Book on the Righteous - Jevrejska opština Zemun

Righteous Among The Nations - Serbia
Stories About The Righteous
They spent a couple of days in the vineyard on that occasion.
Concerned that she might be seen, Olga, Bata’s
older sister, brought food to them from the house surreptitiously.
They eventually learned who had notified
the authorities of Mordechai’s presence in the Kozarski
home. It was the Old Malicious Hungarian, as the
children used to call him, who kept an inn across the
street from the Kozarski house. Word went round that
he was an informer, but nothing could be done about it.
Consequently, every so often Mordechai had to run and
seek shelter in the vineyard. Each time Bata would go
with him.
The end of the war was approaching when German
troops invaded Hungary and concurrently took control
of all territories occupied and thus far held under
Hungarian authority. Extermination of undesirable Jews
recommenced and intensified. In the wake of a report
made once again by the Old Malicious Hungarian, Mordechai
had to run and seek shelter in the vineyard. Bata
fled along with him. The years spent in wartime together
had formed a bond between them. Bata’s eagerness to
help his friend in need never faltered and he refused to
leave Mordechai to fend for himself. In time, the entire
Kozarski family, as well as many other Novi Bečej inhabitants,
were aware of the fact that there was a Jewish
child in hiding in Steva and Julijana’s home. Despite
the Old Malicious Hungarian’s repeated reports, they
did everything possible to help Steva and Julijana keep
Mordechai safe.
However, a time came when Mordechai dared not return
to the Kozarski house any more. He and Bata spent
month after month hiding inside the vineyard house.
One autumn day in 1944, news that the Russians had
arrived and liberated the town came together with the
food Olga brought them. Older and faster, Bata was
the first to see the Russians. Following close behind,
Mordechai caught up with him the very moment Bata
was telling a Russian officer of their prolonged exile
in the vineyard and life in hiding to keep Mordechai
out of the hands of the Fascists; all this because of the
Old Malicious Hungarian’s repeated reports. Mordechai
witnessed the execution.
Stevan and Julijana Kozarski
Thus, the war ended for Mordechai. He took leave of the
Kozarski family and, hoping to find his aunt and uncle,
set off for Novi Sad on foot. Bata took to the road with
his friend. Along the way Mordechai learnt that uncle
Djula had been in Stari Bečej on several occasions to
inquire how he was faring, whether he needed anything.
Nevertheless, he had not let Mordechai see him, affraid
that it might upset the boy and make it harder for him
to carry on. Both aunt and uncle were overjoyed to see
Mordechai.
During the war there was no way Mordechai could
attend school. Now the war was over, his aunt and uncle
enrolled him into elementary school and he started
attending classes regularly. One day, a few months after
school had started, aunt Leonora burst into Mordechai’s
classroom, out of breath and visibly excited. She whispered
something into the teacher’s ear and Mordechai
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