Jiří Janisch

“I remember the 15th of March 1939 well. There were inscriptions, broken windows and stuff in the streets where Jews had their shops the day before. “JUDE” was written all over shop displays. The situation in Jihlava was really very bad. There were many Jewish families and their shops there. It was all broken. We lived near a Jewish prayer room, and there was a synagogue in Jihlava. They set it on fire and it burned down. As for the prayer room... it was torn down. There is a cemetery but both Jewish buildings are gone without a trace except for memorial plaques. Nazis really raged there. The pogrom was horrible. All the shops had “JUDEN RAUS” written on them in red. A Jew had a booth in the main square – it was all destroyed. The situation on 15 March 1939 and prior to that was bad. It was dangerous just walking in the streets because Nazis were raising hell. And on 15 March 1939 when we went to school there were German motorcycles. The Nazis mostly drove motorbikes. There were soldiers there and there was no school, it was closed, but then teaching resumed.”

“We came to Jihlava and my mother was summoned to the police headquarters. They told her that, since she was of a German nationality and Czechoslovak citizenship, she should change it all to German. My mother refused, and this saved me from having to join the army. It was my mother’s gesture. I didn’t know at the time, that’s what she did; otherwise I would have to go to the front. My cousin, my mother’s sister’s son, was in Germany with his family. He was two years younger and was drafted. By coincidence, he served in Jihlava. We didn’t know it at the time. He was with the SS. My aunt told him not to contact us, as this could have severe consequences, and we only learned that he was there after the war.”