Abstract:
The fate of Jewish children and families is one of the understudied social aspects of the
Holocaust. This thesis aims to fill in the lacuna by examining the intersection of Jewish
youth and families, labor camps, and the Holocaust in Slovakia primarily using oral
testimonies. Slovak Jewish youth survivors gave the testimonies to the Yad Vashem
Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, Israel. Utilizing
methodology for examining children during the Holocaust and the use of testimonies in
historical writing, this thesis reveals the reaction of Slovak Jewish youth to anti-Jewish
legislation and the Holocaust. This project contributes primary source based research to
the historical record on the Holocaust in Slovakia, the Nováky labor camp, and the fate of
Jewish youth. The testimonies reveal Jewish daily life in pre-war Czechoslovakia, how
the youth understood the rise in antisemitism, and how their families ultimately survived
the Holocaust. Through an examination of the Nováky labor camp, we learn how Jewish
families and communities were able to remain together throughout the war, maintain
Jewish life, and how they understood the policies and actions enacted upon them.
