The Story of a Cheeky Student

At first, the Sladkus family lived in what is nowadays Rektora Stříteského Street. Later they rented a flat at today's 160, Božena Němcová Street. The flat on the first floor had three windows with a view of the square. Their neighbours, the Pohorský family, were bakers and had a bakery and a shop in their house.

The Sladkus family had a business at today´s 150, Božena Němcová Street, where the head office of ČESKÝ TELEKOM, a.s., is now. They made underwear for men, mainly shirts and underpants. The goods were displayed in a big shop-window. The sewing was done on the ground floor and about ten employees worked in a pressing room on the first floor. However, the company employed other women from Litomyšl - they used to come to the Sladkus´ firm for material but work at home, bringing back the finished goods. The products were also sent to many shops outside Litomyšl, but friends and business partners of the owners could order tailored goods and buy them direct. Mrs. Anna Musilová, the wife of the director of the Litomyšl dairy, had shirts made there for her husband. She brought him a tailor-made shirt, chose buttons and cloth from a sampler and had six shirts made at the same time. A messenger boy later brought them to her house, wrapped up and tied with a ribbon. Underpants and pyjamas were made and delivered in the same way.

At Christmas, the employees could choose pyjamas or a shirt as a present. Some were given a dinner service (e.g. plates) as a wedding present. When the Sladkus family found out they were being moved, they organized a secret sale.

Mrs. Berta Sladkusová, born on 25th June, 1889, walked with limp and was very thin.

Rudolf Sladkus, born on 6th February, 1889, was a stout man. He walked rather slowly, wore glasses and had a sharp cleft in the middle of his chin. Everybody in the town knew him. He was very kind. He greeted everybody, even children. He would have a chat with them and ask them how their mums were. He never behaved as though he was better than them.

Jiří Sladkus was born on 26th April, 1922. He was a nice boy and taller than his father. He had dark brown eyes, black curly hair, a slightly hooked nose and he wore glasses. He had a lot of friends, especially among the children on "Špitálek" (today´s Toulovec Square), who were younger than him. As a little boy, he used to wear a white linen cap to protect him from sun. Children from this part of the town would play together on today´s Šanta Square, outside the church. Mr. Metyš remembers the time when no. 154 was being built. The boys were wrestling on the building site and Jirka fell into the cement. Everybody laughed at him.

Jiří Sladkus attended a basic school for boys, and later a grammar school. There, one of his classmates was Vincenc Schejbal, whom Jiří shared a desk with from the first to the sixth grade.

Vincenc was quite small. His mother worked in the factory owned by the Sladkus family. The Schejbals were very poor. They lived in a rented flat at today´s 14, Matěj Kuděj Street. The house belonged to the Plch family, who lived in the USA and they employed Mr. Novotný, a lawyer, to rent it out. Vincek differed from his parents and brothers and sisters because he was clever and respectful. He wore glasses and had good manners.

Jirka and Vincenc spent all their time together. They looked funny together, as one of them was tall and the other one was small. Jirka used to take his poor friend home for lunch. Mrs. Sladkusovám didn't think it was unusual.

Jirka was respectful when he was in the company of adults, but among people his own age, he was very cheeky. When a new teacher started to work at the grammar school, Jirka said, "She´s got such an ugly face." This was how he commented on most of the other teachers as well. Some of them found out and gave him bad marks. Jirka was an average student. He did not like school very much and he made cheeky comments during lessons. His parents, however, wanted him to study and, later, to take over the factory. Once, he gave all his classmates a little glass fox terrier as a present at a Christmas party.

Mr. Sobotka remembers visiting a fortune-teller in Gregorka with Jirka, Karel Pakosta and yet another classmate of theirs. He can't remember what she predicted for them, but he knows that the fortune-teller looked like a witch and that the session cost 5 crowns.

Jirka was called Icik at home. He was a scout and other boys sometimes felt that he was lording it over them. The reason for this was Jirka´s perfect scout uniform, the best of them all and his matching scout hat, which was something that only a few could afford. Also, when they went to summer camp in Budislav, all the boys had to walk. Only Jirka went by car with his parents.

When mobilization was announced in 1938, the scouts used to go with the police around the town at 9:30 p.m. to check whether people were keeping the blackout. Icik joined them but he refused to check on Jewish families.

When president Beneš went abroad in the autumn of 1938, Mr. Sladkus said: "Beneš is as clever as a fox. He will rescue us." It is said that Mr. Sladkus wanted to go with his family to the USA. He believed that they could settle there. Several times he mentioned to people that he could have been "making money" there a long time ago, but his wife did not want to leave the country.

When Jews were not allowed to go to school, Jirka spent a lot of time with Květa Eisnerová. Eyewitnesses think they fell in love. They used to go for walks together all the time.

The Sladkus family left on 3rd December for Pardubice and, on 5th December, they arrived at Terezín. Jirka is said have remembered his classmates in Terezín. Before he left, he asked Mrs. Bubeníčková to say hello to Marie Kadlická, whose married name is Pechancová. She gave the message to Marie after the war, when she met her by chance in Umrlci (Cadaveric) Street.

Jiří left Terezín on D1 transport for Auschwitz as number 1904. Rudolf and Berta Sladkus left for Auschwitz on 15th December, 1943 on Dr transport, Berta with the number 1884 and Rudolf with the number 1885. All of them probably died there.

Šimon and Václav Machů