Roček Anton & Žofia

Roček, Žofia Roček, Anton The Rosenberg family lived in the spa town of Bardejov in the Šariš region, eastern Slovakia. Their son, Emanuel, was taken away to forced labor, working in the brick factory of Devínska Nová Ves, close to Bratislava. There he met Anton Roček. In 1944, as the Red Army approached the eastern border of Slovakia, the Jews of the area were ordered to move west. The Rosenberg family moved to Žilina. Hearing of the family’s predicament, Roček offered to take in Emanuel’s sister, Erika (b. 1927). She moved in with Roček and his wife Žofia, where she lived under the false identity of Magda Šoltésová, a devout Catholic. She stayed with the Ročeks until May 1945 when the area was liberated. In her testimony, Erika described how she lived in fear of being discovered, pretending not to understand when German soldiers spoke German, always being on her guard, and trying as best as she could not to draw their attention to her existence. Meanwhile, all of Erika's family had been arrested – first her mother and four brothers, and then her father. After liberation, Erika volunteered for work in a soup kitchen for refugees, in the hope of finding her family. Her bother Emanuel did come back, and the two immigrated to the United States where they embarked on new lives – Erika in Memphis, and Emanuel (now using the surname Rohan) in Dallas. Their parents and younger brother were murdered in Auschwitz, but their three other brothers survived. “It was a horrible, horrible time,” recalled Erika, “but I was grateful to the family that kept me alive.” She remained in touch with her rescuers, and sent them yearly gifts. On August 1, 2010, Yad Vashem recognized Žofia and Anton Roček as Righteous Among the Nations.