Olga Horak - Post War

Post War

Horak survived the Holocaust, but lost her family. Her mother, father, sister and grandmother all died. After her mother died, Horak was taken to the camp's sickbay. From there, she was transferred to the town hospital, but was transferred back because the German nurses paid no attention to her as she was a 'sick Jew.' She stayed at the Bergen-Belsen sickbay until the camp was burnt to the ground, when she was transferred to the State hospital in Pilzen. It was at the State Hospital that she met Bozena who, once Horak had regained some strength, offered her an apartment and some level of care.

Horak stayed with Bozena in Pilzen until she was healthy enough to return to Bratislava with Bozena. In Bratislava, she met Thomas, who was also an orphan. Horak stayed with one of his aunts, the Bardos family, while in Bratislava. Zsuzsi, her cousin, offered to set Horak up with her friend's brother; they got married on 9 February 1947. John and Olga were determined to start a life outside Europe and away from the horrors they had suffered. John’s sister had made travel arrangements for her family and, using the same connections as had Olga and John, they were able to gain passage to Australia. Travelling on the Greek ship Cyrenia, they left in August 1949, arriving in Melbourne on 16 September 1949. There, Horak was employed as a dressmaker and, after moving to Sydney, she established the Hibodress garment factory.

Horak still lives in Sydney, and is a volunteer guide at the Sydney Jewish Museum. She has donated several of her artifacts to the museum.