Book on the Righteous - Jevrejska opština Zemun

Righteous Among The Nations - Serbia
Stories About The Righteous
Bela Kudlik in the uniform of
the Kingdom Yugoslavia
Army forces
had recently taken in,
was obvious to all, but
no one spoke about it.
It was, unfortunately,
also clear to those who
spared no time to make
known to the authorities
that they knew of
another Jewish child
in hiding and to report
the people who were
giving him shelter.
The Kudliks fled from
their own house taking
Mirko with them
and began to hide on
the farmsteads around
Subotica, mostly on
the farmstead of Katarina’s
brother Ruf in Verušić. They spent the whole
summer staying with him. From time to time, they
would return home only to learn that someone had zealously
reported them again and that they had to flee town
once more.
During the bombardment of Subotica in 1944, when
household objects and furniture were blown out of the
house by the detonations and little Mirko believed it
was fireworks that were causing all the commotion, the
Kudliks lived out their fear for the safety of Juca and
Mirko for the last time. Subotica was finally liberated
and the Kudliks no longer had to keep Mirko in hiding.
Mirko’s parents never came back; it is believed that
Piroshka perished in Auschwitz, while Josip was sent to
the Ukrainian front to clear the minefields.
Mirko’s life continued under the loving, parental care of
the Kudliks. Once freedom was proclaimed, his childhood
became carefree and playful, in no way different
from that of other children. Soon he was old enough to
start school and had just begun to attend classes when,
without any prior notice, his aunt Adela arrived at the
Kudliks’ door. She had spent the whole war in hiding in
Subotica and no one knew whether she was alive or had
ended her life in one of the Fascist camps. The Kudliks
gave the letter that Mirko’s mother had left with them
to Adela. It was a hard moment for Bela and Katarina
when they had to give Mirko up: they felt they were
losing their own son. Together with Adela, they grieved
over the violent death of Mirko’s parents in the war.
However, they knew that despite everything, they had
to hand the child over to his closest relatives. The bitter
memories of their wartime days made Adela and her
husband leave for Israel without any second thoughts
and resettle there. Of course, they took Mirko with them
and he was renamed Uri in Israel. He took along his
mother’s letter and the selfless love of the Kudliks, his
second parents, with him.
Katarina and Bela Kudlik
both awarded a Righteous among Nations
in 1987
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