Hájek Miloš

Hájek, Miloš Miloš Hájek (b.1921) from Prague was a communist and, following the German annexation of the Sudetenland in late 1938, he became involved with anti-Nazi activity. When persecution of the Jews intensified, this underground group, with Hájek as its leader, decided to help them. Hájek became acquainted with Arnošt Neumann at the university in Prague, prior to the break-up of Czechoslovakia. Neumann was a member of Hashomer Hatza’ir and worked among the Jewish students and Hájek had showed interest in this Zionist group. When the Theresienstadt ghetto was established, the Hashomer Hatza’ir members decided not to report to the ghetto. They turned to Hájek, who agreed to their request for help from his underground communist group. Furthermore, he also took it upon himself to lead this Zionist-underground group when its leader, Vojtĕch Feuerstein, was captured. When Prague’s Jews were being deported to Theresienstadt, Hájek obtained false documents for the members of Hashomer Hatza’ir and their families that attested to their Aryan identity. He also found hiding places for them. Thanks to these papers, Neumann was able to start a new life in Prague, under the name Arnošt Hájek. With Hájek’s help he found a place to live and a job as a German language teacher in a private school. When Neumann was in danger of being detected, Hájek transferred him to another hiding place. Later on, Hajek supplied Neumann with new false documents, with which he managed to reach Bratislava. The Gestapo continued its search for Neumann in Slovakia too, but he managed to escape to Hungary and survive. Avri Gruenberger (later Zdenĕk Vanĕk) and Miloš Pick were also among those saved by Hájek’s help. Due to his underground activities, the authorities also pursued Hájek. He was eventually captured in late August 1944, and prosecuted according to Nazi law. In March 1945, he was sentenced to the death penalty. However, the approach of the Red Army and the Germans’ concern for theirown lives prevented the sentence from being carried out. Miloš Hájek was saved. Later, Hájek became a well-known person in his country. After the failure of the “Prague Spring” (1968) and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Hájek was one of the people who signed the “Manifest Charter 77” that made a demand for humanitarian rule. On the night the Communist regime collapsed in late 1989, Hájek was the spokesperson for the organization that ensured a smooth changeover in the country. On August 29, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Miloš Hájek as Righteous Among the Nations.