Dokumentačné stredisko holokaustu
Alexander Bachnár (né Bachner) was born on July 29, 1919 in Topolčany, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) to painter Jakub Bachner and his wife Františka Bachner (née Steckauer). He attended the Pedagogical School in Bratislava until anti-Semitic measure forced him out. He was drafted into the Sixth Labor Battalion (VI Prapor) in February 1940 and transferred to the Nováky labor camp for Jews in June 1942, where he performed manual labor, taught children, and served as the camp’s primary school director. When the Slovak National Uprising began and the Nováky labor camp was liquidated in August 1944, Bachnár participated in the uprising, took command of a Jewish partisan group, and took part in the fighting in central Slovakia. He, his sister Ela, and his father were the only members of their large family to survive the Holocaust. After the war, he worked as a journalist and editor for Bojovník, the Pravda printing house, the daily Práca, and at the Institute of Health Education. He was fired from both Pravda and Práca for political reasons and expelled from the Communist Party in 1968 or 1969. He served as Secretary General of the National Anti-Fascist Committee from 1989-1995.
Copyright Holder: Dokumentačné stredisko holokaustu
8532 digital images, TIFF
Arranged in 18 series: Series I.A: Osobné doklady. Korešpondencia. (Personal Documents and Correspondence); Series I.B: Práce A. Bachnára (The work of A. Bachnár); Series II: Smernice o Židoch (Guidelines on Jews); Series III: Súpisy Židov (Jewish Census); Series IV: Majetkové veci, arizácie (Property, Aryanization); Series V: Zoznamy väzňov (Lists of prisoners); Series VI: Príprava deportácií (Preparation of deportations); Series VII: Transporty (Transports); Series VIII: Vnútroštátne transporty (National transports); Series IX: Úteky (Escapes); Series X: Obete (Victims); Series XI: Svedectvá (Testimonies); Series XII: Vyznamenanie Yad Vashem (Yad Vashem honors); Series XIII: Práce iných autorov (Works by other authors); Series XIV: Materiály Výboru VI. robotného práporu (Committee materials VI. labor battalion); Series XV: Historická skupina OSVĚTIM (Historical group OSVĚTIM); Series XVI: Cudzie osobné doklady (Foreign identity documents); Series XVII: Výstrižky z tlače (Press clippings).
Copies of documents on the Holocaust in Slovakia collected by Alexander Bachnár during his research in various archives, as well as the study of press and testimonies, original versions of his personal archives, correspondence, his own and other author's works. The documents include Anti-Jewish regulations, decisions, regulations of the Ministry of Interior, the State Council and Jewish Center; the Jewish Census from before the concentration of Jews and transports in 1942; the Census of Jewish Property (and documents relating to Aryanization, lists of persons imprisoned in labor and concentration camps and various lists of prisoners). Contains transport lists from 1942, arranged in chronological order, as well as a group of documents named “Victims”. These are mainly different lists from concentration camps. Also contains documents pertaining to testimonies for the Righteous Among Nations Award; works of other authors, both arranged in alphabetical order. Bachnár kept long-term contacts with members of the VI Labour Battalion, therefore there are also documents of the Committee of Labor Battalion. Included is the documentation on cooperation with the Czech historical group OSVĚTIM. Due to Bachnar´s collecting activity, the collection contains personal documents and press clippings, as well as photographs on the topic of the Holocaust. Also contains the Holocaust-related works of other authors. This collection is complementary to the Musuem's collections: Alexander Bachnár papers ( Accession Number 2004.104.2) and Oral history interviews with Alexander Bachnár.
Alexander Bachnár papers, Bratislava component collection