A slovenian stop on the road to survival
The story of the children of Lesno Brdo is one of the most moving, and at the same time most inspiring, stories connected with Slovenia during the Holocaust. It is a story of children who lost their homes, of people who came to their aid, and of a journey that led from despair to survival.
Following the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, Jewish families throughout Central Europe faced ever more severe persecution. Children were expelled from schools; families lost their livelihoods, their homes and their civil rights. In desperation, many parents searched for ways to bring their children to safety. One of these escape routes led through the Kingdom of Yugoslavia towards Palestine.
Maribor became an important stop along this route. In 1940, sixteen Jewish girls from Austria arrived in the city. Among them was Sonja Borus, later known as Shoshana Harari. At the border they were assisted by the Slovenian customs officer Uroš Žun, who, despite the risks involved, enabled them to cross and helped them establish contact with the Jewish community in Maribor. For his courage, he was later recognised as Righteous Among the Nations. In Maribor, the girls found temporary refuge with members of the local Jewish community, particularly the family of Marko Rosner, who helped them continue their journey towards Zagreb.
Following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the situation deteriorated dramatically. A group of Jewish children and adolescents, most of them from Austria and Germany, found themselves in Zagreb, now within the territory of the Independent State of Croatia. They were led by the young educator Joško-Josef Indig, who tried to keep the children together and find them a safer refuge.
Because the Italian occupation zone offered better chances of survival than territories under Nazi and Ustaša rule, Indig brought the group to the Province of Ljubljana. The children found refuge at Lesno Brdo Castle near Ljubljana, a former hunting lodge owned by the Diocese of Ljubljana. Their stay there was made possible through the efforts of Evgen Bolaffio, a representative of the Jewish relief organisation DELASEM, numerous individuals in Ljubljana, and the intervention of Bishop Dr Gregorij Rožman.
During her stay in Ljubljana, Sonja Borus received a diary for her birthday. At a time when her future was uncertain and war was tearing apart the world around her, she opened its blank pages and began to record her thoughts. Thus began the diary we know today as Sonja’s Diary.
At Lesno Brdo, Sonja continued to record the group’s daily life. She wrote about fear and uncertainty, the friendships developing among the children, the long days of waiting, and their hope that one day they would find a safe home. Today, her writings constitute one of the most precious personal testimonies to the experience of the children of Lesno Brdo and, later, Villa Emma. The diary has been translated into several languages, including Slovenian, in a translation by Jaša Denovšek.
Lesno Brdo was not a real home. The children and those accompanying them first had to make the building fit for habitation. They studied, helped with everyday chores, followed the news and waited for permission to continue their journey. Despite the uncertainty, they tried to preserve a sense of normality and community.
In July 1942, the group was transferred to Villa Emma near Nonantola in northern Italy. There, for the first time in a long while, the children lived in surroundings that resembled ordinary life. They studied Hebrew and Italian, attended lessons, prepared for the future and dreamed of Palestine.
But the war soon caught up with them there as well. Following Italy’s capitulation in September 1943, northern Italy was occupied by German forces. Once again, the children were in mortal danger. This time, the people of Nonantola came to their aid, among them the priest Don Arrigo Beccari, the physician Dr Giuseppe Moreali, and many other courageous individuals. The children were hidden in private homes, monasteries and church buildings, and were eventually helped to escape across the border into Switzerland.
All the children of Villa Emma survived.
After the war, most continued their journey to Palestine, where they built new lives. Yet they also carried with them the memory of the long road that had taken them through Maribor, Ljubljana, Lesno Brdo, Nonantola and Switzerland.
Today, the story of the children of Lesno Brdo reminds us that survival during the Holocaust could never be taken for granted. It was made possible by individuals of different nationalities, faiths and convictions who were willing to help. It is a story of courage, solidarity and humanity—and of children who, despite everything, held on to hope.
Links
https://visitnonantola.it/en/exhibition-the-jewish-children-of-villa-emma-1942-1943
