Slovakia, Autumn 1944 - p.13: Donovaly
October 31 - November 3, 1944
The Kolár family fed and sheltered me for three days. Most of the time I stayed in the upper part of their barn which served as a hayloft. There did not seem to be any animals, I did not hear or smell any in the barn. After dark I spent a few hours with the middle-aged couple in their kitchen eating and talking. The second evening Ján Kolár brought in a large washbasin, filled it with hot water and left the kitchen. By the light of the kerosene lamp I had a much needed hip bath (Sitzbad). My last shower was a month earlier, it was therefore not surprising that the water in the basin turned brown.
On the third day, November 2nd, a young woman walked into the barn. She told me she was the couple's daughter and a schoolteacher. In the evening, after the meal, the Kolar couple voiced their worry about the German soldiers in the village and what would happen if I am found in their house or barn. We agreed that I will leave the next morning.
Decades later I have read somewhere this quotation:
"You will meet the sweetest people where the pavement ends and the country road begins." --- That is how I remember the Kolár couple from Donovaly.
The Kolár family fed and sheltered me for three days. Most of the time I stayed in the upper part of their barn which served as a hayloft. There did not seem to be any animals, I did not hear or smell any in the barn. After dark I spent a few hours with the middle-aged couple in their kitchen eating and talking. The second evening Ján Kolár brought in a large washbasin, filled it with hot water and left the kitchen. By the light of the kerosene lamp I had a much needed hip bath (Sitzbad). My last shower was a month earlier, it was therefore not surprising that the water in the basin turned brown.
On the third day, November 2nd, a young woman walked into the barn. She told me she was the couple's daughter and a schoolteacher. In the evening, after the meal, the Kolar couple voiced their worry about the German soldiers in the village and what would happen if I am found in their house or barn. We agreed that I will leave the next morning.
Decades later I have read somewhere this quotation:
"You will meet the sweetest people where the pavement ends and the country road begins." --- That is how I remember the Kolár couple from Donovaly.
posted by Observer at 10:19 PM
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