Marie Elšíková

* 1929

National minorities, Inhabitants of Subcarpathian Rus, Memory of vanished settlements
29. 9. 1938 - The Munich Diktat, 14. 3. 1939 – The foundation of the Slovak State, 30. 5. 1945 – 29. 10. 1946 - Withdrawal of Germans from Czechoslovakia
  • 1
    Přehrát
    Pozastavit

    Departure from Carpathian Ruthenia

    (video)
    duration: 00:52
    Download file
    Info

    “We went away in search of a better life. We hoped that we would have a better life if we left. We were thus living in Slovakia since 1947. But we stayed there only for about six months and the men then set out in search of living here, because they had heard that houses had been left behind by the Germans and that everything was available here. And so we moved here. At first we had lived in Kamenná until 1949 and then we moved here.”

  • 2
    Přehrát
    Pozastavit

    The extinct village Kamenná (Steingrund)

    (audio)
    duration: 00:52
    Download file
    Info

    “The place where we lived had three wooden cottages, covered with either straw or shingles, I don’t remember which one. There was a school, a pub, and a church. All those Germans were Catholics. And there were nice villas up on the hill, too. Everything has been torn down.”

  • 3
    Přehrát
    Pozastavit

    Slovaks in Carpathian Ruthenia

    (audio)
    duration: 00:44
    Download file
    Info

    “There was the village of Stará Huta and down there there were villages Sklená Huta and Suchá Huta. There were these three villages together. All their inhabitants were Slovaks. There were also other Slovaks living in villages like Onokovce and others, which you passed on your way to Uzhhorod. On the other side there was a river, and the area behind it was inhabited by Rusyns.”

  • Full recordings
  • 1

    Skorošice, 22.11.2012

    (audio)
    duration: 01:24:07
    media recorded in project Stories of 20th Century
    Download file
    Info
Full recordings are available only for logged users.

A Slovak in Carpathian Ruthenia

Marie Elšíková (Válková)
Marie Elšíková (Válková)
photo: archiv pamětníka
photo: archiv pamětníka
Download image

Marie Elšíková, née Válková, was born in 1929 in the village of Huta, which is located near Uzhhorod in Carpathian Ruthenia. She was a Slovak national just like the vast majority of people in her native village. In 1947 her family and most of the inhabitants of Huta re-emigrated to Czechoslovakia. The family then lived in Slovakia for half a year before moving to north Moravia. Together with several other Slovak families from Carpathian Ruthenia they were living there for two years in the now extinct village of Kamenná (Steingrund in German) in Rychlebské (Golden) Mountains. The village was destroyed after their departure in 1952. Marie Elšíková and her parents moved to nearby Skorošice where she now lives with her husband.

Show witness full story (Czech)
Photos (16)
  • Her mother Margita Válková
    Her mother Margita Válková
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • The church in Huta
    The church in Huta
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Her husband Jiří Elšík
    Her husband Jiří Elšík
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Marie Elšíková - 2012
    Marie Elšíková - 2012
    photo: Vít Lucuk
    Download image
  • Marie Elšíková -2012
    Marie Elšíková -2012
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Marie Elšíková (Válková)
    Marie Elšíková (Válková)
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Marie Elšíková (Válková)
    Marie Elšíková (Válková)
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Marie Elšíková with her sister Anna
    Marie Elšíková with her sister Anna
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Marie Elšíková
    Marie Elšíková
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Her mother Margita Válková
    Her mother Margita Válková
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Her father Josef Válek
    Her father Josef Válek
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Her father Josef Válek
    Her father Josef Válek
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Her family
    Her family
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Slovaks from Carpathian Ruthenia in front of the St. Joseph's chapel in Kamenná (Marie Elšíková second from the right)
    Slovaks from Carpathian Ruthenia in front of the St. Joseph's chapel in Kamenná (Marie Elšíková second from the right)
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Parents Josef and Margita Válek, Marie Elšíková (Válková) standing in the door in Skorošice
    Parents Josef and Margita Válek, Marie Elšíková (Válková) standing in the door in Skorošice
    photo: archiv pamětníka
    Download image
  • Extinct village Kamenná (Steingrund)
    Extinct village Kamenná (Steingrund)
    photo: Vít Lucuk
    Download image
Show all photos (16)
Links (0)