Juraj Bartusz

“They wanted to force father out of his business.” “Did he come back from prison after two months?” “He never came back. He jumped under the car in Štúrovo. There wasn’t canteen in the prison, so they walked to one nearby. They had to walk across a busy road. When they went for lunch or from there, he jumped in front of a car. He lost it. He was born in Štúrovo and everyone knew him as an honest person. There he was now with cuffs on his hands.” “What was an official report of your father’s death?” “He died in tragic circumstances during the walk before lunch. They said that he slipped, you know. But those who knew him, they knew how it really was. Štúrovo wasn’t big town, everyone knew everyone else and he just couldn’t bear the shame.”

“What year did the interrogation take place?” “It was in 1973.” “How long did it last and how did it go?” “They called me in and kept me waiting for a quite long time. I guess it was a method that they used. They heard about my exhibition in Hungary and I confirmed it. They informed me that my works weren’t approved by ideological committee. I didn’t know about requirement of having my works approved by ideological committee. They asked me who took my works to Hungary. I told them I did. 'And did you know you could be arrested for that?' One of them asked me and I replied: 'No.' I asked him: 'Did you see those paintings?' As I saw they didn’t, I continued: 'What are you talking about then? Paintings are ideologically unsuitable?' They knew nothing except that I avoided the ideological committee, that I just avoided them. Hungarians didn’t request the committee's approval. It was much looser in Hungary back then and artists weren’t under such pressure of bullying.”