Valerie Eckstein holds her daughter on her lap while attending an engagement party.
Overview
- Caption
- Valerie Eckstein holds her daughter on her lap while attending an engagement party.
- Date
-
1946
- Locale
- Bratislava, [Slovakia] Czechoslovakia
- Variant Locale
- Pozsony
Pressburg
Slovakia - Photo Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Tova Teitelbaum
Rights & Restrictions
- Photo Source
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumProvenance: Tova Teitelbaum
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Biography
- Tova Teitelbaum (born (Gerta Tova Eckstein) is the daughter of Jonas Eckstein (b. Bratislava, 1902) and Valerie (Wally) Michal Hirsch Eckstein (b. Mattersburg, Austria, 1912). Tova was born in Bratislava on July 5, 1942, and her brother William (Willy) Binyamin Zeev was born after the war on January 23, 1947. Tova's father had a grocery store in Bratislava. Before Valerie was married she had a store selling linens and textiles in Austria. Both of Tova's parents came from Orthodox families. Jonas was a successful wrestler in the Hakoach sports club and an active member of the Jewish community in Bratislava. He was appointed by the community to bring food to the Jews who were held in prison who had been rounded up and assembled for deportation at the Goring Lager and Patronka. This allowed him to move around in relative freedom. However, he had to refrain from speaking to anyone in the camp or to a non-Jew. On one occasion he was seen by member of the Gestapo speaking to a non-Jew. While cross examining him, the German asked Jonas what he had done before the war. Jonas replied that he had been a wrestler. The German challenged him to a wrestling match. When Jonas showed up, he told him that because he was not a coward he could continue to bring food to the camp. Because of his sporting activities Jonas had connections with the local police and other influential citizens who often told him what was happening, and Jonas passed this information on to other Jews. He remained in his apartment till 1943 and was free to move about freely. In the early 1940s groups of Jewish children crossed the border into Czechoslovakia and found their way to Bratislava. Jonas took them to his home, fed them and nursed them back to health. When the coast was clear he sent them to Hungary where there was still relative calm. He continued to maintain contact with them after the war. At the same time he hid between 50-60 Jews hidden in a bunker beneath the cellar of his house. He provided these people with food and all their other needs. A third group of Jews were hidden in the prayer room behind the main synagogue of Bratislava. Here too Jonas provided them with food and other necessitates till they obtained documents or a safer place to hide
In 1943 Tova's father was hiding in the bunker, while Tova's mother,Valerie, was roaming from place to place with Tova who was then just a year old. Jonas asked someone to find them a safer hiding place and in September it appeared to be safe to move. They moved to the town of Lamec where Tova was left with the Pajanko family. Her parents tried to get her back to Bratislava, but before that could happen, Valerie and Jonas were picked up and sent to Theresienstadt. They remained there until liberation when they returned to Bratislava and found Tova in Lamec. After the war they remained in Bratislava until 1948. They intended to immigrate to Israel, but when this became impossible obtained affidavits for Australia. Jonas established a poultry store in Australia which was quite successful. Tova finished teachers college in Australia and immigrated to Israel in 1964. She married, had three children and nine grandchildren.
The Pajanko family who had hidden Tova left Bratislava after Dubcek came to power and also came to Australia where they were welcomed by the Ecksteins.
- Record last modified:
- 2013-06-26 00:00:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1177458
