Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Bernard Hirsch - June 29, 1982

An interview with Bernard Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Charlene Green.Bernard Hirsch was born in Petrovce, Slovakia in 1920 and lived there with his parents, two brothers and five sisters. At the beginning of World War II, Bernard was drafted into the Slovakian Army as a laborer. In 1942, just before the Jews in the Slovakian Army were going to be sent to Auschwitz, a Gentile officer warned Bernard and arranged for him to be discharged from the army and sent home. Arriving home in Petrovce, Bernard enlisted the help of a Gentile neighbor to keep him hidden. He stayed in the woods with other Jews and Partisans until the Russians liberated Slovakia in January 1945. After liberation, Bernard moved to Košice where he met his future wife. Together they moved to the United States in 1949.

Link to Portraits of Honor Project

1. Introduction
2. Life Before the War
3. Family
4. Family Split Up by Germans
5. Religious Life
6. Anti-Semitism
7. Life in the Army
8. Deserting the Army
9. Deserting the Army II
10. Hiding with Gentile Friend
11. Hiding in Petrovce
12. Joining the Partisans
13. Pretending to be Gentile
14. Germans Search for Jews in Petrovce
15. Life After Liberation
16. Life Hiding in the Woods
17. Learning of Parent's Fate
18. Surviving While Hiding
19. Getting Help from Teacher
20. Revenge After the War
21. Memories of Hiding
22. Life in Partisans and Slovakian Army
23. The Partisans
24. Leaving the Partisans
25. Learning of the Holocaust
26. Life Hiding in the Woods
27. Reactions to the War
28. Being Ill
29. Moving to Koŝice
30. Meeting Future Wife
31. Moving to United States
32. Starting a Family
33. Religious Life in the United States
34. Sharing Experience
35. Sharing Experience II
36. Memories
37. Having Nightmares
38. On Being a Survivor
39. Feeling Guilt
40. Conclusion