Košice, Slovakia

Members of the Boys were born in Košice in Czechoslovakia.

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

Members of the Boys were held in Nazi labour and concentration camps and used as slave labourers. They had also survived World War II in hiding or as lone children.

^{Košice Synagogue, Slovakia.}

The capital of eastern Slovakia, Košice is a large industrial city of 250000 inhabitants. Its sizable Jewish community was almost totally annihilated during World War II. The city is now home to 800 Jews.

The first Jews settled in Košice in 1843 yet they have lived in the Slovakian region since the 11th century.

Prior to Word War II, 11,500 Jews lived in Košice, making up 16.4% of the city’s total population.

The Story of the Boys’ Families: The Friedmann Family

Wartime

Slovakia proclaimed its independence in March 1939. The first anti-Jewish law was passed in Slovakia in April of that year. A few days later, Jews were excluded from all government positions and service. By 19 September 1939, all Jews were expelled from the military.

By 1940, over 6,000 Jews had emigrated either legally or illegally. On 9 September 1941, Jews were met with a proclamation of 270 articles, including having to wear a yellow armband with a Star of David, and forced labour camps. Soon after they began being sent to concentration camps. By 1942, nearly three-quarters of all Slovakian Jewry had been murdered.

Aftermath

Košice was liberated on 19 January 1945 by Czechoslovak and Soviet forces. Until the liberation of Prague in May 1945, it was the seat of the new Czechoslovak government and all the countries principal organisations. Jewish groups across a broad spectrum of political and religious affiliations also made Košice their Slovak headquarters. To find out more about the role played by the Jewish community in Košice in the lives of the Boys after the liberation click here.

In 1947, there were 2,542 Jews in Košice registered at the synagogue but there were many more survivors in the city who had not done so. After the foundation of the state of Israel and the communist takeover the Jewish population declined considerably.

Present-day

Košice has a small active Jewish community.