• Contents
• Map
• Audio

Martin Shlanger - March 4, 1983

Do you think there was any resentment or uh...anti-Semitism because of that? Or do you remember any?

Yes, there was anti-Semitism, yes. Yes, there was anti-Semitism.

Did you experience any specific incidents that you can recall?

It wasn't on the open until 1938.

Well, before that what, what did your family think about life in Czechoslovakia, what were your memories of?

No, my father was a strong believer in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. He, he...he considered me a communist because I believed in democracy.

What did you think of Masaryk, for example?

He was a very liberal man.

How would you classify the Czechoslovakian government?

Democratic. Truly democratic.

Was there a, an official position on the anti-Jewish acts, anti-Semitism?

There were no such acts. There was anti-Semitism. There were individual anti-Semites, but there, it wasn't uh...it...the government did not approve of it.

So any blatant offender would be, would be prosecuted under Czech law?

Well, nobody was prosecuted because a, uh...nobody uh...for making a statement, they did not prosecute anybody. Unless uh, someone committed acts then, uh, he was prosecuted, yes.