna Award provided for further territorial claims against Czechoslovakia. With support from Germany and Italy, Hungary is awarded territories along the southeastern border of Czechoslovakia that had been under Hungarian control prior to World War I.
-
Formation of Slovakia
Following the partition of Czechoslovakia, the independent Slovak Republic is established. Essentially a client state of Nazi Germany, the new Slovakian regime under Prime Minister Jozef Tiso immediately curtails democratic freedoms and pursues a decidedly anti-Jewish agenda.
-
Nazi occupation of Czech lands and partition of Czechoslovakia
In violation of the Munich Agreement, Nazi troops invade and occupy Czech territory, establishing the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Hungary annexes territory along the former southern border of Czechoslovakia, as well as Subcarpathian-Ruthenia [today Transcarpathia, part of Ukraine]; the Tesin District of Czech Silesia is annexed by Poland. Slovakia becomes an independent state.
-
Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia join the Axis alliance
Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia join with Nazi-allied forces: the Axis.
-
“The Jewish Codex” adopted in Slovak Republic
The Slovak government adopts “The Jewish Codex,” a comprehensive packet of anti-Jewish laws among the strictest such measures to be found in any European country. The 270 paragraphs of the Codex include measures to define the term “Jew” based on strictly racial criteria, ban Jews from membership in organizations of any kind, require the wearing of a Jewish badge, curtail Jewish citizens’ ability to own businesses, property, or bank accounts. The combined effect of the Jewish Codex is the complete exclusion of Jews from public life in Slovakia.
-
First deportation of Slovak Jews
The first transport of Slovak Jews—consisting of 1000 women and girls—is deported to concentration camps in German-occupied Poland. The Slovak government has agreed to pay Nazi Germany a fee of 500 Reichsmarks for every Jew deported from Slovakia, ostensibly to cover the cost of resettlement and retraining. Some 57,000 Slovak Jews are gathered into labor camps within Slovakia and, over the next seven months, deported to concentration camps in German-occupied Poland.
-
Oscar Sladek is sent to Kassa, Hungary
The Štaubs have been able to avoid the deportations of 1942 by hiding during roundups. Now, after a brief reprieve during which deportations were halted, the government is threatening to resume the transports. Irene has a sister living in Kassa, Hungary, just 20 miles away from Prešov. The situation seems much safer on the Hungarian side, so Irene and Frici Štaub hire a smuggler to take Oscar across the border to live with Irene's sister's family.
-
Deportation transports from Slovakia halted
Since March 25, 1942, Slovakia has deported more than 57,000 Jews, delivering them into German custody in Nazi-occupied Poland. As reports that deported Jews are being murdered by the Nazis reach the Slovakian government, President Jozef Tiso, who is an ordained Catholic priest, comes under pressure from the Vatican and other Church officials. Tiso orders deportations of Slovak Jews to camps in German-occupied Poland to cease.
-
Jewish population of Slovakia is estimated to be c. 20,000
The number of Jews living in Slovakia, estimated to have been c. 89,000 in 1940, has been reduced to around 20,000 at the beginning of 1943. More than 57,000 Slovak Jews were deported between May-October 1942; most of them have perished. Of those remaining in Slovakia, some 2,500 are interned in the three major labor camps: Sered, Nováky, and Vyhne. Some 6,000 more have fled to Hungary, the only country under Nazi influence not yet deporting Jews. Many others are in hiding or living under false identities.
-
Report to US State Department confirms systematic murder of Jews
A report from the American Legation in Switzerland to the US State Department with the title “Confirming Reports of Mass Executions of Jews in Poland” describes the systematic deprivation and murder of Jews across Europe and specifically in ghettos and Nazi concentration camps in Poland, adding to growing evidence of Nazi atrocities against the Jewish populations of occupied Europe.
-
Nazi surrender at Stalingrad
After months of bitter fighting, the Soviet army is finally able to surround and trap German forces besieging the city. Of the nearly 250,000 troops that attacked the city in August 1942, some 90,000 surrender to the Soviets. The German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad marks a turning point in the war; Soviet forces will now advance and push the Axis to retreat.
-
Italy surrenders to Allies
Following the Allied invasion of Italy and the defeat of Italian operations in North Africa, Mussolini is replaced as prime minister by Marschall Pietro Badoglio, who formally surrenders to the Allies in early September. Northern Italy is quickly occupied by Germany.
-
Nazis occupy Hungary
Hungary, part of the Axis powers since 1940, wavers in its support of Hitler after Soviet successes on the battlefield. Concerned that Hungary is preparing to leave the Axis powers and join the Allies, Hitler orders Hungary’s occupation. Hungarian Regent Miklós Horthy is sidelined and a pro-Nazi government is appointed. Up to this point, Hungary has refused to deport its Jewish population.
-
Oscar Sladek returns to Prešov
Unable to convince his relatives in Hungary of the danger to Jews under Nazi occupation, Oscar demands to be sent back to his parents in Prešov. He travels with a smuggler organized by his parents.
-
Registration of Hungary's Jews
Nazi and Hungarian authorities begin to register the country's Jews, force them to wear an identification badge, confiscate propery and businesses, and soon isolate them in ghettos.
-
Deportations of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau begin
Beginning 15 May, Nazi forces and Hungarian collaborators systematically round-up and deport c. 440,000 Jews within two months. Most are murdered on arrival in Auschwitz-Birkenau; some 110,000 are assigned to forced labor.
-
Oscar Sladek and his family leave Prešov for Mikuláš
Supplied with false papers by their friend the judge, the Štaubs have been living under assumed Christian identity in Prešov. Fearing they will be recognized as Jews, they decide to leave Prešov for a new location: Mikuláš [Liptovský Mikuláš] is located in the mountainous region of northern Slovakia.
-
Russia advances westward in Subcarpathian Rus
During the summer of 1944, Russian forces move up through Subcarpathian Rus towards Slovakia’s eastern border. The Russian advance is an important factor precipitating the Slovak uprising in August, leading to Germany's subsequent occupation of Slovakia.
-
Einsatzgruppe H active in Slovakia
Einsatzgruppe H is a special task force of the SS with the express purpose of implementing the Final Solution in Slovakia and suppressing resistance to Nazi occupation. With the occupation of Slovakia, the Nazis prioritize the elimination of the Jewish population. Working with local collaborators such as the Hlinka Guard, Einsatzgruppe H systematically hunt down Jews and partisans, as well as anyone suspected of aiding either. Those found are either killed on the spot or deported.
-
Germany occupies Slovakia
In response to a partisan uprising, Germany enters and occupies Slovakia. Encouraged by the Allied invasion of Normandy and news that Soviet troops are advancing towards Slovakia, the underground Slovak resistance movement revolts against the Tiso regime and the influence of the Nazis. As many as 80,000 fighters from the Slovak military, partisan groups, and foreign volunteers join forces in the Slovak National Uprising. After the organized rebellion is quashed by Nazi occupying forces in late October, partisan fighters retreat but continue resistance using guerilla tactics.
-
The Štaubs leave Mikuláš for Bobrovček
Nazi forces advance into Slovakia and begin to encircle Mikulas. Partisan forces in the city retreat, and Oscar and his family move to the village of Bobrovček, where the partisans have established a base.
-
Deportation of Slovak Jews under Nazi occupation
Under German occupation the deportation of Slovak Jews resumes. Between September and December 1944, approximately 12,600 Jews are transported to concentration camps, bringing the total of deported Slovak Jews to c. 70,000.
-
Soviet Army enters Slovakia
From early September 1944, the Soviets and Germans are fighting along the Polish-Slovak border in the Carpathian Mountains. The Soviets gain control of Slovak territory near Svidnik in early October. Simultaneously, the Soviets were pushing upward through Hungary along the southeastern border of Slovakia. By November, eastern Slovakia is under Soviet control.
-
Oscar Sladek and his family flee into the Tatras
As the Nazis are about to take control of the village of Bobrovcek, the Štaubs flee on foot into the Tatra mountains, along with other Jews, partisans, and others. They take shelter in a primitive cabin they must share with 12 other people.
-
Publication of Auschwitz Report
The War Refugee Board publishes the 40-page report “German Extermination Camps – Auschwitz and Birkenau,” based on first-person testimony from four Slovakian Jewish men who had escaped from Auschwitz in spring 1944. Known as the 'Auschwitz Report,' the document contains for the first time estimates of the numbers of Jews being murdered in the camp as well as details of camp operations, including the gas chambers. One of the eyewitness accounts reported is from Irene Štaub’s second cousin, Arnost Rozin.
-
German and Soviet forces battle for control of Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia
In early February, Soviet forces take control of villages to the east and south of the strategically important town. Mikuláš itself is the site of prolonged fighting between the advancing Soviet army and German forces ordered to hold the position. The Germans begin pulling out of the town in March, and by March 27 Mikuláš is under Soviet control. During this time, Oscar Sladek and his family are in hiding in the nearby Tatra mountains.
-
Oscar Sladek and his family reach Soviet lines and freedom
With the help of partisan fighters, the Štaubs and the other families with whom they have been sharing their hideout in the Tatras make their way down the mountain to Soviet lines. In the town of Žiar, they are provided with warm food and shelter for the first time in months.
-
Soviet forces capture Bratislava
With the liberation of the Slovak capitol Nazi control of Slovakia is ended and Tiso’s collaborationist regime is toppled. German forces withdraw into Austria rather than defend the city, which becomes a gateway for the Soviet advance into Austria and southern Germany.
-
Provisional Czechoslovak government formed in Košice
Under Soviet control since January, the city of Košice becomes the seat of a provisional Czechoslovak government. The Košice Government Program restores the state of Czechoslovakia, aligning it politically and economically with the Soviet Union. Territory ceded to Hungary is restored, so that Košice becomes, once again, part of Czechoslovakia.
-
Unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany's High Command unconditionally surrenders on 7 May to the Allies and 9 May to the Soviets. May 8 is proclaimed "Victory in Europe Day."
-
Communists seize power in Czechoslovakia
Under the Soviet sphere of influence since its liberation in 1945, post-war Czechoslovakia initially operated as a democracy, but gradually, key government ministries came under communist control, culminating in a communist takeover of the government in early 1948. Among other reforms, the new communist regime collectivizes businesses and initiates a campaign against all organized religion—part of a larger plan to limit basic civil, labor, and personal liberties.
-
Oscar Sladek celebrates his bar mitzvah
Just days before his thirteenth birthday, Oscar celebrates his bar mitzvah in Košice. Many of his relatives are missing, having perished during the war.
-
State of Israel established
Per the United Nations resolution of November 1947 for the partition of Mandate Palestine, the British mandate comes to an end on May 14, 1948. In Tel Aviv, Jewish leader David Ben-Gurion proclaims the State of Israel, which will be a haven for those Jews made homeless by the Holocaust.
-
Oscar Sladek’s sister Miriam is born
Frici and Irene welcome their long-awaited second child, a daughter and a younger sister to Oscar.
-
Oscar Sladek and his family arrive in Israel
The Sladeks arrive in the harbor of Haifa on Israeli Independence Day—exactly one year after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
-
Suez Crisis
Also known as the Second Arab-Israeli War. After Egypt nationalizes the British- and French-owned Suez Canal Company, Great Britain and France respond to the threat to their economic interests with a joint attack on Egypt in coordination with Israel. Israel seeks to regain access to the waterway lost due to an Egyptian blockade since the First Arab-Israeli War. A UN resolution on November 6 brings about a ceasefire. Egypt is able to maintain control of the Canal and Israel secures its shipping rights, but the crisis marks the end of Britain and French influence in the Middle East.
-
Oscar Sladek immigrates to Venezuela
Following his military service in Israel, Oscar moves to Caracas, Venezuela to pursue a musical career. One year later, a coup in Venezuela forces him to leave the country.
-
Oscar Sladek moves from Caracas to Los Angeles
Civil unrest in the wake of the collapse of the Venezuelan government in November 1958 forces Oscar to leave Caracas. He decides to pursue his career as a musician and entertainer in the United States, settling in Los Angeles.
-
Oscar and Selma Sladek settle in Denver
Oscar meets his wife Selma in Los Angeles. Following their marriage, the couple decide to settle in Selma’s hometown of Denver.
-
Oscar Sladek's Contributions Recognized
Honoring Oscar’s work as an educator and speaker on the Holocaust, this award recognizing his “commitment to inspire understanding, moral courage and social responsibility” is presented to him by Colorado Governor Jared Polis at the Mizel Institute Annual Dinner.
-
Slovakia issues apology
On the 80th anniversary of the adoption of the 1941 Jewish Codex, Slovakia issues a formal apology for the persecution of Slovak Jews through anti-Jewish laws and its role in the murder of Slovak Jews during World War II.
-
Oscar is inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame
Following the publication of his memoir, "Escape to the Tatras," Oscar’s accomplishments are recognized with his induction into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame.