Karol Jurčovič

* 1930

  • When I came to military service in the Svata Dobrotiva, it began to be rumoured that we were not really soldiers. The commanders immediately told us that we were some kind of beast to be re-educated. They threw us all in one bag, no matter who did what. We also had mounds and all sorts of them, but there were only a few. The others were all people from the parish branch, tradesmen, farmers or expelled students from universities. Mishung.

  • I had a lot of different workplaces, where I learned a lot, I also worked a lot. But as young people, we took all this as part of life. We realized who we were, but we didn't believe it. For there were also rumours that we should serve war for the rest of our lives, that they would take us to Siberia and such vulgarities. We didn't think about it more or less. As young people, we preferred to joke, there were people who had the gift of speech, not like me, and they joked militarily.

  • When a cooperative was established in the villages, there were problems with that. At that time I was in the graduation year 1949/1950. An agitator with a car and an amp came to the school. The school administrator came to see me and ask me to read about what a union cooperative is, how good it is to join it, and the vulgarities. I thought my parents wouldn't find out, but they did when I read the text from the car. It was then bad-bad at home. Finally, a year later, my father also gave our land to the cooperative for health reasons, and we have been cooperatives ever since.

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    Bratislava, 13.12.2020

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As a young man, he considered PTP a part of life. He humbly endured the pursuit of political re-education and remained true to his views.

Karol Jurcovic during service in PTP
Karol Jurcovic during service in PTP
photo: Archív pamätníka

Karol Jurčovič was born on October 10, 1930 in the village of Vištuk into an agricultural family. He successfully graduated from the Trnava grammar school, but this was conditioned by the requirement to promote entry into the JRD in his native village. He did not finish college, he was drafted for military service. On April 15, 1951, he joined a military labour camp in St. Dobrotivá. He changed various positions, despite political lectures he remained true to his views. After returning from the PTP in November 1953, he had trouble getting a job due to an unsuitable political profile. He worked in the food industry and in the training centre of the corporate institute established at the Technical University at the Faculty of Chemical Technology in Bratislava, he received his education, which he completed in 1968 as a certified technician. He has been retired since 1990, actively participates in various events and is a member of KPVS.