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ontectnetonancedjusetneey for tarher biormatoerabouttfisestecion RUTH ROSICKA October 22, 1993 Beginning Tape One, Side A

Q: -- please to tell me your name.

A: My name is Ruth Rosicka. I am born in Czechoslovakia on the 13" August, 1919.

Q: Where?

A: [indecipherable] Nowice(ph)

Q: Okay.

A: Nowice(ph), that means in German is [indecipherable]

Q: Could you tell me a few words about your experience as a child, about your family, about your school years?

A: Yes. My -- I've lived only -- I lived like a small girl, the Czechoslovakia with my parents and we were -- we went to Poland to Bielsko-Biala. My father was coming from -- from there. My mother was coming from Czechoslovakia. And my father has been an engineer of electro(ph), but he had the small -- a small fabric -- fabric --

Q: Factory.

A: Yeah, factory, a small factory of [indecipherable] with a companion, and he was very much working for the Zionists.

Interview with Ruth Rosicka , October 22, 1993

Q: Could you tell me please which is the year when your family left from -- from Czechoslovakia to Poland?

A: It's -- it's funny, but I don't know quite -- because --

Q: What year?

A: Yes, I think I have been three years, because in Nowice(ph) now we are living, the -- the parents of my mother and we were coming very often to them. So I always was between Bielsko-Biala and Nowice(ph).

Q: At what kind of school did you go?

A: I was going in a public school in -- in Jewish, with the langu -- five classes in Bielsko. The language was German, in German. And afterwards I was going to the Polish gymnasium and only there I have -- I could not go speak -- go and speak Polish before I think, only with the -- the children on the -- on the street, because my parents in my di-- the family of my parents, we were speaking German. But I have learned as a child Hebrew for -- for -- for many years, yes, because my father was very, very engaged, and wanted to send me and to go with -- for this -- to send the children to Pales -- Palestine.

Q: Tell me please, how were your relations with the -- with Polish children?

A: Not much. I would say that in Bielsko there were very many Jews -- Jews. And I was going to the Jewish public school and my friends were all Jewish.

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Contact reference@ushmm.org for further information about this collection Interview with Ruth Rosicka deg October 22, 1993

Q: How about the gymnasium?

A: The gymnasium, it was mixed, but we were ever [indecipherable] with the Jewish students.

Q: Tell me please a-- a few words about the first days of the war and how this impacted on the life of your family.

A: Yes, 15 days, I think two weeks before the first September where the war were begunning -- beginning, or begun, we went off of Bielsko, we -- because in Bielsko were very many German, and g -- was going to Krakow. And Bielsko has been in the first days -- the German army has been in Bielsko. In Krakew -- they came later to Krakew. And the war began at the first September with bombing. We ish -- we tried at once to run away, it was with my parents, it's a -- it's a [indecipherable] and it was a --a very -- the -- the German were coming and bomb -- bombardier very much. It was dreadful. It was my first experience of a war at all. So then we were running away, at the beginning with train. Afterwards the trains were not going more. We were going -- my father bought a -- a horse and cart and we were going away. And we were coming til after the river San, and there we were very tired. For many days and nights we are going, running. And then we --

Q: So river San was a border between --

A: Yes. It was not yet.

Interview with Ruth Rosicka deg October 22, 1993

Q: It was not --

A: Yes. But afterwards we were -- we were very tired, we stayed in a small village in -- between woods. And then we heard that the Russian are coming, and we went back to Krakow. And that was September, because clearly I don't know quite sure what date it was, of course, but I think it's the second half of September, we were again in ro -- in Krakow. We saw all the blitzkrieg, all the poen -- the Polish soldiers are very -- very tougher, yes, but they had nothing. And in Krakew we were living. To Bielsko you could not go again. Bielsko was occupied all, we lived at once. At the beginning we lived in the flat of my -- of my aunt. She lived in Krakow with her children, and afterwards some -- some friends of my father, which were -- who were going out o-of the way, I don't know where, they -- we could live in their flat. And so I --I was under the German occupation til the 17" November.

We have been -- we have been in Krakow and my father was very engaged in the [indecipherable] already, in the Zionist organizations. He was known with Weizmann, | know, I remember that he was corresponding with him and was doing very much and was very known, and now known in -- in Israel, too. And his name was engineer [indecipherable]. And I wanted to go away from the occupied Krakow, and I was 20 years old, just t-- 20 years. And my father brang -- and I was going to Lvov. Of course, it was through the river San, it was in the night, it was

Interview with Ruth Rosicka " October 22, 1993

waiting for many days there, with the refugees. And the Ukraines were thi -- taking all our things. And then we came one night through th-the river and on the other side of the river it was night, of course, and it's dark, we had to wait, [indecipherable] the morning was coming and then found us the Soviets, okay?

And they took us together in one school, I think, or something in wi -- in a little village on the Oder, and was -- and were interviewing every of us. And I-- many people which they were -- how to say it? [speaks foreign language here] they sent away into -- into lager, yes. And I -- I remember that I had no s -- I had no idea what it all is, | was very stupid, I think. And I was sitting in a -- on an interview, too, and --and I -- and a -- an interview and such a small officer with eyes, a Mongol or something else, yes, was interviewing with me and I said all how it was and how -- where I am coming -- going and so on. The only thing he -- I-- I remember I had some chocolate from Switzerland, some small types. Every type has some [indecipherable] and some yes, and ha -- he said to me, opened of course my [indecipherable] say, a-and asked -- like a child he was, he asked what is it, and I said this is chocolate and wanted to give him or to taste it. No, he didn't na -- take anything. And this was very funny because he had in -- at his side was a gramophone, an old -- with such a -- how i-it -- with this old, like trumpet, you know, and J-I think he had seen it -- it for the first time in his life, and he was -- all the time http://collections.ushmm.org

Contact reference@ushmm.org for further information about this collection Interview with Ruth Rosicka deg October 22, 1993 he was interviewing, it was playing some music. So -- and then I was going with some young peoples, unknown peoples who were always gether -- toge -- tog -- gether -- together with [indecipherable] are a Jew. And we are coming with train to Lemberg, the -- the station Lemberg was quite [indecipherable] and then I came to -- to some friends of my father and so on, but we didn't -- they were not interested in me. They were glad when I went out of their flat, when I have slept there one night. And then I was working as -- as a -- as a help in some household with children and so on because I had no money. Yes, but I ha -- was feeling pretty -- I was always these few months under German, it was dreadful and also there was -- had not been SS yet, there had been only SR in Krakow in this time. And interesting is that my father had sent for me in -- it could be April or May, I don't know what, one man to bring me back to Krakow because he had the hope that we were get, very soon, papers to go out.

Q: This -- this was April or May 1941, correct?

A: N-N-No.

Q: No?

A: deg40.

Q: deg40.

A: Yeah.

Interview with Ruth Rosicka deg October 22, 1993

Q: Okay.

A: 739 and April, May deg40.

Q: All -- all right, deg40.

A: And I know afterwards I heard now in Israel is his sa -- is his [indecipherable] of my father and my cousin that it -- it was too late. They -- they tried to get him to Israel with the family, but it was too late. And I didn't want to go back with this man. I -- I -- and -- and at -- and at -- I think it was J-June or July? The end of June, they said Russians were coming to the night in the trains for -- for [indecipherable] and bring us very many people with children and -- and families an-and -- and [indecipherable] very, very far away. The people had been in Ural, in Yakutskaya(ph) and so on.

Q: So -- so basically, the Soviets took the refugees --

A: Yes.

Q: -- in June, July 1940 --

A: Yes.

Q: -- and they deported them --

A: Yes.

Q: -- to [indecipherable]

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Contact reference@ushmm.org for further information about this collection Interview with Ruth Rosicka " October 22, 1993

A: It was Siberia, it was Ural, it was [indecipherable] Mariskaya [indecipherable] that means that is on the [indecipherable] the Volga. It means Volga [indecipherable], yes. And there was -- we were in a camp where -- where Russian men, workers, working only in the summer [indecipherable] and so on.

And they brought us to this camp, and we were there. It was -- we were under [speaks foreign language] that's about 10 kilometer ride, 12 kilometer ride, maybe [speaks foreign language]

Q: Now let's switch back to English please.

A: Back to English. And we could not leave the camp without allowness, yes, mi-- leave, that means only 10 kilometers because we have some things from [indecipherable] yet, and we could exchange for water, for something, or for honey, yes. But it was no possible to escape there. We -- for there were hundred and hundred kilometers only of wood. And --

Q: Forests, yeah.

A: Forests, only of forests. And we were -- always we had then one commandant and [indecipherable] and two [indecipherable] who were looking for us, yes, and the men who -- who were going far into there, to tens kilometer and so in the forest, they were always under the [indecipherable] yes. And when the war -- when the Interview with Ruth Rosicka " October 22, 1993

war began between Germany and the Russians, means *41, they amnestied us, and we could go -- could go away.

Q: So where -- where did you go?

A: And I was going with a group of young people to the south. We had no allowed to go where we wanted, yes. We had always to say we were going this way and we had some paper for it, and -- but we have to -- yes, to go on farther, again paper and so on. And see, we were going because in the camp has been til minus 35 degrees Celsius. We go -- we had to walk in the forest and pi-- and there were sometimes even minus -- minus 52. And -- and we were going to the south with the -- with the [indecipherable] it was the Sava river to Volga, with Volga to Astrahan(ph). In Astrahan(ph) we waited for a couple of days, waited for the ship, the ship brought us to Akras Novotski(ph). That is Turmenskaya(ph) as I said. Akras Novotski, we're going to Tarshken(ph), from in -- near from Tarshken(ph) we were walk -- working in a -- in a sofhaus(ph), in a -- in a uze -- Uzbaken(ph). Sofhaus(ph) for vinegre -- for the grapes, yes, for the harvest of the grapes and afterwards we were -- were going on and we are coming to -- to south Kazakhstan. And there I was in south Kazakhstan til -- til I get the -- til I go to the army. To army to Buzalok(ph).

Q: So you were drafted into which army, please?

A: I was drafting which -- Czechoslovak army --

Interview with Ruth Rosicka @ October 22, 1993

Q: And this was when?

A: -- army. I was grounded in Buzalok(ph), yes.

Q: Where was this --

A: In Russian, it's Samaria.

Q: Samara.

A: Samara, mm-hm.

Q: [indecipherable] and which was the year?

A: That was -- I was coming to the army in -- in October, 16" October, "43.

Q: Who was the commander of the army?

A: Then that was Dutchkarl(ph) that was -- I have been so -- I have been at the reserve, at the beginning and I was working in the medical, yes. And in the medical was Dr. Winter(ph) and Dutchkarl(ph) was the chief there of -- of -- of -- that was not of the whole brigade, this was of our -- of our reserve.

Q: I understand. He was the commander of the whole brigade?

A: The whole brigade, it all, of the whole army was General [indecipherable]

Q: All right. So you --

A: It was not brigade because every brigade had his own, then I have been at the [indecipherable] brigade. At the second brigade, that was General Shikril(ph), but [indecipherable] was commander of all the brigades.

ontactrefiranneGaushariarg a hither atrmedortabeattfiexaliaton Interview with Ruth Rosicka 8 October 22, 1993

Q: All right. So what happened next?

A: Next we were going -- I have -- had been to -- trained for a soldier, yes, and in -- in January "44, we were going to Yefraimov(ph). That's [indecipherable] near of the town Tula(ph). [indecipherable] town and there we were working, following our -- yes, that's -- that's difficult, that [indecipherable] for -- were coming very many Slovaks who were work -- who work in the [indecipherable] on the side of the -- of -- of the front, yes, and went over the front to the Russian. And the Russian had examine -- examined them and -- and -- and then -- and then they sent them to Yefraimov(ph). And that was the beginning of the second brigade of par-parachute, yes. It had the -- their [indecipherable]. And I was in the medical section too, but not in the brigade yet. I met my husband in -- in [indecipherable] and he had going to Yefraimov(ph) too, so we were together [indecipherable]. You wanted to be together, it was possible not to live together, but to be near. And from -- he ha -- he had [indecipherable] parachute [indecipherable] and afterwards we were going in -- we were going in -- now something is obviously not clear, ni -- from Yefraimov(ph) we were going in the summer to brus -- no, no, no, no, in May, to Bruskurov(ph). Let's see, today is [indecipherable] on the 29" June, I -- I got married. I got married on the vax(ph). That's -- that's on the registration and was that -- allowing of the -- of the brigade, it was brigade. They said we are allowed that http://collections.ushmm.org

Contact reference@ushmm.org for further information about this collection Interview with Ruth Rosicka " October 22, 1993 -- that -- to go marry. It was funny, of course, I had no gown, I had nothing. Oh -- had no nice shoes, no nice hosen, the -- the girls borrowed it to me because I always was small and they had no that's so small [indecipherable] enough for me. And then from Bruskurov(ph) there was no training more parachute. It was too near of the front. There was much bombing, too. And then we were going -- we were -- they were ta -- taking us to pole -- it's not Poland [indecipherable] to -- to the Carpaths(ph).

Q: To the Carpathian mountains.

A: Carpathian Mounties, yes, to the front. And we have been between it, we have been in Shaymasil(ph) yes, that's on the river San. And afterwards, from Shaymasil(ph) the soldiers, we were all by feet going to -- to the mountains. And we have been in -- in -- it was [indecipherable] the -- the -- the reserves, the medical [indecipherable] we were -- have been there only for 10 days, I think. And then we -- they take us -- at the six October, we were flying to Soviet camp. Once got the [indecipherable] it wasn't -- not the -- it just was [indecipherable] that is near -- ria -- near [indecipherable]. And there we were landing, we were not going with parachutes down. We are in -- even had no parachutes with us in the plane. We were landing and then our boys were going to -- to fight again. And -- but it was -- there was well, this w-were the last -- one of the last weeks that it -- the German had http://collections.ushmm.org

Contact reference@ushmm.org for further information about this collection Interview with Ruth Rosicka " October 22, 1993 become -- the Slovaks had called for the German to come because there was no German army in Slovakia [indecipherable] are not oc-occupied, yes? They were coming and going and -- and -- and -- but this -- but this were not o-occupation. And they came to -- and struggled down yes, and we were going at the 28" of October already, we're going into the mountains. It was a -- we was going through [indecipherable] Donavalli(ph).

Q: Why did you go into the mountains? Can you -- can you explain why did you go into -- into the mountains? What was the main reason?

A: Yes, we had to -- we -- we -- were going organized, because the whole brigade was going, because we had to go to -- to -- to join with th-the -- the fight in the mountains. We could not go -- we could not -- we -- be in Slovakia no more.

Q: Because the Germans were advancing?

A: Yes, of course, the wer -- Germans were, of course.

Q: And how long did you stay in the mountains?

A: In the mountains I was staying til the end of February. I think it was the twenteenth.

Q: February 1945.

A: Yeah.

Q: And what happened after?

Interview with Ruth Rosicka 6 October 22, 1993

A: And after, after the brigade was gathering together and going to Kashmarok(ph) that's in -- in eastern Slovakia and I get ill in Kashmarok(ph), I was very -- was very hot, I got ill. And I-- my -- ma -- end of the war was -- when the war was ending, I was in the high patra in Markiati(ph) because they send me to -- to -- to be healthy again, so --

Q: What happened to you after the war?

A: Yes, after the war, we were, at the beginning in [indecipherable] and afterwards we came to Moroskot Shabawa(ph). My husband -- I alre -- I was yet in the uniform, and in Moroskot Shabawa(ph) in May deg45, the --1--I went out of the army. I didn't want to end because I was in -- I was pregnant. I did not know, what I did not know they had -- that they have no right to leave me out when I am pregnant, because I had to end my pregnancy in this job I had at that time. And then was born my son in September "46. And my husband was going afterwards il -- in deg48, in -- was my husband said -- my husband stayed in the army. He wanted not to stay, but they said it's your -- you should. Yes, we need you and so on and so on.

And he was sent at March, I think, "48 to study in Kalanin(ph) in the Soviet Union, that was for [indecipherable] high school. And I was with my son, we went to Prague. W-We went to Prague. We -- I've -- I had friends in Prague, we had the 17

Interview with Ruth Rosicka October 22, 1993 flat and I was with my son these three years alone, you only come twice a year to a short [indecipherable] and --

Q: Thank you very much.

End of Tape One, Side A

Conclusion of Interview