Jan Kuruc

* 1926  †︎ 2015

Veterán z 2. svetovej vojny, východný front, Národnostné menšiny, Vojak Červenej armády
29. 8. 1944 -apríl 1945 - Slovenské národné povstanie, 8. 9. – 1. 11. 1944 - Karpatsko-Dukelská operácia, 1944 - 1945 - Oslobodzovanie Československa, 14. 3. 1939 – Vznik Slovenského štátu, Konec druhé světové války
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    In the Red Army

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    délka: 01:12
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    Q: “And why did you join the Soviet army and not the Czechoslovak forces?” “Because they offered us two hundred kilo of wheat so my mother told me to go there. We had training and it was a bit awkward because the commands and other things were different. There were Poles, Russians and Czechs. We had all these trainings. We would get a rifle and train shooting at the range. We also often went to the wood to train crawling and fighting. Like in the war.”

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    The first combat experience

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    délka: 00:24
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    “We launched the attack and Germans launched the fire. We lay as close to the ground as we could and the bullets were lodging everywhere around. And there I found what it is to fear about one’s life. Until then I didn’t fully realized it.”

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    Entering the Red Army

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    délka: 01:13
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    “They were drafting, it was a compulsory mobilization, for all between eighteen and forty. So my brothers Petr and Demiter went to the Czechoslovak forces and I went to the Red Army. First we were in Bardějov and then they put on wagons and took us to Rabky in Poland. Then we continued on foot up to the hills and there they trained us. There were also Poles and the unit was called 4th Ukrainian Front.”

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    In the war

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    délka: 00:35
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    “A lot of people died and they transferred some experienced Russian soldiers into our unit to patch it up. Life at the front wasn’t very pleasant. In the night we couldn’t sleep because we were sitting all the time. Because at the front, you always have to be cautious.”

  • Celé nahrávky
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    Vidnava, 27.09.2010

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    délka: 52:17
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Stories of 20th Century
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In the war I finally found out what it is like when you are afraid of your life

Jan Kuruc in the Red Army-1945
Jan Kuruc in the Red Army-1945
zdroj: archiv pamětníka
zdroj: archiv pamětníka
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Jan Kuruc was born in 1926 in Regetovka, Slovakia. His parents were Rusyns. His older brother Demiter fought in the Slovak army but he deserted and was hiding at home for several months. Then he joined the Czechoslovak forces together with the other brother Petr. After the arrival of the Red Army, Jan joined the 4th Ukrainian Front where he fought until the liberation of Czechoslovakia. His unit was then supposed to fight with Japanese forces but Jan left the army and returned home. He moved for work to Sudetenland and later served the compulsory army service. At the same time he met his future wife Alžběta Bachmannová and they moved together to Krasov in North Moravia, at the Czechoslovak-Polish border. He worked as a driver for army children‘s sanatorium. Died in 2015.

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Fotografie (6)
  • John Kuruc's house, which belongs to Vidnava but already is in Poland
    John Kuruc's house, which belongs to Vidnava but already is in Poland
    zdroj: Vít Lucuk
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  • Jan Kuruc-Vidnava - 2010
    Jan Kuruc-Vidnava - 2010
    zdroj: Vít Lucuk
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  • Jan Kuruc-Vidnava - 2010
    Jan Kuruc-Vidnava - 2010
    zdroj: Vít Lucuk
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  • Krasov street in Vidnava, where Mr. Kuruc lives. It is located in Vidnava, but lies on Polish land
    Krasov street in Vidnava, where Mr. Kuruc lives. It is located in Vidnava, but lies on Polish land
    zdroj: Vít Lucuk
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  • Decorations
    Decorations
    zdroj: Vít Lucuk
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  • Jan Kuruc in the Red Army-1945
    Jan Kuruc in the Red Army-1945
    zdroj: archiv pamětníka
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