Pavel David Sivor

Pavel David Sivor was born in July 1934 as Pavel Suchostaver to Slovak-Jewish parents in Bratislava, then part of Czechoslovakia. In May 1942, his family was forced to leave their apartment in Bratislava after it was confiscated by the Slovak Nazis. They found a small flat in a wooden house in the Patrónka district, where David’s grandmother, Ružena also lived.
In July 1944, the family left the apartment for safety reasons. Ružena and David found shelter with the Ozvald family (recognized in January 2018 as Righteous Among the Nations). David’s two uncles and his cousin also hid there. When the hiding place was discovered, the uncles and cousins were arrested and deported to concentration camps. David’s mother had earlier managed to hide her mother, Ružena in a Bratislava hospital, while David evaded capture by hiding in a pigsty.
Thanks to friends, David’s parents found a new hiding place for him in the summer of 1944 with Anna Balažová. Out of fear, he spent most of his time digging a large hole in the yard, believing he could use it as a hiding place if necessary. Toward the end of the war, he had to go into hiding once again in Bratislava. Meanwhile, his mother, grandmother, and uncle had been deported to the Sereď and Theresienstadt camps.
After his mother’s return from Theresienstadt, David emigrated with her to Israel in February 1949. There, he became a successful swimmer and head coach of the national team, accompanying them to several Olympic Games. Today, he is active in fostering cultural exchange between Israel and the Czech Republic and speaks as a contemporary witness.