Galló Štefan

Galló, Štefan During the war, the Catholic priest Štefan Galló served in the small village of Ireg (now Jarok), near Nitra. His readiness to assist those in distress stemmed both from his innate love of humanity and his opposition to the fascist regime. The story of the rescue of Robert Freund, b.1930, from Nitra, by Galló begins in early September 1944. Robert had been adopted by his uncle after his parents were deported and murdered in 1942. Upon returning from school one day, he found the apartment of his uncle locked and sealed. The boy understood that the hunt for Jews had been renewed. He was first sheltered by Štefan Valent*, a district court judge and neighbor of Robert’s uncles, and then by Father Galló who was a friend of the Valent family. The priest welcomed the persecuted boy, gave him shelter, and told visitors he was a relative. Before meals, Galló uttered a benediction and said to the boy, “You will pray the way you know.” To bolster Robert’s “Aryan” cover, Galló employed him as an assistant during Mass. Six weeks after Robert’s arrival, rumors that he was a Jew spread through the village. Robert decided not to endanger his benefactor and left. He was caught and transported to Auschwitz. He survived, and after the war renewed his ties with Galló and corresponded with him until Galló’s death. In mid-September 1944, the five members of the Resler family, from Michalovce, also found themselves near Ireg. There they discovered subterranean spaces in the surrounding fields in which local vintners stored must and wine, and took refuge in them. Hunger forced them to risk sending their two daughters, aged nine and twelve, to the village to solicit food. The farmers whose doors they knocked on filled their basket and told them to come back, promising to collect food from their neighbors. The farmers told Father Galló about the hungry family. He also contributed food regularly and in his sermons encouraged his flock to assist the refugees with all theirmight, in fulfillment of their Christian and humanitarian duty. The Resler family was liberated from their hiding places by the Red Army. On June 4, 2003, Yad Vashem recognized Štefan Galló as Righteous Among the Nations.