Matéjík Ján & Matéjíková Katarína ; Son: Ján ; Son: Pavel ; Son: Ludvig ; Daughter: Matéjíková Anna

Matéjík, Ján Matéjíková, Katarína Matéjík, Ján Matéjíková, Anna Matéjík, Pavol Matéjík, Ludvig Ján Matéjík from Bošáca village knew Andor Fuerst from Nové Mesto nad Váhom prior to the war. During the years of 1942 to 1944, Andor lived with his wife, Frici, and his young sons, Tomáš (1933, later Asher Paldi) and Štefan-David (1937), in Sered camp. Following the outbreak of the Slovak National Uprising at the end of August 1944, the gates of this camp were opened and the Fuerst family returned to their previous home, where they lived with Frici’s parents and her brother, Július Lichtenberg (later Lomnický). Due to the rumors about the impending deportation of able-bodied men, Andor and Július went to hide at the Matéjíks’ home in Bošáca. The roundup of the Nové Mesto nad Váhom Jews started in the first half of October 1944. Those who were detained, among them the Fuerst family, were gathered in the synagogue, and the men were separated from the women. Grandfather Lichtenberg was taken away and they never saw him again. Frici then managed to bribe a Hlinka guard to let her, her two children, and her mother, Gizela Lichtenbergová, slip away from the synagogue. After a difficult trek, the four fugitives managed to arrive at the Matéjíks’ house, where they met Andor and Július. The Matéjíks’ modest house had only two rooms. One was a kitchen and living room; the other was a bedroom. All six members of the Matéjík family moved to the living room and the bedroom was given to the six new “tenants.” Aware of the danger of house searches, Ján prepared an escape outlet in the wall, leading to a storeroom, concealed by a large bed. The Matéjíks shared with their wards the little they had. The Matéjík children were fully involved in protecting the hidden Jews. While the Fuersts were hiding with the Matéjíks, German soldiers passed through the village several times. Once, they even entered the Matéjíks’ home but they only wanted to eat and drink, and were not interestedin searching for hidden people. About two months before the war was over, the Matéjíks’ neighbors started to suspect that they were hiding Jews. The fear of discovery motivated the Matéjíks to move their wards to an isolated cabin in the mountains that belonged to their relative. They continued to supply them with food and to update them about events in the outside world. The family stayed in this cabin until the liberation. After the war, the survivors immigrated to Israel. The contact with the Matéjíks was cut off. In 1989, Tomáš-Asher and his uncle went to Slovakia to see the place where they had been hidden. The two younger Matéjík children were still alive – and Pavol and his family were living in his parents’ house. On November 7, 1990, Yad Vashem recognized Ján Matéjík, Katarína Matéjíková, and their children, Ján, Anna, Pavol, and Ludvig Matéjík, as Righteous Among the Nations.