Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Eva Cigler - March 17, 1982

What kind of schools did you go to?

Uh, we went to uh, it was a half, uh, half Czech and half Hungarian you know. So uh, most of the time we speak Hungarian home because uh, my parents was uh, speaking both Hungarian. But uh, we went in a Czech school when the Czechoslovakian came. Was there.

Oh, but it was strictly Czech school.

Yeah. Not Czech, they uh, speak Hungarian, they teach Hungarian most of the time at that time.

Oh did they?

Yeah. Because was a special Czech school when they just speak Czech. But we went, we went in a mixed school.

Were there uh, Czech people living in your town in Beregszász before the Hungarians came in?

Sure.

What happened when the Hungarians came in?

When the Hungarians came in who was a real Czech they moved out. Uh, when the army was going they know uh, they couldn't stand so they went back to Prague, because that time Prague... And around the city was Czechoslovakia still. Just that part they was giving back to the Hungarians.

I see. I see. So in other words they had, they thought they had to leave because...

Yes, they had to leave.

they thought they would be punished.

Punished because they Czechoslovakian. They was afraid or they going to throw them to jail. So they leave everything. They couldn't took too much uh, with them.

But then I take it the Hungarians and the Czechs were not too friendly with one another.

No, they was enemies.