THE
WINTNER FAMILY

Pinchas (Pinkas) Wintner was a textile trader and resident of Sečovce. He and his wife Regina had a total of seven children: Andrej (Avraham / Bandi), Ladislav (Eliezer / Laci), Ernest (Meir / Ernö), Yutzi, Sara (Suri) (died at the age of 19 after having contracted pneumonia), Geza (Yehuda), and Jenö (Yaakov).

As the Wintner business expanded, Pinchas amassed a fortune due to his dealings in textiles. Pinchas was joined by his sons Andrej, Ernest, and Ladislav, all living and working in Sečovce. The textile and fashion stores were located on Námestie Sväteho Cyrila a Metoda 51/43, on Sečovce's main square. The building on the square had an interesting facade, which consisted of unplastered facade bricks. Accessible from the street were two shops and a beautiful wrought iron gate. In 1935, as a residence for his sons Andrej and Ladislav, Pinchas built a magnificent modern villa in the garden of his home, located south of the "Liberation Memorial/Monument", Námestie Sväteho Cyrila 51/43 and Vysoká Street.

Anna (Chaya / Anika) Wintner, daughter of Ladislav, recalls her childhood years as a blissful time living in the noteworthy villa in the center of Sečovce. The villa was equipped with the most modern luxuries available at the time and Sečovce was a pleasant little town to grow up in. In addition, occasional outings to nearby Kosice provided one with all the pleasures and requirements a larger city had to offer.

The Wintners were active in the leadership of the Sečovce Jewish Community and were known as kindhearted philanthropists. As prominent members of the local industry and leading members of the Sečovce Jewish Community, the Wintner family enjoyed good relations with local governmental leaders and institutions.

On the eve of the Second World War, the number of Jews in Sečovce reached its peak — approximately 1,200 souls. At the helm stood Heinrich Hecht and Pinchas Wintner as leaders of the community.

On March 14,1939, Slovakia became an independent state. The new fascist regime gradually removed the Jews from the social and economic fabric of the country. During 1940 and 1941, the authorities liquidated most of the Jewish businesses — at least 40 companies and large factories were aryanized. On 08 July 1941, the Wintner family was robbed of its livelihood, as the once thriving family enterprise was confiscated by the Slovak authorities and transferred to Mr. Juraj Girman.

The expulsion of the Jews of Slovakia began at the end of March 1942 with the deportation of Jews to concentration and death camps in Poland. Some of the young Jewish men of Sečovce managed to escape to Hungary or joined partisans fighting the fascists. Most of Sečovce's Jews were expelled on the second and fifth of May 1942 and were deported to Lublin (Majdanek), Poland, together with the Jews of Trebisov. There they were murdered.

By the fall of 1942, 172 Jews remained in the town by virtue of exemption papers. By 1943 only 150 Jews remained in Sečovce. The Jewish Community as a municipal organization was still in existence, with Pinchas Wintner as its president. Pinchas and his sons maintained their relations with the local government and used these connections for the benefit of the Jews who remained in Sečovce in addition to using their personal fortune in order to alleviate the plight of their fellow Jews.

By the beginning of 1944, all Jews had been expelled from Sečovce, save for the Wintner family. Based on their high-placed relations and by paying officials many bribes, the Wintners had managed to remain in their homes. Yet in 1944, they too were expelled. Pinchas Wintner and his sons were forced to abandon their house, stores, and beloved garden villa. All went into hiding in different locations in local forests. Anna Wintner and her baby sister were taken in by a Czech Christian woman who had been a domestic worker at the Wintner residence and who was loyal to the family. Providing shelter to Jews was extremely dangerous and came at great personal risk. This heroic act of human kindness and courage saved the lives of these two girls.

The Wintner family in hiding was plagued by many hardships including starvation, cold, exposure to the elements, and diseases such as tuberculosis and typhus. However, the family did manage to stay out of the claws of the Nazis and avoid deportation. Out of a community of 1,200, more than 700 of Sečovce's Jews perished in the Holocaust. The joyful life once lived had been eradicated. Thus came an end to the presence of the Wintner family in their beloved hometown.

Upon liberation, Pinchas and his family were unique in the sense that all members of a single family had survived the Holocaust. In the months following the war, the Wintner family attempted to reestablish their business in Kosice, yet once again fell victim to persecution. This time by Russian Communists, who were the new ruling regime. In addition, personal tragedy struck Pinchas Wintner in the months following World War Two. Pinchas lost two sons at a young age. His son Andrej died of tuberculosis. Jenö died in a tragic car accident while driving home on a Friday afternoon. The family commenced to emigrate.

Pinchas left for Israel where he spent the remainder of his life, passing away in 1964. His wife Regina lived into her 90s in Israel, where she also passed away. His son Ernest lived many years in Los Angeles (USA) after having married Blanca Spiegel, who was originally from Munkacs (Mukachevo). Ernest died in the 2010s. Ladislav Wintner, together with his wife Alzbeta (Elizabeth / Etta / Elke), who was born in Kosice, and their children, left Slovakia in 1947. They moved to Belgium, Israel, New York, and finally settled in Los Angeles where he lived until his death in 1986. Alzbeta passed away in Los Angeles around 2005. Sons Andrej (Avraham/Bandi) and Jenö (Yaakov) both died in 1945/1946. Andrej succumbed to tuberculosis and is buried in the Jewish cemetery of Rimavská Sobota in Slovakia. Jenö (Yaakov) died in a car accident while rushing home for Shabbos on a Friday afternoon. Jenö (Yaakov) and Sara (Suri) are buried in the Jewish cemetery of Sečovce. The widow and child of Andrej joined Pinchas in Israel. Pinchas' son Geza had been in Palestine prior to World War II and later moved to Los Angeles; he passed away in 2015. Yutzi married a man from Miskolc (Hungary) and emigrated to Israel; Yutzi lived a long life, dying in Israel.

Of the entire Wintner clan, only two members returned to live in Europe, Anna (Anika) and Shoshana Wintner, daughters of Ladislav, living in Antwerp, Belgium surrounded by loving children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

No member of the Wintner family ever returned to Sečovce. At the location of the erstwhile Wintner textile stores and home several stores existed at different times, including a footwear shop and a vegetable shop. The house was demolished around 1995. During the demolition work, large vaulted cellars under the house collapsed. The garden villa was turned into several flats which belonged to the city housing administration. Currently, the once luxurious and noteworthy Wintner family garden villa houses a Reformist church and the "Carmel (café) Centrum", while the site of the old family house stands empty, covered with nothing but grass.

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   Secovce Jewish Cemetery

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   Sources

1. Interview with Anna Wintner — Antwerp, Belgium, 2021
2. Museum of the Jewish People
3. Pinkas Slovakia - Sečovce
4. List of Martyrs
5. Internet journal of doctoral students Greek Catholic Faculty of Theology Prešov University in Prešov - 2017
6. Internet journal of doctoral students Greek Catholic Faculty of Theology Prešov University in Prešov - 2016
7. Sklenčár, Peter: Stratené Sečovce, Pastel 2021, 144 s., ISBN 978-80-89898-19-0
8. Non-profit organization Carmel centrum n.o. is a missionary organization founded under the Reformed church congregation in Sečovce