“Well... we already have France here, because she came from France, we already have an English girl here... we only miss Hitler here,” the first remark of Nadia’s classmate from elementary school, after returning to Bratislava.
Nadia Rosa, née Fialová, was born on April 27, 1938 in Bratislava, as the only child in a family of Jewish origin. Her mother, Reneé Beerová, later Fried, came from Bratislava, from the family of a carpet and curtain merchant. Even though at that time she managed a rarity, namely to get an education at a business school, she still stayed at home, as a housewife. Nada’s father, Alexander Fried, came from Klátová Nová Ves and worked as a sales representative in an American company that was involved in film production. Although both parents were of Jewish origin, the mother’s side was more secular and did not emphasize the observance of all Jewish sacraments. On the contrary, the family from the father’s side belonged to Orthodox Jews, which ultimately could mean a problem for the conclusion of the marriage. It didn’t happen, and even though Alexander was thirteen years older than Reneé, they managed to get married. During the Second World War, the family was divided. Nada’s father, due to his work obligations, remained in what was then Yugoslavia, where he was detained and placed in a concentration camp. He managed to escape from there and reached Palestine through Turkey, where he joined the British army. Naďa and her mother stayed in Bratislava with their grandparents. Thanks to the economic exemption, they did not have to hide until 1944. After the outbreak of the SNP, the whole family had to go into hiding, but they were discovered. They traveled to the concentration camp in Seredi, later to the Terezín concentration camp. Nadi and her mother Renée managed to survive these horrors perpetrated on the Jewish population. After the war, they managed to meet their father, with whom they emigrated for several years to England, where Naďa attended the Catholic boarding school of Saint Sacrament. In June 1947, they returned to Bratislava, where Naďa started an eight-year elementary school. After 1948 and the political coup, the father lost his job in the film production of the American company and became a social worker in the underground constructions. Mother worked in a toy store, where she later became an accountant. In 1952, Nada’s father was arrested and imprisoned for three months, returning in a very poor condition. It was enough for the regime that he once worked for an American company and was part of the British army. In 1953, Naďa entered the Bratislava gymnasium, where she studied for three years. After high school, studies at the university followed. Naďa decided on Comenius University, faculty of natural sciences. After completing her studies, based on her major, she finally joined the new factory in Boleraz near Trnava in 1962, where she dealt with the biochemistry of microorganisms, in the laboratory. She stayed there for four years, but with many problems. Naďa has been through more than one love, but with her future Alexander, she officially met at the birthday party of their mutual friend, while she had known him by sight much earlier, from language courses. Naďa loved Alex, but she did not want to get married right away. Since she was twenty-eight years old and her mother’s pressure was already too much, on August 12, 1967, she got married. They have one child together, a daughter, Daniela, who was born in 1970 in Hamilton. After the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, Naďa decided to emigrate with her husband in 1968. She emigrated without her parents, but her husband’s mother went with them. They arranged a three-day trip to Vienna, from where they never returned. Thanks to the help of her husband’s acquaintance, they continued through Salzburg to London, to Nadia’s cousin, where they waited six weeks for visas. They succeeded and settled in Hamilton, Canada, where they still live today. Soon, Nadia’s parents also came to see them, but many problems awaited them together, so the beginnings were not easy at all. They adapted and today they are very satisfied with their lives, they don’t miss anything. Naďa and her husband visited Czechoslovakia for six months after the Gentle Revolution, i.e. after 1989, but they no longer considered returning to their birthplace.