15 years of    THE   HIDDEN  CHILD  in Košice 

In spring of 1993 the first members of this world organization met in Košice with the purpose to establish the Slovak part of the Czechoslovak organization THE HIDDEN CHILD (further only THC). There were five people present - four from Košice and one from Bratislava. They learned about the organization THC from newspaper Roš Chodeš which called all Jews who survived the Holocaust as children in various shelters of courageous Non- Jewish citizens to come and get organized. They met in Prague for the first time in November 1992 and in the same year the world organization of THC was established in New York.

The main tasks of the organization are the following:

 

1. Documenting our own destinies during the Holocaust

 

2. Searching for the saviors, i.e. Non-Jewish persons who in that terrible time found enough courage and humanity and helped us survive, documenting of their destiny and proposing them for award “Righteous Among Nations” granted by the Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem in Jerusalem or granting letters of gratitude through the Museum of Jewish Culture in Bratislava.

 

3. Returns to Judaism

Doc. Ing. Andrej Filo, CSc. was the first and long term leader of the Slovak group. He regularly traveled to Prague to meetings, informed the group about happenings and developed activities . Under his leadership the group increased in 1998 the number of its members to 29. A range of very successful events was organized and the group became known to general public.

One of the first activities was awarding of letters of gratitude to saviors in the Jewish cemetery in Košice within traditional commemoration ceremony for the victims of the Holocaust. The media reported about this event. The THC President Dr. Eva Benešová and the member of the committee of THC Ing. Karásová were also present. Subsequently granting the award “Righteous Among Nations” was initiated and it was awarded to saviors of two of our members in 1997 – 1999.

We continued meetings with our saviors, or their descendants. We also organized meetings with the young generation so they become aware under what conditions we lived and survived. The meeting of saviors, saved – hidden children and youth, was very successful. We found out that reminiscences of the Holocaust addressed the young people very much and made a deep impression on them.

In 1998 JUDr. Eva Bäckerová became the President of Košice THC group followed by Prof. Ing. Miriam Gálová, DrSc. In 2006, who continues and develops the original program of THC.

The worldwide meeting of hidden children called “Bridges towards Tomorrow” which was held in Prague in September 1999 left us with unforgettable impressions. After returning home we decided to inform the general public about this event which was held for the first time in a post- communist country.. We made the best of the offer of Košice regional TV channel Naša. and several inhabitants responded to our appearance on TV however the main benefit was that our membership has increased. Besides television where documents and discussions about our destinies and the Holocaust in general were shown, we were given a relatively wide space on the radio and in the press. All this was followed by very successful discussions with pupils of primary and secondary schools not only in Košice, but also in  Michalovce, Trebišov, Kežmarok, Poprad, Banská Štiavnica, Prešov and  Lipany.

A serious activity we devoted much time to was finding the names of the inhabitants of Košice who did not survive shoa. We called this event: “Every Human Being Has his/her Name”. It consisted of two parts: the first part was an event taking place in May 2002 on a symbolic place – the former Neological Synagogue (now the Palace of Art) where 2000 names have been read in the presence of the representatives of the city, members of our community and the former inhabitants of Košice currently living in America, Canada, Israel, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. The second part of this activity was publishing these names also under heading “Every Human Being Has his/her Name”. We have given this book to the world Holocaust museums in Israel, the USA and Hungary.

 

Returns to Judaism are also becoming part of our life. They are supported by regular meetings at Purim and Chanuka, every year we participate in mourning ceremony Ascara in the Jewish cemetery in Košice devoted to the victims of Holocaust from Košice and environs. We also continue reading the names which we managed to find. We recall the days of commemoration and holidays of the Jewish year. This category includes also a set of our own lectures with a title “ We are proud of what we are “ and we have already listened to 5 valuable lectures on Jewish history and presence.

What are the benefits of this organization and why do we enjoy the meetings? We are a group of people who are connected through common destiny and the same fight for survival in the years of the Holocaust. Our meetings helped us release our own ties, we were made internally free and lost the feeling of mental hiding. Now we can talk freely about our feelings and opinions and about our past not only among ourselves but also in public. This gives us the feeling of self awareness, pride and human dignity which we were deprived of in our childhood and the loss of which accompanied us through long years.

 

We all believe, this is the most important thing we could have achieved.

 

****