Vasilevsky family in Slovakia
Creator(s)
- George T. Vasilevsky (Camera Operator)
- Ukrainian Museum-Archives of Cleveland
Biographical History
George Vasley (born Vasilevsky 1902-1977) was a civil engineer born in the Ukraine. He served in the Ukrainian National Army as a cavalry officer. He fled to Czechoslovakia in 1923 after the Russian Revolution. He married Elizabeth Buazdil (b. 1909) in 1933 in Slovakia. They had three children: Emma (b. 1934), George (b. 1936), and Helen (b. 1943). George was imprisoned in a concentration camp in Poland from which he escaped after 30 months. He emigrated to the United States from Regensburg, Germany in 1947; his wife and children joined him two years later in 1949. The family settled in Harrisburg, PA. George Vasley was a bridge designer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
Scope and Content
KODAK. Quick pan of workers in Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia. The Vasilevsky family exits an automobile, including mother Elizabeth, daughter Emma, and son George. CUs. The children pick flowers and dance with George (the cameraman). Four schoolgirls on sidewalk and in town. An elegantly dressed man waves to the camera. Boy cries. Elizabeth and her children exit a building (possibly the Kvetnica Sanatorium where they visited Dr. Madziuk). Walking in the large park in the center of Kvetnice. Children, including Vitia and Peter Kalina, play in the garden with a rabbit at home in Spišská Nová Ves. CUs, adults (possibly the guests Odehnals, Stofkos and Strakas, according to the canister notes). They walk down a street. George plays with a toy car; Emma on a scooter. 00:06:07 Soldier in uniform joins the family. They walk along a city street with shops. Pan clocktower, Church of St. Mary. Slovak flag on building. CUs, soldier in uniform, eagle insignia on his camp. Shops. Mother with baby in carriage. George plays in the yard, with his father. He puts on the soldier's cap and poses for the camera; Emma styles the soldier's hair; the other adult in a suit walks toward the camera. VAR shots of the children playing outdoors with the tall man (not in uniform). Four men play cards and drink beer; women tend to the children. Brief INT shot. 00:17:00 George and Emma in overcoats walk towards the camera. 00:17:25 Military parade in Spišská Nová Ves. Crowds gather and line the streets. 00:18:19 INT, man at work in an office. At home, the children play outdoors with their mother, and then with their father George. Views of the Tatra moutains on the highway to city of Poprad. Automobile with Slovak license plates. Family poses for the camera. CUs, family members.
Note(s)
Notes inside canister: "No. 1. 1940-Slovakia. District City of Spisska Nova Ves. Our family on the auto ride and at home. Visit to Dr. Mandziuk at Kvietnica Sanatorium. Vitia and Peter Kalina playing with Emma and George. Our guests Odehnals, Stofkos and Strakas. Military parade in our city. On the highway to city of Poprad and a view of Tatra Mountains." At the same time as this movie was taken, the Holocaust in Slovakia and in Spisska Nova Ves had already started.
Subjects
- CHILDREN
- CHURCHES
- FAMILIES
- MOUNTAINS
- PLAYING
- PARADES
- WOMEN
- TOYS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY
Places
- Kvetnice, Slovakia
- Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia
Genre
- Amateur.
- Film