Peter Plichta

* 1948  †︎ 2023

  • "In one of those rooms, a man who came from Budapest worked, and I talked with that Uncle Tibor about these things, what was going on there. Well, suddenly Uncle Tibor is not there. I asked where he is. That he is on vacation and will not come again, he resigned. But in the end, it turned out that he was convicted for these things that we talked about, and not just with me, as with a child. He went to jail. Well, by coincidence, one of his colleagues, with whom he worked there, later became a member of State Security. He reported him.'

  • "They came back secretly. That was in 1946 when our parents got married. They would not be able to get there - that is, the sister who was displaced to the Czech Republic could not get to Hungary because she was displaced to the Czech Republic. So, mom got married and her birth certificate was probably somehow left at home. And with her birth certificate she was resettled in Hungary. And her husband was somehow hidden somewhere in the wagon so that they could get there (to Hungary, editor's note.)"

  • "He was already sixty years old then. He took out a loan and within ten years he paid off the loan. He was also helped by the fact that certain large constructions were underway in the city. He applied for them, and he simply made a complete set of windows, doors, front doors, all of them. For example, at the district office. But even if he had the most modern technology, he would not have been able to do it by himself, and he called the masters within the guild and told them: ´even though I won it, everyone will get their share, everyone will participate in it´. That's probably why they liked him. He simply didn't make any exceptions, or he didn't take only to himself, he gave to everyone. He knew that each master was capable of something, not everyone was so skilled, and the less skilled ones got the job of sawing the material, planning it, simply preparing it for the next more complex job, which was then given to others who were more skilled at it. But everyone got a job, everyone had something to do, they were happy. And thus, he received a great honour, I can say that in the whole city."

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    Nové Zámky, 06.03.2023

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    duration: 02:35:55
    media recorded in project Stories of the 20th century
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To be honest, to be modest and to respect everybody

Witness Peter Plichta
Witness Peter Plichta
photo: Photo by Post Bellum SK

Peter Plichta was born on April 10, 1948, in Nové Zámky to mother Veronika Plichtová, born Szücsová (1918) and father Imrich Plichta (1911). In the years 1946-1948, the forced resettlement of the population also affected Peter’s family. Although Peter’s parents did not go to Hungary in the end, most of the family from his mother’s side was resettled. After the death of his father, Peter’s father took over the joinery workshop and became a self-employed person. After seven months there was a communist coup and nationalization. At the beginning, he was able to stay working in his former workshop, but after being falsely accused and convicted, he could no longer return to his profession and had to go to work in a brick factory in Nové Zámky. The family unequivocally rejected Reslovakization. He started attending elementary school in Hungarian tuition language in Nové Zámky in 1954. In 1963, he entered the Secondary technical school in Komárno. He played a lot of sports and was also involved in the volunteer theatre in Csemadok. In January 1968, he enlisted for mandatory military service. After completing the basic military service, he got a job at the Elektrosvit plant in Nové Zámky as a machinist, technician. He worked at Elektrosvit for 44 years. In addition to his employment, he was active in the Primary Organization of Csemadok and became its chairman for the first time in 1984. He remained in this position until 1986. In 1977, he refused to sign the anti-charter. In the nineties, he became a member of the City Council and served for several terms. In 1993, he became the chairman of the Primary Organization of Csemadok for the second time and led the organization until 2004. He always tried to be beneficial for everyone, regardless of nationality or religion. At the time of documentation, Peter was an active retiree and lived mainly for his family. He and his wife have two married daughters, Agnesa and Gabriela, and five grandchildren. Peter Plichta died on December 28, 2023.