Twelve Slovaks were awarded the Israeli state decoration Righteous Among the Nations on Monday evening (5 September) in the Golden Hall at the Šimák Castle in Pezinok. They were awarded the medal by the State of Israel for acting to save their fellow citizens who were Jews during the Holocaust. The list of this year's awardees included Antónia Nikodemová, Anton Baláž, Oľga Balážová, Oliver Rácz, Ján Makóny, Anna Makónyová, Pavel Petroch, Ján Bukov, Mária Bukovová, Jozef Fekiač, Ján Spevák and Mária Speváková. The names of the honorees will be carved into the Wall of Honour in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. The awardees saved the lives of 22 Jews, including ten children. It is an annual award that expresses respect and admiration for the actions of ordinary people who risked their own lives to save persecuted Jews. It is an expression of the Jewish people's gratitude to people of non-Jewish descent.
Source: TASR
