Róbert Cvi Bornstein (23 February 1926 – 28 May 2024) was a Slovak

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

fighter and

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor.

Biography

Róbert Bornstein was born on 23 February 1926 in

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

into a religiously observant

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. His father was a shop owner, his mother was a housewife. He had one elder sister, Marta. Bornstein became active in a socialist

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

movement

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

in his early years. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his family was originally protected from deportation due to his father's status as an "economically important Jew" but Bornstein was nonetheless forced to abandon his studies at the Evangelical Lyceum and instead apprentice as a baker. In spite of not being able to graduate, Bornstein maintained contacts with the Lyceum for the rest of his life and served as the face of the "empty chair" project commemorating the Jewish students of the Lyceum who were persecuted due to their origin by the fascist

First Slovak Republic First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. In the early 1944, Bornstein joined the

Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...

, despite his father pleading with him not to. He fought in the "Žula" (granite) artillery unit. Meanwhile, his father died in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

and his mother perished in the concentration camp in

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

. After the defeat of the uprising, Bornstein learned about the fate of his parents from a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

from

. He himself was saved by the Christian family, who took over his father's business. He was able to escape to

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, where he hid in an abandoned apartment together with his uncle and his family. He was also able to facilitate a fake passport allowing his sister to leave for a relative safety of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. After the end of the war, Bornstein finished his high school studies while working in an orphanage in Prešov established by

and facilitated emigration of Jews to Israel. He himself left in 1949. In Israel he adopted the second name Cvi (sometimes transcribed as Zvi). He lived in a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

for five years and later trained as a lawyer. He spent the rest of his life practicing law in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. In Israel, Bornstein married and had two sons. Bornstein died on 28 May 2024, aged 98, in Tel Aviv. His death was confirmed by the Lyceum.

Autobiography

In 2020, Bornstein published an autobiography titled ''Záblesky v temnote – Prvých 23 rokov môjho života'' (Flashes in the Dark - The First 23 Years of My Life) in which he described his youth and experiences with

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bornstein, Robert Cvi 1926 births 2024 deaths Slovak Jews Czechoslovak Holocaust survivors Czechoslovak Jews Slovak emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Slovak-Jewish descent People from Prešov