Lebdovič Ján & Lebdovičová Žofia ; Daughter: Lebdovičová Emília ; Daughter: Lebdovičová Anna ; Daughter: Lebdovičová Margita

Lebdovič, Ján Lebdovičová, Žofia Lebdovičová, Emília Lebdovičová, Anna Lebdovičová, Margita The poor and hard-working Lebdovič family lived in the small village of Mlynčeky, not far from Kežmarok, in an apartment owned by the local flourmill, where the father of the family, Ján, worked. They knew the Goldmann family prior to the war. When the persecution of Jews started, the Lebdovičes hinted to the Goldmanns that if they ever needed to, they could turn to them for help. A few of the Goldmann family’s seven members were deported during the deportations of 1942. Then, in September 1944, Maximilian Goldmann, his sister Gisela, and her 18-month-old son asked the Lebdovičes to afford them refuge. The Lebdovičes also took in Dr. Fried and his wife, and Dr. Shick, his wife, and their three adult daughters. Ján prepared a hiding place for all of them in the cowshed, which he separated from the cows’ section by building a partition. On evenings when it was not dangerous, Ján allowed his wards to venture outside the cowshed to stretch their muscles. These conditions were not suitable for the toddler and, after a while, Gisela left this shelter. She survived the war elsewhere with her son. One day, the retreating German soldiers stabled their horses in the Lebdovičes’ yard and billeted themselves in the home. The Lebdovičes and their wards spent two days living in fear, with no contact between them, until the soldiers moved on. Throughout their time in hiding, the Lebdovičes took care of all the wards’ basic needs. A big obstacle to the Lebdovičes’ rescue effort was the presence of Ján’s retarded brother in the house. The fear that he would not be able to remain quiet prompted the Lebdovičes to hide from him the presence of the fugitives. All those hidden with the Lebdovič family survived to see the liberation at the end of January 1945. The Lebdovičes’ religious faith and their love of humanity had motivated them to rescue people. The Goldmann family stayed in touchwith the Lebdovičes even after the war. On September 4, 1991, Yad Vashem recognized Ján Lebdovič, Žofia Lebdovičová, and their daughters, Margita, Emília, and Anna, as Righteous Among the Nations.