Alexander Bachnár
- Alexander Bachnár
Extent and Medium
2 linear meters
Biographical History
Journalist Alexander Bachnár (Bachner) was born on July 29, 1919 in Topoľčany, Czechoslovakia to Jakub and Františka Bachner. His father was a painter and mother was a homemaker. They had ten children. After finishing primary school in his hometown, Bachnár began to study at the Piarist Gymnasium in Nitra. After six months he transferred to high school in Prievidza, where he graduated in 1938. After graduation, Bachnár attended the Pedagogical School in Bratislava on Lazaretská Street. Due to his Jewish origins, he was excluded from the school in March 1939. In February 1940 he was drafted into the VI. Labour Battalion and later was assigned to a labor camp for Jews in Nováky. In camp he did manual work at first, but later taught children. After the escape of his fellow prisoner Weiser from the camp, Bachnár served as director of the camp primary school. Soon after the beginning of Slovak National Uprising and the subsequent liquidation of the Nováky Labor Camp at the end of August 1944, Bachnár joined the uprising. As a platoon commander of the Jewish partisan group he took part in the fighting in central Slovakia. After the Second World War Bachnár worked as editor of the military newspaper Bojovník from 1945 until 1949. In 1949 he moved to the Pravda printing house and worked there as an editor for two years. As a result of the political process (with the group of Rudolf Slánsky) Bachnár was released from Pravda in 1951. For two years he worked again as a manual labour – as a welder in the Juraj Dimitrov chemical plant in Bratislava. In 1953 he became an editor, then secretary and later again the editor of foreign affairs in the daily Práca. In 1969, he was again fired from the editorial staff and subsequently – as a "right-wing anti-socialist element" – he was expelled from the Communist Party. During the period 1969-1976 he was an editor at the Institute of Health Education. On June 30, 1976 he retired. He was married and had three children.
Archival History
The fonds was organized by Jozef Klačka in 2016.
Acquisition
Documents were obtained by the Holocaust Documentation Center from Alexander Bachnár in 2015.
Scope and Content
The fond contains mainly copies of documents on the Holocaust in Slovakia, which were collected by Alexander Bachnár during his research in various archives, as well as the study of press and gathering of testimonies. It includes original versions of his personal materials and correspondence, as well as his own works. The copies or transcripts include Anti-Jewish regulations, copies of 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). The fond also contains copies of 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. The fond 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 this Labor Battalion included in the fond. Documentation on cooperation with the Czech historical group OSVĚTIM is included. Due to Bachnar´s collecting activity, the fond contains personal documents and press clippings, as well as graphic documentation on the topic of the Holocaust. The fond also contains the Holocaust-related works of other authors.
Appraisal
No destruction or appraisal expected.
Accruals
No accruals expected.
Conditions Governing Access
Acessible.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Undamaged.
Finding Aids
Printed Inventory, Author: Jozef Klačka, 19 pp, 2016. Inventory is available at the Holocaust Documentation Center.
Existence and Location of Originals
Holocaust Documentation Center, Dokumentačné stredisko holokaustu
Archivist Note
Fonds identified and described by Ján Hlavinka.
Sources
Inventory of the fond. Author Jozef Klačka.
Rules and Conventions
EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0