Holocaust Underground

by David Weiss

"Czech Holocaust Legacy" was the full life story of my grandparents, Tibor and Sarlota Weiss. This book, "Holocaust Underground" is the combined in-depth interviews that I did with them in 2001. This book goes far more in depth about their experience in hiding and doing Slave Labor. They discuss meeting each other while hiding in the cellar of a German doctor's farm and how/why they needed to evade not just Hitler, but Stalin as well. They go into great detail about their lives from the very early 1900's until 1952. Sarlota Weiss, my grandmother, was born in 1906 in Trnava which is in present day Slovakia. After leading an ordinary, small town life, she was forced into hiding in 1942. Life was extremely difficult as she spent days at a time with no food, no sunlight and little hope. She escaped from a deportation center and had to constantly find new places to hide. She was one of the 17% of Slovak Jews to survive. Tibor Weiss, my grandfather, was born in 1915 in the city of Nitra, also in present day Slovakia. After learning to be a dental technician, he served in the Czechoslovak military before being deemed an 'Economically Important Person". This allowed him to stay alive during the war, but sealed his fate as a Slave Laborer for over three years. Eventually, conditions got so bad that Tibor had to go into hiding which is where he met his future wife. It was not the typical or rosy romance story that it may appear to be at first blush. The times were very, very bad. After liberation, my grandparents got married and started a new life in Czechoslovakia. Their families had (almost entirely) been killed, but they had each other and soon had a young son. Just as they were getting used to their new life, Stalin and Soviet Communist forces began exerting their iron grip on Czechoslovakia. With Tibor unable to buy supplies for his new dental technician's lab, the Weiss family was forced to leave country and emigrate to Israel. But already they had their eyes on joining Sari's only surviving sister who had made it to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During their three years in Israel, Tibor fixed airplanes for the Israeli Air Force. Some of the planes were the same ones he worked on while he was in the Czechoslovak military fifteen years earlier. In 1952, they left Israel and after a short pit stop in Italy, arrived in the United States. In addition to the interviews, there are pictures and a section about what happened to the Slovak Jewish Community. This book is unique and extremely enlightening because my grandparents were so open, honest and articulate about their experiences and about their feelings. There has been a lot written about Concentration Camp survivors, but very little about people with this particular path to survival. They went through hell and emerged as two of life's great champions. I know that my grandparents would want their story to be read by people of all backgrounds and for the lessons to be instructive for future generations. Take a trip back in time and be educated and inspired by the amazing journey of Tibor and Sarlota Weiss

127 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2016

About the author

Trained as a theologian. David thinks about God… all the time. Whether as a father or grandfather, college instructor or Sunday School teacher, poet or writer, he seeks to imagine God in ways that are helpful and hopeful. In this book he brings insights from seminary and graduate school into a story that is deceptively simple and simply profound.

Reviews

[Glenys Holter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting tribute

Holocaust Underground is a very interesting tribute to Mr. Eric's grandparents. The story of their survival and ultimate blessed lives thereafter is well written with love, honor, and glory. I thoroughly respect these wonderful people who suffered greatly under the regime's of Hitler and Stalin.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Weiss, tells the story of his grandparents, from stories they told him. They escaped the Holocaust by being hidden in different places. They often had no food, no sun, and had to stay in closets. In one of the hiding, the grandparents met.