Mina Neustadt

* 1948

  • “Well, there it was fantastic. I assumed I was going there for six weeks, beginning in July, but then on the August 21 happened what happened. I felt very well in kibbutz. Actually, it was for the very first time I left my family, being a child who had always been very protected. I didn’t have a clue what real life was like. I went ‘out’ for the first time. Even there I was protected as they took care of me, since I didn’t know much. But then this thing happened, it was one big catastrophe and I didn’t know what to do. However, I was so lucky that in the nearby town of Hadera, a nice lady lived who was a good friend of my parents. She got married in Israel and my father was substituting her husband in Bratislava during the wedding ceremony. I used to visit this lady always at the end of the week for 2 – 3 days, Sabbath… They took very good care of me. But when the occupation began, I was receiving letters saying: ‘Please, return, stay… return, stay…’ Because back then my mom and dad didn’t know what would’ve been the best to do. Even my professor from conservatory told me to return and finish my last year. I studied music for five years, graduated, continued with post-secondary study. I had only one year left to complete my studies. She said: ’You can always return back!’ So this decision was still hin und her [back and forth], very unpleasant and I didn’t know how to decide.”

  • „Pocit ísť cez tie hranice, to by som nikomu nedopriala. Strach. Stáli tam s puškami. Naša dcéra, keď sme tam boli prvýkrát, bola ešte kojenec, malá, prebaľovali sme ju v aute, čakali sme. Náš syn videl vojakov so samopalmi a pýta sa: ‚A budú na nás strieľať?‘ Horor. Samozrejme nechali nás tam čakať, willkürlich [zámerne]. Potom keď sme prešli na to miesto, vybrať najspodnejší kufor, rozbaliť... Potom sa ísť samozrejme prihlásiť na políciu, horor, horor.“

  • “We could do no visits. Then a note from Czechoslovakia came: ‘You need to settle all of your affairs with our state, after which it is not possible for your parents to visit you at all. You either pay it off or we won’t let your parents come to you.’ Therefore my husband and I ransomed ourselves by renouncing the Czechoslovak citizenship. We didn’t know what else to do. My husband worked for the state, we had one son, what about the military service… We were very cautious so we renounced the citizenship. We had to even pay out our children, who were born here. They had it all nicely paid, but by doing this we became free.”

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    Schwerte, 30.11.2017

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It was very difficult to leave beloved parents behind and emigrate

Mina Neustadt was born on June 20, 1948 in Bratislava into the Knežo-Schönbrun family. Her father was of Jewish descent and during the war he was saved from deportation by his future wife. For this special deed she was awarded by an honorific of Righteous Among the Nations. Mina Neustadt had a nice childhood, although her father was fired from work in the 1950s. Her family meant everything to her. As a child she used to play accordion and beginning in1963 she studied at conservatory. In July 1968 she departed to Israel for a 6-week stay in kibbutz. After the Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968, she began to face a very difficult and complicated decision-making regarding emigration. After three months spent in Israel she left for Austria, where she met her mom. From there she traveled to Western Germany to be with her boyfriend. In Dortmund she finished her college degree in music and started teaching. Her two children were born during this time; however until the official unbinding with the CSSR at the end of 1970s, visits of her parents and sister were very rare. After this time she was able to regularly visit her family, which she missed greatly before. In 2007 she retired and continues to devote herself to music and her grandchildren.