Saver of Jews from Bratislava receives memorial plaque

Bratislava also has its own version of 'Nicholas Winton', who saved Jews during WWII. Aaron Gruenhut, an Orthodox Jew, had a memorial plaque unveiled by Culture Minister Marek Maďarič on Heydukova Street in Bratislava in his memory on Wednesday. During the Second World War, Gruenhut rescued thousands of fellow Slovak Jews. For example, he organised a mass escape of more than 1,300 Jews to then Palestine, plus had a hand in halting the deportation of Jews from Slovakia to Nazi concentration camps and ensured hideouts for many persecuted Jews. He left Slovakia after the Communist putsch in 1948 and moved to Israel. He died in Tel Aviv in 1974. "Risking his own life, he acted heroically and humanely in difficult war times", said Maďarič. The minister also praised Gruenhut's other activities, including the preserving of a Jewish Orthodox cemetery in Bratislava after the war. He was also involved in the construction of a new yeshiva (Orthodox Jewish college or seminary) and synagogue in Jerusalem called 'Pressburg' (a former name for Bratislava). The yeshiva continues in the tradition of the oldest Bratislava Jewish school, which was renowned mainly for rabbi Chatam Sofer. Igor Rintel, president of the Central Association of Jewish Kahals in Slovakia, said that when he was reading the life story of Aaron Gruenhut a year ago, he thought that it was a myth. "I was reading a story that I wasn't able to believe that it actually took place", he said.