Your Ads Privacy ChoicesIMDb A filmmaking rabbi with longstanding ties to Palm Beach has returned to the island to promote his latest cinematic work a former Palm Beach Day Academy student whose father will screen "Bardejov" — a Holocaust film for which he wrote the screenplay — during a cocktail reception Sunday at Palm Beach Synagogue "Bardejov" recounts the true story of Rafuel Lowy a Jewish leader from the Slovakian town of Bardejov and his courageous efforts to rescue young Jewish women from deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland The story focuses on Lowy and the local Jewish Council's efforts to intentionally expose the women to typhus in an effort to create a quarantine that could potentially prevent their deportation The film aims to shed light on a lesser-known chapter of Holocaust history who visited Bardejov during a trip to Poland and uncovered what he calls "just the most incredible story." "People don't really talk about the story of Slovakia in the Holocaust who serves as executive director of Olami Manhattan a New York City-based nonprofit organization that offers educational programs for Jewish university students and young professionals "But the Jewish community there numbered over 100,000 people Their journey is fantastically interesting people didn't know that the first organized transport of Jews to Auschwitz in the Holocaust ended up being 999 Slovakian girls between the ages of 16 and 22 who thought they were going to a shoe factory It was the first organized transport of Jews to Auschwitz And no one really knew the story until about 15 years ago He collaborated with a Hollywood producer whose cousin was a Bardejov survivor to get the film made and it was released in New York and Los Angeles in March which is accessible through digital platforms like Tubi TV "Here's a story of people who really used their innovation and their back-against-the-wall kind of mentality to actually respond and resist and fight back," said Lynn "And we need as many bricks in the wall of testimony as possible which includes a week-long stint as a scholar-in-residence at Palm Beach Synagogue is an effort to promote solidarity and strength among the Jewish community While Lynn is proud of his work on the film he's equally as proud of the impact he's made within the Jewish community After graduating from Palm Beach Day Academy and Saint Andrew's School in Boca Raton he completed a film project at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before heading to Los Angeles where he continued to write screenplays and work on films "I worked for different production houses and other odd jobs," he said "I was doing different films and writing on different things That was my career as a young guy in Hollywood I was completely detached from Judaism in every single way." who has eight children and three grandchildren met with a well-known writing team that worked on hit TV shows such as "The Cosby Show." The writers on that team introduced him to a group of friends who were prominent Hollywood writers helped expose him to a broader world of ideas "They engaged me in an area that I very much missed which is philosophy and thought and history and truth — those things I had lost in my first few years in Hollywood pursuing a film career," he said "Truth in Hollywood doesn't necessarily go hand in hand he and his family returned to the United States There, Lynn created a Judaica program atthe University of Pennsylvania called MEOR which is Hebrew for “from light” or “illumination.” build community and encourage personal growth classes and events that provide opportunities for students to explore Jewish thought Lynn ran MEOR for a decade and helped build it into a nationally syndicated program that now exists on 21 major college and university campuses Ten years ago, he launched Olami Manhattan which is part of the global Olami network that works to inspire and empower young Jewish adults by connecting them with Jewish wisdom runs the day-to-day operations for Olami's Manhattan location give Lynn a powerful platform to tell the Jewish story "I've devoted my life to … being able to be a spokesperson for "Bardejov" will be screened Sunday at Palm Beach Synagogue, 120 N. County Road. The free event, which is open to the public, includes a sushi and sake reception at 5 p.m. followed by the film screening at 6 p.m. To register, visit www.palmbeachsynagogue.org/film-series Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/olami-manhattan-took-me-to-poland-day-four\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=VtshFNl3EMFAgefkme1b88zdU6HxTS.ZXcq4.gcEtZ8-1746542862-1.0.1.1-DQ4tX5Qjrnl99V_P_I7qa1rYHd81ivBhoIDWTPFfPYI" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve World Heritage partnerships for conservation Ensuring that World Heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value is an increasingly challenging mission in today’s complex world where sites are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled urban development Our Partners Donate Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information Bardejov is a small but exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a fortified medieval town which typifies the urbanisation in this region it also contains a small Jewish quarter around a fine 18th-century synagogue Petite mais exceptionnellement complète et bien conservée Bardejov est un exemple de ville médiévale fortifiée illustrant admirablement l'urbanisation de cette région Elle comporte également un petit quartier juif construit autour d'une superbe synagogue du XVIIIe siècle بارديجوف مدينة صغيرة لكن مكتملة ومحفوظة بصورة ممتازة، وهي مثال للمدينة المحصنة العائدة الى القرون الوسطى والتي تجسّد بشكل رائع تمدّن هذه المنطقة، كما انها تحتضن حياّ يهودياً صغيراً بني حول سيناغوغ رائع من القرن الثامن عشر 巴尔代约夫是中世纪筑防城镇的一个例子，虽小但十分完整，保存也相当完好，代表了该地区的城市化进程。除其他显著特点外，在一处精美的18世纪犹太教堂周围还保有一小片犹太居民区。 но исключительно целостный и хорошо сохранившийся укрепленный средневековый город Среди разнообразных достопримечательностей в нем также находится небольшой еврейский квартал pero excepcionalmente completa y bien conservada Bardejov es un ejemplo de ciudad medieval fortificada que ilustra admirablemente la urbanización de esta región construido en torno a una soberbia sinagoga del siglo XVIII The town of Bardejov is located in north-eastern Slovakia on a floodplain terrace of the river Topľa near the Polish border Due to its proximity to the major trade route that stretches across the Carpathian Mountains Bardejov was able to develop into an important medieval town with a regular division of streets around a spacious market square is an indication of European civilization from the 13th to 14th centuries dating from the first half of the 15th century surround three sides of the square and document the highly developed burgess culture The fourth side of the square is closed by the Roman Catholic Church of St a three-naved Gothic basilica with a precious collection of eleven late Gothic altars The Renaissance town hall occupies the centre of the square The historic core of the town is encircled by the fortification system which was one of the most advanced in Central Europe The area of the town’s historic core was declared a Town Conservation Reserve in 1950 Bardejov also has a well-preserved small Jewish suburb developed over the 18th century around a synagogue (1725-1747) still contains a unique set of surviving buildings from that era: a kosher slaughter house Bardejov provides exceptionally well-preserved evidence of the economic and social structure of trading towns in medieval Central Europe Its surviving building stock represents a developed burgess culture and Jewish community thus illustrating a multi-national and multi-cultural society Criterion (iii): The fortified town of Bardejov provides exceptionally well-preserved evidence of the economic and social structure of trading towns in medieval Central Europe buildings and fortifications of Bardejov illustrate the urban complex that developed in Central Europe in the Middle Ages along the great trade routes of the period The delimitation and size of the property are appropriate and all the important elements necessary to convey the Outstanding Universal Value of the property are contained within its boundaries The historic town core has retained the key characteristic attributes of a medieval trade town especially with regards to its urban plan its original building lot divisions (parcels) the Jewish suburb survives relatively intact with its original layout and component parts such as the synagogue The town-planning structures of the property are stabilized but there is Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve has preserved a high level of authenticity the housing stock has survived with no major demolitions or additions has been restored by the systematic reconstructions which begun after 1967 Although some buildings have undergone alterations most have retained their authentic interiors Traditional uses for burghers’ houses have also been retained or restored with business and service functions combined with residential use on the upper floors The Jewish suburb has also retained high authenticity as reflected in its early 18th century road network Parts of the fortifications have been demolished or more than half of the fortifications are still intact and well maintained A special value of the property lies in its present-day vitality and contemporary activities which do not compromise the historic substance yet it needs to face the challenge of finding an appropriate use for the Jewish suburb as the town’s Jewish population has diminished The 24-ha property has the highest form of monument protection enabled by the national legislation The Slovak Republic has adopted the special Act No on the protection and development of the town of Bardejov that refers to the whole property The Ministry of Culture and the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic have the overall responsibility for the property’s protection The property‘s protection is legislatively secured by the provisions of the Act No on the protection of monuments and historic sites that refers to the protection of all cultural monuments and protected areas within the World Heritage property the historic core of the town has been declared a town conservation reserve and most of the buildings in both the historic centre and the Jewish suburb are protected as national cultural monuments The property’s protection is strengthened by the declared buffer zone of the town conservation reserve that covers 13 ha and corresponds with the World Heritage buffer zone Property ownership includes a variety of religious institutions (such as Catholic Protestant and Greek-Orthodox churches and the Central Union of the Jewish Religious Communities in Slovakia) A regular system of monitoring has been established according to which the Outstanding Universal Value of the property is assessed and monitored whilst measures for avoiding identified threats are taken All planned activities within the property must comply with the legally binding Principles of Conservation of Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve (2009) and are liable to strict assessment of the project documentation by the regional monuments office The Principles of Conservation are respected by the provisions of the urban planning documentation as well as by the property’s management plan The management system is updated in order to create an efficient and coherent system of the property management Bardejov Town Council conducts the property management in close cooperation with the local representative of the respective national authority Our weekly email is chockful of interesting and relevant insights into Jewish history A new film details the incredible story of a winemaker who saved Jewish girls from the death grip of Auschwitz in the small and peaceful town of Bardejov Hlinka Guards from the pro-Nazi Slovak People’s Party put up signs that every Jew in town was required to register for work Hlinka Guards were known for taking Jewish property and sending Jews to their death after Slovakia joined the Axis powers with Germany The country was the first Axis partner to allow its Jewish citizens to be departed as stated in “The Final Solution” after signing an agreement with Germany in 1942 a winemaker who lived in Bardejov and served as long-time president of the Bardejov Jewish community met with the Jewish council to ensure that the Jews of his town could be spared from death He was able to secure the Jewish boys and keep them working in the town brewery but then another dilemma emerged: The Jewish girls – all 300 of them – were ordered to hand themselves over to go work in a shoe factory in east Slovakia The winemaker discovered that there was no shoe factory – the girls were going to be taken to Auschwitz “Bardejov,” Rafuel’s fascinating story of hope is revealed for the first time to audiences inspiring them at a time when hope is needed most He could create chaos as well as a diversion so that the girls could escape their surely imminent death While there would have been a massive loss of life and it would have sent a powerful message to the Guard: Stay away from us it was shot down since it goes against Jewish law they came up with a better idea: Intentionally give the girls typhus the girls were risking their lives – but they knew it would scare the health-conscious Germans and could potentially save them from Auschwitz “Typhus was a prevalent fear at the time because of all the large roundups that resulted in entire communities getting infected,” said Rabbi Shmuel Lynn the screenwriter and executive director at Olami Manhattan “Rafuel and the doctor knew of the fear and believed staging an outbreak would help cancel the transport.” Unlike the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto uprising the people of Bardejov were solely concerned on keeping their Jewish girls safe at home “These weren't people who wanted to take revenge or fight back,” said Lynn “They were simple folk who merely wanted to save their daughters and were willing to do anything to accomplish that.” and it looked like the town was suffering from an epidemic “I think about what their Passover Seder must have been like in Bardejov,” said Lynn “overjoyed to be with their daughters who they thought would be killed.” After this incident the girls and their families knew that it wouldn’t be safe for them to stay in Bardejov Many of them went into hiding or fled to Hungary since they were given special working permits he was personally transported to Auschwitz to ensure his arrival “The exact details of his death are disputed,” Lynn said “Some say he was taken straight to the gas chambers while others say the Nazis released dogs upon him.” Though Rafuel knew the risks he was taking “The media today is full of negativity and hatred toward Jews,” said Lynn “Making this film gave me the chance to spread some more positive messages through the stories of these incredible people Truth has a profound way of resonating with people.” Lynn found out about the story of Bardejov after meeting Emil Fish He offered to donate to the organization on condition that they visit Bardejov while Lynn was running a Poland trip and they had a gap in their schedule our tour guide was brought to tears when he saw the bus arrive because it was the first Jewish tour group he’d ever seen there,” the rabbi said we found books that had been sitting open since the war And that’s where we learned the forgotten story of this brave town.” Lynn teamed up with actor/director Danny A The rabbi hopes the movie spreads far and wide inspiring Jews to be proud of who they are “We must continue shedding light on the ugly face of antisemitism and remember that even in the darkest times Jews have each other's backs and will do everything in their power to protect each other,” he said “The Jewish community needs to take an active approach and search for and find a way to share these powerful human-interest stories with the media the small screen or even people's YouTube channels We need to leverage our rich history with the power of storytelling to help touch people's hearts and reignite their sense of Jewish pride.” Kylie Ora Lobell is a Los Angeles-based writer as well as president of KOL Digital Marketing where she does publicity and marketing and helps clients share their unique stories with the world As a Catholic who has studied the horrors of the holocaust I found the movie inspiring and the story hopeful Had more Jews from the town been spared the final results of the holocaust the ending would have been a much better one Thank you for signing up for the aish.com free newsletter Abeckaser expected as he boarded a flight from Los Angeles to Israel was landing in Tel Aviv with a movie deal “Bardejov,” the film he both directed and starred in known for his roles in movies such as “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Irishman,” found himself seated next to an 88-year-old man named Emil Fish who told him stories about his childhood during World War II in Bardejov “It was a very interesting story of survival and the Jews of his town,” Abeckaser said Fish was a child when the events in the movie took place but he remembers well all that happened during that dark time in history he asked Abeckaser what he does for a living and was excited to learn he is an actor/director I have a script and I always wanted to make a film about the Jews of my town He started explaining to me how in the last 20 years he had been building memorials in Bardejov I didn’t know if I wanted to do a Holocaust film but promised to read the script It’s a story of courage and how the Jews of this town didn’t just sit back and take it We all know what happened a few months afterward They all ended up going to the concentration camps but still it shows how some Jews did resist the Nazi and for a while who was the producer and also has a cameo in it Abeckaser took a smaller role of the town’s doctor and gave the lead part to Robert Davi The film opens with a survivor who takes his family back to Bardejov to show them thetown when Hlinka Guard soldiers are in charge of sending unmarried young Jewish women to work at a shoe factory Their leader is Stefan Reisteiter (Dean Miroshnikov) who looks like the perfect Aryan Rabbi Lowy and other community leaders realize that they are actually going to be sent to Auschwitz and concoct a plan to stop this from happening is a compelling portrayal of ordinary people grappling with the encroaching Nazi regime Fish lived for 60 years in Los Angeles where he was a builder and moved to New York a few years ago and is still working In a Zoom interview from his office he told the Journal about his home town there were 3,000 Jews who lived in my town 80% of the Jews were taken away to concentration camps and only 10% survived The Nazi didn’t need to invade Slovakia because the president at the time was Jozef Tiso who was an ally to the Germans and said he is going to collaborate with them and do whatever they asked him to.” The Fish family was able to stay in their town until 1944 because of an exemption some of the Jews received but as the war progressed they were taken as well “I was sent with my mother and sister to Bergen-Belsen and my father to Buchenwald including most of my mother’s family but my father’s family all perished.” at which point Fish decided to make Aliyah on his own through the Zionist youth movement Bnei-Akiva while his family was waiting to receive visas to Canada Fish received a letter from his father telling him he must leave Israel and join the family in Canada I was speaking Hebrew without an accent and wanted to join the army but my father wouldn’t hear any of it and because I was a minor After he graduated from a Canadian high school where many members of Fish mother’s family lived had three children and became very successful builder I was very active in the Jewish community in L.A I was the president of Hebrew Hillel Academy and of Shaarei Tefillah I was well-known in the community and lived the American dream my children — who were already married and had children of their own — came to me and said: ‘Dad everyone takes their kids on their heritage tour and all you do is take us on vacations to Hawaii or skiing and never talk to us about the Holocaust.’” Fish admitted that hearing his children say that but his first response was: “The only way I’m going back to Europe is by plane to Germany After thinking about it and with a little more persuasion by his kids they visited the Jewish cemetery where Fish’s grandmother is buried and saw it was neglected and overgrown passed away a few years back and there was no one to take care of it.” Fish said “We visited the synagogue where I had my bar mitzvah and it was locked I was told that no one has the key because the last Jew in town had passed away and didn’t leave it to anybody.” “The Nazis killed my people but they are not going to kill my heritage because I have a control of it It became my personal mission to restore the town.” – Emil Fish Fish managed to get in the synagogue and was overwhelmed by emotions I went to see the Heder ( The Room) were I learned Torah I was thinking of the Jewish people who lived in my town and perished And at that moment I made a Neder (a vow); the Nazis killed my people but they are not going to kill my heritage because I have a control of it It became my personal mission to restore the town.” Fish now serves as the founder of the Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee who was born in Israel and lived up in Brooklyn since he was 9 years-old He had small parts in movies such as ‘Alpha Dog’ and ‘You Don’t Mess With the Zohan’ before landing his big film role in “Holy Rollers” (2010) he has appeared in many films and directed eight Making a film about the Holocaust in today’s antisemitic atmosphere he said he hopes people will have a better understanding of how important Israel is for the Jews and what antisemitism can lead to Thinking about director Jonathan Glazer’s acceptance speech for his film “The Zone of Interest,” at the Oscars he said: “What this man did have ruined so much for us The world doesn’t understand what really happened on Oct People are going on demonstrations against Israel without understanding what they are demonstrating about; they are getting paid $80-$100 to go out and rally against Israel Hollywood doesn’t stand with the right side but I’m not going to stop my life and think why it’s happening like posting my opinion on social media and making films I believe that this film is very important and I hope that people will watch it and understand what antisemitism is and why it is so important not to keep silent in its face.” Bardejov is now available for streaming on Apple TV elections in the 39th World Zionist Congress nears conclusion—voting closes May 4—American Zionist Movement (AZM) Executive Director Herbert Block said there were few barriers of entry to voting in what Jewish leaders are describing as a consequential election We are here today because Jewish fathers and mothers wanted more than happiness from their children The bipartisan group includes Los Angeles representatives Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and Ted Lieu (D-West LA) Speaking ill of someone once most likely leads to a second time Global Sisters Report a project of National Catholic Reporter Sign up now Atanazia Holubova poses with Romani teenage girls while baking cookies in the Pastoral Center for Romani in Poštarka View Author Profile In September, I visited the small town of Bardejov in northeastern Slovakia, which has a completely intact medieval town center and holds UNESCO World Heritage status I discovered another treasure within the community of Basilian Sisters Shortly after my arrival in the Bardejov community a Romani woman with a child entered the house and from their conversation behind closed doors I gathered that they were completing some document together The Romani are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who traditionally led a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle and arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century. They are also known as Gypsies. About 67 000 Romani live in Slovakia, according to the country's 2021 census Many live in Romani slums and ghettos and face challenges related to unemployment and segregation.  Sister Atanazia, who was born into a Romani family herself, has been devoted to helping her people since the beginning of her consecrated life in the Order of St. Basil the Great This order began in 1972 in communist Slovakia in the underground Greek Catholic Church She knows firsthand how hard it is to face mistrust and unequal treatment in life Atanazia Holubova and Salesian Fathers organized a weekend spiritual retreat for Romani teenagers from Poštarka Today in the Romani slums of Bardejov, known as Poštarka, one can find a church, kindergarten and primary school. Among the activities and projects I am aware of is a choir for children called Devleschere cschave (Children of God) in collaboration with the Salesian Fathers have grown into a wonderful project focused on pastoral work education and integration for those in need.  with no particular explanations," she has said "This is borne out by the fact that Roma culture has no lullabies fairy tales or games for children." Sister Atanazia and many other people of God are trying to change this reality.  I had the opportunity and a privilege to visit this place and could not help but notice the gratitude pouring from the eyes of children men and women who came to see Sister Atanazia and her guests We will not let her go," one Romani boy told me Atanazia Holubova after their first Communion she could not accept being born as a Romani baby  because of widespread stereotypes depicting Romani people as "dirty," "stinky," "lazy," "violent," "thieves" and "beggars." She could never relate to that negative image Her desire to help her people and to challenge that stereotype in society grew each time she passed Romani slums and saw children wandering or playing.  She began her service to the Romani community as a catechist during the communist regime in Slovakia, preparing children for the sacraments. In the following years, her mission grew into various projects, combining education, pastoral and social work (watch video here).  I will describe one day of preparing for a Christmas play.  Initially Sister gathered teenagers and young women to bake some cookies I guess for some of them it was something like baking class but it was also an engagement in what their younger siblings or kids are doing Sister gathered children and distributed clothes and toys from humanitarian aid and at the end of the day the children enjoyed the cookies baked for them They prayed together before going back to their families Even though what Sister Atanazia does might seem very casual it represents a special bond of trust built by years of love and patience.  The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, in "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies," emphasizes that pastoral care for gypsies is challenging.  Merely approaching Gypsies with love and the desire to proclaim the Good News is not sufficient to create a relationship of trust between Gypsies and gağé pastoral agents and as a consequence of all the wrongs they have suffered the Gypsy population has remained suspicious of any initiative that tries to penetrate its world Overcoming this initial attitude may come about only through concrete manifestations of solidarity  their points of reference in time and space are not determined by geography or the calendar but rather by the emotional intensity of a meeting Their reactions are immediate and guided by intuition rather than abstract thought Sister Atanazia is persuaded that anyone who approaches with love and a willingness to share his or her life with Romani people will succeed in pastoral and social care It shows Sister Atanazia comforting a woman after the loss of her four children in the Jarovnice flood in Slovakia.  Sister Atanazia has faithfully served as an ambassador for the Romani people throughout her life she continues her unwavering ministry of love she is an inspiration on how to be a Basilian Sister while incorporating one's own background and formation I cannot help but admire Sister Atanazia's firm gaze It seems that her inner gaze is fixed on pain and death itself with one of her strong arms embracing a mother in despair holding both her hands in a prayer position Sister's other hand tenderly comforts a scared girl who sees her mom in such a condition.  need a Sister Atanazia in their neighborhood How many more hidden treasures like Sister Atanazia exist in the world quietly making a difference in the lives of marginalized communities How many sisters around the world have stories of resilience and love that remain untold May Sister Atanazia's life and ministry inspire us to seek opportunities to be a source of hope love and support in the lives of those who need it the most May we embrace our own backgrounds and formations allowing them to enrich our capacity for compassion and service we can work to make the world a better place for all one act of love and understanding at a time.  then enter your email address and click "subscribe" Global Sisters Report and the town's mayor greeted him with full honours MPs and even his own councillors have since criticised the move The Russian ambassador was granted an official reception by the eastern Slovak town of Bardejov on July 29 one which was sealed with an entry in the town's official commemorative book welcomed Ambassador Igor Bratchikov with a triple embrace local broadcaster Bardejov Television reported adding that “the meeting took place in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.” The reception took place in a city renowned for its historical and cultural significance; Bardejov is considered one of Slovakia's most beautiful cities and its historic centre including an early 18th-century Jewish suburb was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 Bratchikov was accompanied by Anton Korba of the Union of Slovak Soldiers They visited Bardejov Spa and the village of Smilno for the reopening of a restored World War I soldiers' cemetery formerly an MP for the Slovak National Party (SNS) left the party and later ran unsuccessfully to become regional governor in 2013 “I greatly appreciate the close relationships I have with the city office and Mayor Hanuščak,” said the Russian ambassador He emphasised his "respect" for World War I soldiers and stressed the importance of preventing such "tragedies" in the future His own country launched an unprovoked full-scale military invasion of its neighbour Ukraine in February 2022 which continues to this day and has so far led to hundreds of thousands of casualties according to city spokesman Štefan Hij sees no issue with hosting the Russian ambassador Hij stated: “The Bardejov municipality is and always will be open to meetings with all duly accredited foreign missions and their representatives.” He added “Just as we have hosted the US ambassador and representatives from Ireland we also welcomed the Russian ambassador on Monday.” Hij also noted that the Ukrainian ambassador has not visited Bardejov in recent years The reception was part of Bratchikov’s visit to the reopening of a World War I cemetery in Smilno the cemetery contains soldiers from various nationalities of the former Austria-Hungary and other combatant states serving as a reminder of ‘never again war,’” Hij remarked The meeting also covered topics such as the upcoming national celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) and local events like the Bardejov fair Political scientist Grigorij Mesežnikov criticised the visit describing it as an inappropriate gesture towards a state that is currently engaged in an aggressive war against Ukraine and that views Slovakia as an enemy Mesežnikov emphasised: “What the mayor of Bardejov has done essentially normalises Russian aggression in the eyes of Slovaks It’s no surprise that among less informed people Hanuščak has been the mayor of Bardejov for over twenty-five years He initially ran for the Party of the Democratic Left (SDĽ) a party which itself broke away from Smer in 2020 whom Hanuščak actively supported as mayor a free concert for International Women's Day was held under Hanuščak’s patronage that promoted Pellegrini’s candidacy with 800 carnations distributed to attendees MPs opposed to the mayor’s reception of the Russian ambassador argue that it was inappropriate given Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine which violates international law and the principles of peace “We use this opportunity to express parliament's stance on such a visit.” The city council expressed its disapproval of Mayor Hanuščak’s meeting with the Russian ambassador on August 12 declaring it was not conducted on behalf of the municipality In a resolution passed by a majority of members it stated: “The city council expresses concern about this meeting in light of the current international situation and the continuing military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine which is contrary to international law and basic principles of peace.” The council deemed the meeting “inappropriate and insensitive” and demanded that the mayor consider the potential negative impact on the city’s reputation “The ambassador of the Russian Federation is not welcome in Bardejov until the end of the war in Ukraine.” Deputy Mayor Eva Hudáková indicated that a written statement from the mayor regarding the visit would be issued although it had not yet been published at the time of reporting The town’s website describes Bratchikov’s visit as part of Bardejov’s commitment to dialogue and hospitality highlighting that the town “is open to dialogue and questions of cooperation” and values its traditions and hospitality “The Zone of Interest” kept the camera away from the Nazi atrocities We watched a “normal” German family literally living next door to a concentration camp Only the nauseating sounds of the death camp crept into the Oscar-winning film “Bardejov” puts a human face on the Holocaust This lesser-known story of heroism offers a complex portrait of fear and resourcefulness “Bardejov” is a worthy addition to the Holocaust film genre and it’s timing couldn’t be better given the shocking rise in antisemitism across the globe a Jewish leader struggling to protect his people from the Nazi’s expanding empire and the Slovakian town of Bardejov is increasingly under Hitler’s control You won’t find any Nazis goose-stepping across the streets. The local Hlinka Guards prove more than eager to do the Third Reich’s bidding Rafuel’s role as both a spiritual leader and local businessman has kept him and his friends safe up until now forcing Rafuel to find a way to save his fellow Jews When the call goes out to recruit hundreds of local Jewish girls to “work” in a German shoe factory Rafuel concocts a wild scheme to thwart that plan .@RobertJohnDavi plays a strong, defiant Jewish leader in the new Holocaust drama "Bardejov," which tells the compelling story of how a small Jewish community in a Slovakian town cunningly worked to save themselves in the early days of World War II. https://t.co/z7T7P4rxCr — Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 15, 2024 Abeckaser recreates the look and feel of ’40s-era Europe despite a modest budget and the screenplay underscores the challenges Bardejov’s Jewish population faced The Nazi plan encroached on core liberties piece by piece making tiny promises with crushing expiration dates Appeasement seems the only possible answer … until it isn’t suggesting how the most reasonable people hoped to negotiate their way out of the nightmare so memorable in both supporting and leading roles brings both his steely presence and knack for serving the needs of each scene His Rafuel can be kind and considerate one moment The actor ensures it all flows from a place of authenticity “Bardejov” drags a bit in the middle but once the desperate plan snaps into action it takes on a new Abeckaser’s film isn’t interested in clumsy but it’s impossible to watch the horrors play out without remembering Oct co-produced the film and helps frame the story We shouldn’t need that kind of bookending in 2024 but sadly the facts on the ground suggest otherwise It’s a shame so few people know about this chapter in World War II history thanks to the gritty “Bardejov,” some will at last HiT or Miss: “Bardejov” reminds us there are still powerful stories tied to the Holocaust that need to be told on screen.  Getting our yearly reminder of nazi movies… given the general apathy toward the Holocaust and the surging Jew hatred coming from all sides and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. You precisely explained why I love this site as well. Christ... Tom MacDonald's perspective on the "woke" culture is refresh... " yes, there is an instance in the source material with a fe... Wow. This is a desperate article. First, for a group of char... I actually enjoyed "Black Widow" due a lot to David Harbour... Rabbi Shmuel Lynn has come back to the screen Photos: Avi Gass Nestled in Slovakia’s mountains and dotted with picturesque medieval buildings the town of Bardejov looks like something out of a fairy tale frequented by chassidic rebbes and their entourages when the Nazis decided to round up the Jews of Bardejov for deportation the local Slovaks — the Hlinka Guard — were available to do the job for them In what was the first organized transport to Auschwitz the Slovaks were ordered to round up 300 Jewish girls to go work in a “shoe factory.” Raphael Lowey a winemaker and the lay leader of the community learned through his connections — fleeing Polish Jews and escapees from Treblinka who made their way to Bardejov — that the shoe factory jobs were nothing more than a ruse As some of the local Jews had access to gunpowder which would create mass chaos as well as a diversion so that the girls a great-grandson of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz (most of the town were Sanzer chassidim) ruled that it was forbidden (it was a complex sh’eilah amid so many other complex queries that arose in the context of the war) Their next plan was risky but workable: Before the transport would take the girls away The Jewish leaders procured serum from the larger city of Kosice and smuggled it to the girls who were being held in the local girls’ school Everyone feared the symptoms might not appear in time — the local leaders even bribed a doctor to declare an epidemic if no symptoms developed rapidly But the girls became violently ill while waiting to board their transports and the girls were returned to the town on Erev Pesach gaining a temporary reprieve on their lives This gripping story of the staged epidemic of 1942 was largely unknown — until now director of the kiruv organization Olami Manhattan and a former screenwriter for film and television written by Rabbi Lynn and released last month is a full-length feature film based on the heroic story of that little Slovakian town The film premiered recently in Los Angeles and has been picked up by the major domestic and international distributors Child survivor Emil Fish vowed to preserve the memory of his hometown Rabbi Lynn stumbled onto the hidden story of Bardejov almost by accident he served for 12 years as the executive director of Meor an outreach initiative at the University of Pennsylvania (he still teaches there) through which he pioneered trips to Israel and Poland that have become nationally recognized entities — and that led him to find out about the story of Bardejov It was in 2017 that Tzvi Sperber of JRoots which partners with Rabbi Lynn in heritage tours of Europe approached a Holocaust survivor and philanthropist named Emil Fish to help with funding the projects stating that he only supported trips that would aid in the preservation of his home town of Bardejov from where he and his family were deported when he was nine years old Rabbi Lynn and his group took Fish up on his proposal But there was some extra time between Krakow and Budapest They got off the bus and were greeted by a man named Pavel and an accordion player serenading them with tunes from Fiddler on the Roof and he had retained Pavel to help preserve the local Jewish sites — although tourists were rare Pavel related to them the incredible story of the Jews of Bardejov (You can take the Jew out of the scriptwriting world but you can’t take the scriptwriting out of the former scriptwriter-turned-kiruv-professional.) The typhoid epidemic ruse especially resonated with him two years later He used his time in lockdown to write a screenplay about this forgotten chapter of history and hesitantly sent it to an old screenwriter friend for a critique in case I’d have to tell you I hated it,” his friend told him Emil Fish was enthusiastic about making it into a film He suggested bringing producer Charles Roven (the producer of the Oscar award-winning film Oppenheimer) on board as well Charles Roven had been one of the first people Rabbi Lynn had worked for in his pre-Torah life when he first came to L.A The film was launched with the help of Israeli director and actor Danny Abeckaser It begins with footage of Emil Fish himself taking his family back to Bardejov and vowing that he will do everything in his power to preserve the memory of the Jews of Bardejov as things begin to turn bad for the Jews: They are told to register for work and relinquish their businesses to their non-Jewish neighbors a group of boys is rounded up for a work detail and then the order comes to send 300 girls to Auschwitz The Nazi-controlled Slovaks employ subterfuge claiming that they will be working in a shoe factory Emil Fish’s wish to immortalize his hometown enjoyed international recognition and it all came together because a screenwriter rabbi took one of his kiruv groups on a trip through Slovakia Rabbi Lynn traded an offer to write for a major television show for a chance to study in Jerusalem and I was surrounded by people who drank Torah” It would be easy to miss the entrance to Olami Manhattan tucked behind a nondescript door among small businesses and restaurants on West 13th Street in Manhattan the view is equally surprising: It looks more like a restaurant than a kiruv center tables and chairs extending back into the room and appropriately hip décor — think exposed brick walls and ceiling pipes A couple of young frum-looking women float around setting up for an evening event The tall barista at the cappuccino machine with the black sneakers and yarmulke turns out to be Rabbi Lynn himself brewing a gourmet capsule of coffee and screenwriting are but two of Rabbi Lynn’s many talents He’s the kind of guy who began life with the potential to excel in many fields: sports he chose a path of Torah and now helps other Jews find that path as well We head down a narrow set of stairs to Rabbi Lynn’s office to speak a conversation that will span most of the afternoon because he has so many interesting stories that he enjoys sharing with a conference room lined with seforim and staff members working on laptops Rabbi Lynn actually lives with his family in Bala Cynwyd having landed in Philadelphia with a mission to connect with and teach students at local colleges such as Temple particularly graduates from the Wharton School of Business and he found himself traveling frequently to the city to maintain those relationships it simply made sense to establish a base in New York Now he boards an Amtrak and spends three days a week in Manhattan Today his focus is on post-college young professionals which he says is the sweet spot for interesting young people about Judaism perhaps because of social media and campus politics don’t yet have the attention span and focus for a higher message,” he says “They’re oriented toward getting a degree and finding a job when they’re more independent and mature and have launched their careers That’s when they really start to ask themselves what kind of life they want to lead.” Rabbi Lynn relates easily to his Olami recruits because he shares their experience of growing up nonobservant Rabbi Lynn was born on the Upper West Side of Manhattan but his parents moved shortly afterwards to Palm Beach Palm Beach was still an overtly racist place no Jews.” One of only a handful of Jewish kids in his class at school Rabbi Lynn’s ethnicity barred him from attending many a birthday party at WASP-only country clubs and he found absolutely nothing around him to project a positive view of Judaism “My whole class was there sitting in the front row gaping at me as if they were witnessing some primitive ritual for the first time and he turned himself into a quintessential all-American kid attending a private high school whose name Music was a big part of his life back then He trained as a classical pianist but became proficient at other instruments as well music was in his DNA: His great-grandfather was a jazz musician who changed his name from Moshe Aharon Levine to Al Lynn (when he played in Cuba and his music was recorded and can still be heard) the young Shmuel (then Adam) Lynn was an athletic kid who loved to swim which he played seriously enough to compete in tournaments he was a bright young man with boundless potential happily partaking from the vast smorgasbord offered by upper-class American life his parents pushed for the University of Pennsylvania and wanted the most Southern of universities: Duke He even joined a Southern fraternity at Duke where — in the kind of joke people could get away with in the 1980s — his frat “brothers” strung lights in the shape of a swastika over his bed (he laughed it off with everyone else) but his parents became nervous that maybe their son had become so mainstream he risked marrying out of the faith The clincher came when they met Rabbi Meir Abramowitz the founder of the Jewish Learning Initiative in Florida “Are you going to wipe out 3,500 years of Leviim?” he challenged them Rabbi Abramowitz told the Lynn parents that their only chance of salvaging their son’s Jewish identity would be to send him on a trip to Israel They ultimately coerced him into just attending the orientation meeting “Rabbi Abramowitz was smart,” Rabbi Lynn recounts “I found myself in a stunning house on the water This was an unexpectedly pleasant revelation “I thought the answer to the Jewish question was to be Israeli,” he says “American Judaism held no interest for me.” since he was slated to play a tennis tournament in Germany he flew to Paris and took a train to Hamburg He visited a longtime German friend and tennis partner who he knew from the tennis circuit in Florida yet was spooked by pictures on the walls of his friend’s mother’s relatives in Nazi regalia something possessed him to want to make Kiddush He took out the tie-dyed tallis and matching yarmulke he’d bought on Ben Yehuda Street and since he didn’t know the words to Kiddush Adam/Shmuel became enraptured by the top-flight literature and creative writing faculty at Duke “My identity had started to change,” he says “I was transforming from the athletic-preppy type to an artsy which was pretty fringe in North Carolina.” worried this was no career for a Jewish boy They convinced an uncle who worked at the now-defunct financial giant Bear Stearns to give him a summer internship in New York the boredom assuaged only by the fun of playing jazz in clubs late into the night He was supposed to make cold calls during the day which was so mind-numbing he began amusing himself by adopting different accents for each call His boss found it much less amusing — the calls had been recorded and he was called on the carpet and fired he fortuitously ran into a friend who suggested he take some classes at the film school at NYU with him He was so taken with those classes that when he returned to Duke he convinced the school to offer film classes and went back to NYU in the summer for further classes he and a friend thought they’d first celebrate by doing some world touring reading one of those now-obsolete guidebooks on how to discover Israel “Israelis are the kind of people you can argue with vociferously and then become your best friend.” His middle-aged female seatmate turned out to be one such Israeli who arrived sweating and irritated after almost missing the flight and it turned out she and her family were in the film business When she realized he’d made no plans for lodging “I got a lot of offers to stay in Israel and work in film,” he says he effortlessly fell in with a successful crowd sharing a house with four actors who are today household names for their starring roles in famous television shows and films he had no particular message he wanted to get out to the world he found some good gigs and was well on the road to success The only problem was a nagging sense of being existentially adrift “I saw that the answers were not in career success,” he says “Nobody around me had a family or was even in a good relationship Los Angeles at that time went through earthquakes He even began to feel disillusioned by the work He had finally gotten a project that seemed meaningful a Holocaust story of a 13-year-old boy running from the Nazis after Kristallnacht But then he received a devastating call from the producer we’re going to cancel it,” he was told casually the plot has to go in a completely different direction — maybe throw in some romance ….” This is about a 13-year-old boy running from the Nazis and he’d decided to fly home for the holiday he learned to his chagrin that the holiday was two days instead of one Yet the flight he ended up on lost an engine and nearly crashed shaken up by his career frustrations and the idea that he had traveled on a plane that came very close to crashing he’d arranged to meet some friends for breakfast at a popular spot he suddenly saw the door of the Jewish Learning Exchange “I walked in carrying my car keys,” he says “I saw this religious-looking rabbi and thought A couple of guys approached him who turned out to be writers for a popular family comedy show and — with some trepidation — he accepted the invitation smart wives (“wearing somebody else’s hair,” he marveled) These new friends brought him to meet Rabbi Avrohom Czapnik observing Rav Czapnik next to his Holocaust-survivor father “It opened the eye of the needle for me,” he says His transformation didn’t happen overnight while at a restaurant with some buddies prior to attending the premier of a friend’s film head of the Mercaz HaTorah Community Kollel The rabbi was walking with a few other fellows on their way to a shalom zachar Rabbi Lynn never did make it to the premier He joined the group and attended his first shalom zachar seeing for the first time in his life grown men sitting and singing together “perok yas anach — redeem Your people” moved him deeply (He eventually became close to Rav Gradon and still considers him to be his rebbi and a surrogate zeide to his children.) Shortly before he was scheduled to leave for Israel Rabbi Lynn received a sudden offer to write for a major television show “Rabbi Gradon held my hand and simply cried,” he recounts With Rabbi Gradon’s encouragement and support sitting in the lounge waiting for her to join me downstairs I saw that show come on the TV in the lounge Rabbi Lynn went to Machon Shlomo in Jerusalem to learn With the encouragement of the rosh yeshivah during which he was introduced to Ruthi Cowland whose British family had become more observant through Rav Noach Weinberg and Aish HaTorah (Ruthi’s brother Ruthi was finishing a degree in Oriental studies at Cambridge and despite her mother’s reservations about her daughter marrying an American and the couple moved to England so that Ruthi could finish her degree The Lynns moved to London at the same time as did noted author and speaker Rabbi Dr and they became neighbors and good friends Rabbi Lynn was prevailed upon to join a kollel and I was surrounded by people who drank Torah.” “Shmuel Lynn became a real talmid chacham — his kiruv capacity comes from a place of deep knowledge,” Rabbi Tatz comments “He does not simply teach a little something to people who know nothing.” Rabbi Lynn’s morning chavrusa still remains a sacrosanct part of his day where he learned in Rav Asher Arieli’s shiur in the Mir for five years as well as attending the shiurim of Rav Moshe Shapira ztz”l He earned semichah with Rav Yosef Yitzchak Lerner whose kollel prepares English-speaking students for rabbinic ordination he also received semichah from Rav Moshe Halberstam ztz”l (describing the exam with Rav Halberstam as “the scariest moment of my life”) they set their sights on working in outreach in the US debating between the major East Coast college towns — Boston When they presented their dilemma to Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky Rav Kamenetsky whispered something into his ear but the upshot was that he and Ruthi moved to Bala Cynwyd raising a large family and partnering in the mission of bringing unaffiliated Jews closer to Torah through Meor and now Olami became a licensed marriage and family therapist Rabbi Lynn was  fortunate to have been joined in his religious observance by his two brothers “One of my brothers was embarrassed to tell me he was becoming religious while at the same time I was embarrassed to tell him the same thing,” he remembers Today his brother Dovid is a sought-after therapist for the English-speaking community in Jerusalem and Yosef is the mashgiach ruchani at Machon Yaakov “Reb Shmuel is the father of kiruv on campuses across the US,” says Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld “He came to the University of Pennsylvania and showed that students could be inspired and change when Torah was presented with authenticity “One of his greatest skills is his ability to connect and inspire all types of people and help them achieve greatness in their own unique ways,” he adds “They express Torah in many beautiful hues is now a rabbi and the educational director of the Hebrew Academy in Miami is a prominent financial investor and philanthropist [responsible for the publication of Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky’s Ben Torah for Life] Zack Rosen was an All-Ivy League basketball player who became a star in the Israeli professional leagues and is now a rabbi teaching Gemara in Jerusalem.” Rabbi Gershenfeld notes that while his former talmid’s background was in film he realizes the real drama is in human relationships and growth “He knows how to reach people through storytelling “I tell stories because they have the power to take a kernel of truth and package it in a way that people are open to it Their intellectual guard is not up in the same way so they can simply experience truth in a more palatable and inspiring way — to feel it It opens people up to seeing themselves as the protagonists in their own narratives and becoming the heroes of their own stories.” as the local Slovak guards give the Jews orders for the roundup just two months after the faked epidemic that granted a reprieve the entire community was shipped off to Auschwitz getting back into the film industry with a new agenda had its own surprises Baredjov was shot in Israel and Slovakia and has been picked up by distributors such as Apple and other major platforms Rabbi Lynn’s script did suffer some Hollywood-style modifications at the hands of his producers but it’s still probably one of the cleanest films to come out of the industry two months after the ‘epidemic,’ most of the Jews were shipped to Auschwitz Raphael Lowey met a terrible fate at the hands of the Nazis for his role in the deception There are different versions about what they did to him He seems philosophical about the film’s happier ending; he’s familiar with the tropes of the screenwriting world and the pressure to show a triumphant ending to an inspiring act of bravery He says he found the dynamics between the Jews of Bardejov and their non-Jewish neighbors particularly interesting It was the type of town where they had lived side by side for generations and relations had been more or less amicable Suddenly the peasants and townspeople found themselves permitted — even encouraged — to take over their former employers’ businesses it became clear they were being asked to do the Germans’ bidding to actually help exterminate the Jews Rabbi Lynn sees the potential of film when it comes to raising Jewish consciousness and bearing witness in an era of Holocaust-deniers “Twenty-five percent of American youth think the Holocaust was a myth,” he says “I want Jewish young people to see that they come from something that they have an illustrious past worth sacrificing for.” The film is currently reaching a wide audience through on-demand video platforms and will later be released to streaming services dusting off the old talents that had been on hold during the years he was forging a new life path and bringing thousands of young people along with him One of those scripts features a young refusenik woman named Marina Furman who became an activist and survived numerous KGB imprisonments He actually met her years after those events my in-laws were in touch with her family in the 1980s when they were refuseniks living in the USSR,” he says “They risked their lives to leave the country and join the Jewish community even though they knew nothing about Judaism beyond an idea that they weren’t allowed to eat pork on Yom Kippur.” Another script is about a Holocaust survivor’s reflections and memories as he approaches the end of his life This survivor is actually helping to guide the production of the film while others work on the script with reconciling with the past,” Rabbi Lynn says noting how important it is for closure and healing Rabbi Lynn is an example to the many young professionals he mentors that being Orthodox doesn’t mean you have to give up your creative talents Too many of them think that Orthodox life means retreating into a modern shtetl he is able to show them how to channel creativity to educate and inspire Rabbi Lynn says it was Rabbi Yaakov Rosenberg ztz”l — founder of Machon Shlomo who passed away in 1999 — who passed on his secrets of successful outreach “You never know whose neshamah is in front of you and try to find the right Torah for what that neshamah needs.” Rabbi Shmuel Lynn could have chosen many roles and made a success of any of them: musician engaging his intelligence and people skills to reach out to other Jews with the same inchoate hunger for meaning “The show must go on!” they express their commitment and belief in the importance of their art But Rabbi Lynn knows that when the “show” is Torah Judaism the commitment has consequences well beyond winning a golden statuette or multimillion-dollar contract Mishpacha ContributorsUnder FireAfter a year and a half of fighting Yisrael YoskowitzNo Regrets  “Anti-Semitism hasn’t disappeared Today it hides under the guise of ‘criticism of Israel,’ but it’s the same old poison” Yitzchok LandaLimited LiabilityShe can’t undo the insurance mess but Shuli Berger makes sure the system works for you Tzivia MethStill in the Story   Rabbi Marcus Lehmann's pen instilled Jewish confidence in his generation and beyond  Mishpacha StaffHalf the Battle For Rav Meir Mazuz every struggle was about the sanctity of the Jewish nation Binyamin RoseReady, Willing, and Able   Israel's US ambassador Yechiel Leiter relives his knock on history's door  2024Bardejov - Official TrailerYoung Hilnka Guards disrupt a peaceful morning in Bardejov plastering posters demanding that every Jew in town registers for work a rabbi and wine maker meets with the Jewish council to make a plan of action against the Guard’s orders After the town’s girls are able to sneak in and get boys out another order is issued: all girls in the town must present themselves for work in a shoe factory in the East After Lowy discovers there is no shoe factory and the girls will be taken to Auschwitz they plan to administer Typhus shots on the girls to force quarantine in the town and attempt to save the girls When Emil Fish talked to students at Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr on Holocaust Remembrance Day and he looks for opportunities to share his story with groups around the Delaware Valley He told the Barrack Academy students they would be the last generation to hear from the Holocaust survivors in person and it would be up to them to tell others about that horrific event in the future knowing the right people and the goodness of strangers” helped his family survive the Holocaust Fish lived with his Hasidic family in Bardejov a small town in eastern Slovakia where a third of the population was Jewish the Nazis ordered Jews in Bardejov rounded up to be sent to Auschwitz his family was among those allowed to stay because the Nazis deemed his father’s business Some 90 percent of the town’s Jews were sent to Auschwitz on the “first official transport,” and most did not return the Nazis ordered all the Jews to one area “so it would be easier to arrest us and finish us forever,” Fish explained His family moved to a town in the western part of the country His sister refused to wear a yellow armband the Nazis required for Jews a Gestapo officer stopped her and accused her of being a Jew A railroad guard who knew her convinced him she was a Gentile They found refuge at a farm and hid in a barn attic They stayed there for a few months until it became too dangerous A guide took them to another farmhouse in a small village But the farmer who “never had any money before” went to a tavern and bragged that he had money from hiding Jews They had to leave again and hired another guide to take them to the nearest train station through a forest A forest ranger they encountered shot at their guide as he ran away but Fish’s father gave the ranger money and his mother’s fur coat The children acted like peasants as instructed by their parents and the soldiers ignored them The owner notified the Gestapo leading to their arrest “We were sure they were going to shoot us and dump us in the river,” he said The Germans then separated his father from the rest of the family and sent him to Buchenwald “That was the scariest moment of my life,” said Fish and Fish were put into a cattle car “packed like sardines” and headed to Auschwitz no sanitation facilities on the train,” he said The tracks going to Auschwitz had been bombed and the train was diverted to Bergen-Belsen There were German shepherd dogs and floodlights There were piles of thousands of corpses stacked in front of his barracks at the camp.” Fish saw people die daily of starvation and diseases Emil Fish with Holocaust Education and Reflection Club officers (from left) Talia Willner and wait for officers to make sure nobody escaped,” he said “Many times people died standing…Surviving was a daily challenge.” some of the desperate and hungry died from overeating or eating the wrong food afterward Fish’s family made their way back to Bardejov Only 10 percent of Slovakian Jews survived the Holocaust His parents insisted he join them in Canada and the family then settled in Los Angeles in 1955 Fish now divides his time between Los Angeles and Lower Merion “I never had any intentions of ever visiting Bardejov but my children– I married and had three kids—insisted on going on a heritage tour.” So in 2005 two of his three kids went with him and his late wife to his hometown “The Jewish cemetery was overgrown with weeds.” The synagogue was a hardware store and the Jewish school had become a school of commerce “There were no Jews living there any longer and no evidence of our rich and vibrant past,” he said He used his own money and started a foundation to restore the cemetery and build a memorial for the 3,381 Jews from the town who were killed in the Holocaust “to make sure they remember and to make sure this never Fish said he did not lose his faith because “There is no Holocaust survivor that doesn’t think about the Holocaust every day because it affects you so much,” he said Fish studied engineering at the University of Southern California and was hired by Bechtel Corp He went on to become a land developer and a retirement home businessman he gave up most of his business to focus on projects including writing and lecturing about the Holocaust He also founded the Fish School of Holocaust Studies at Yeshiva University former President Barack Obama appointed Fish to the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad The parents of two Barrack Academy students whose relatives were from Bardejov came to hear Fish’s lecture and speak with him He remembered their relatives and greeted them warmly Philadelphia resident Gregg Kanter said his father-in-law “It’s the next level of Jewish geography,” joked Deena Kobell Follow us on social media: Twitter: @DV_Journal or Facebook.com/DelawareValleyJournal For Comments, Questions, Or Complaints aboutour articles please contact us. The policeman, the mailman, the Aryanizer and the villager helped people from Bardejov escape deportations. Rescued: Abraham and Ezechiel Grussgott, Rodolfo Korall, Alex, Chaim and Yizchok Folkman Adam Bomba, a police officer from Bardejov, used his familiarity of the town to help many local Jews to escape and move between several hideouts, including his own house. As an avid hunter, he was also very familiar with the local woods and, together with his 17-year-old son, he guided Jews from Bardejov to safety in nearby villages. Bomba helped to protect, hide and feed the Schöndorf and Korn families. When the situation became too dangerous to remain in Bardejov, he moved them to a nearby village of Zlaté. There, they were hiding with the help of Mr. Bomba’s sibling for another two months. The families eventually fled to the western part of Slovakia and saved themselves. Bomba also helped Abraham Grussgott to obtain fake identity documents under the name Juraj Šima and later he escorted him to a cellar at Bardejov town square. The cellar previously belonged to Shlomo Neuman but got into the hands of Štefan Tarcala. Grussgott remained hidden in the cellar for the rest of the war and survived. He later wrote that Bomba knew about every single Jew in town and helped Jewish refugees from abroad after 1940. Bomba knew about all the Jews hiding in shelters. Furthermore, he made sure that the Jews’ valuables would remain safely concealed until the liberation. Witnesses report that on several occasions Bomba intervened to stop Hlinka Guards from beating Jews, and that he helped to save Jews in a transport wagon at train station by opening the wagon and allowing them to escape. Rescued: Abraham and Ezechiel Grussgott, Moshe Neumann Štefan Tarcala helped several Jews who were hiding in the cellar at Moshe Neumann’s house and store in Bardejov town square, by providing them with food, supplies and protecting them until the end of the war. Tarcala was a so-called ”aryanizer”, who had taken over the property of Moshe Neumann. Through an exemption, Neumann had escaped the early deportations, but when the Germans came to round up all the remaining Jews in 1944, Tarcala hid the Neumanns in his cellar. Several other Jews were also hiding in the labyrinthine Neumann-Tarcala cellar, including Abraham Grussgott, Leibish Friedman, Abraham Kurz, Salamon Leib Unger and Etta Abramowitz. The Jews stayed put during the days and in the evenings Tarcala opened the cellar to let them out to breathe some fresh air, to void themselves, etc. When the Soviet Army liberated Bardejov on 20 January 1945, these seven Jews could finally freely leave the cellar. Rescued: Abraham and Ezechiel Grussgott, Tibor Welles and his mother, Otto Wahrman As noted in the official chronicle of the village Hrabské in the Bardejov district near the Polish border, Vasiľ Kyjovský saved at least three Bardejov Jews, including Abraham Grussgott, by hiding them in his house in Hrabské. Grussgott also reports that Dr. Tibor Welles, his mother and Otto Wahrman were hidden there from September 1944. Grussgott also reports that Dr. Weiss and her husband and children were able to hide in Hrabské as well—but it is not clear if they hid in Mr. Kyjovský’s house. In November that year, Kyjovský was denounced by local villagers and, along with Grussgott, Welles and Wahrman, he was detained by the Gestapo. The three Jews escaped from Prešov imprisonment, and Grussgott and Wahrman survived until the end of the war. which was converted into a museum at the close of World War II who have not yet been named by authorities they are believed to have stolen items including buttons and pieces of glass a Swedish man was convicted of plotting to steal the infamous “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work sets you free”) sign from the gate of the camp More than 1 million people, mostly Jews, as well as gay people and gypsies, were killed at Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945. In 1947, the site was converted to a museum and saw more than 1.2 million visitors in 2012 [BBC] 2017Get email notification for articles from Ofer Aderet FollowSep 20 Slovakia — The landscape en route to this town in northeastern Slovakia But these views are merely preparation for the scene awaiting visitors to the town’s old synagogue The large prayer hall is one of the loveliest to be found in any Jewish house of worship in Europe that survived the Holocaust beautifully decorated ceiling and walls adorned with a variety of colors and shapes You can gaze at all of this in wonder from the elegant women’s balcony UNESCO World Heritage Sites are protected places that have an outstanding cultural and natural value Various international bodies united during the Word Heritage Convention of 1972 in order to protect these places for future generations to enjoy them as they are today Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) ensures that World Heritage Sites are protected all over the world The town of Banská Štiavnica is the oldest mining town in Slovakia and was established in the 13th century This beautiful historical town is located in the mountains of Štiavnické Vrchy and represents mineral wealth and prosperity which is abundant in the surrounding landscapes The town center is surrounded by remains of the original mining town and metallurgical activities of the past The ministry of environment of the Slovak republic and ministry of culture are responsible for the protection of the property within the historic town of Banská Štiavnica This site is protected by UNESCO for its outstanding universal value Bardejov town is located in north-eastern Slovakia near river Topla and the Polish border. Bardejov was able to develop into an important medieval town due to its proximity to a major trade route that extends from the Carpathian Mountains, from Hungary to Poland The town’s urban plan contains a regular division of streets which are spacious around the market squares This town characteristic is important because it is an indication or 13th Century European civilization Bardejov town features small Jewish quarters and 18th Century synagogue which is evident of a multi-cultural society The Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst are located at the north-eastern border of Hungary and the south-eastern border of Slovakia They consist of 712 caves concentrated in a relatively small area The currently identified group of caves make up a temperate-zone karstic system due to their rare combination which displays glacial and tropical climatic effects the caves are well persevered and protected with at least 99% in original natural condition The caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst attract about 300,000 visitors annually The integrity of the caves is especially sensitive to the environmental changes such as soil erosion Spišský Hrad is a historical town that ensembles the largest number of 13th and 14th century political military and religious buildings in the whole of eastern Europe The buildings are amazingly intact and display various architectural styles such as Romanesque and Gothic styles This historic site includes the town-center of Levoča which very much maintains the integrity of the original buildings Famous buildings include the 14th-century church of St James and collection of polychrome works including an 18.6-meter-high altarpiece Other world heritage sites in Slovakia include Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians Vlkolínec and the Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathian Mountains the protection and management of the sites is adequate management plan needs to be published for the various historical cultural and natural sites in order to strengthen and improve protection photos and original descriptions © 2025 worldatlas.com There used to be three pride parades in Slovakia - one for each major part of the country. After Bratislava, Košice and Banská Bystrica Bardejov will now have its first parade “We’re the first pride parade that flies three flags: the rainbow flag for queer pride, Bardejov flag for the city, and a Slovak one for the country,” Adam Dzamba, 43, told The Slovak Spectator. Along with Erika Frická and Ľubor Balovič, Dzamba is one of the three parents and organising forces behind theBardejov pride parade Dzamba explains that people should not be afraid to fly the Slovak flag it makes us closer,” says the parent Reclaiming the flag from extremist demonstrations to use in queer parades is a sign of resistance When participants show up and see all the queer and non-queer people The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.skSubscribe now for full access Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail) PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk Being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List is reason enough for me to take an interest in a place. That’s how I discovered Bardejov and decided to visit this town during my time in the area. If you are in the northern part of Slovakia, you should definitely add it to your must-visit list. I am sure it has just as much charm off-season but the event we attended was very well-organized and it was very popular with both locals and visitors from the surrounding areas Bardejov is considered one of the oldest Slovak towns Many also regard it as the most Gothic city in all of Slovakia Bardejov is sometimes translated into Polish as Bardejów but you can also come across the version Bardów Bardejov is 226 kilometers away from Kielce and 18 kilometers away from the Polish border The best way to explore the city is on foot You can leave your car inside the city walls (which is more expensive) or outside the walls Remember about the paid parking zone – you can buy tickets at designated points (e.g. the Tourist Information at the Market Square and others) Bardejov has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List The UNESCO Committee appreciated the city for being an excellent example of medieval urban development from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries Attention was also drawn to the fact that the city’s fortifications Another important element is the high level of authenticity of the urban complex the urban layout remained mostly unchanged The entry on the list was preceded by the awarding of a gold medal by the ICOMOS Foundation in 1986 The first mentions of the town date back to 1241 and it likely had fortifications by the 14th century settlement in this region existed much earlier The beginning of the town was marked by a Cistercian monastery founded here by Polish monks Documents from the 13th century suggest that the Cistercians who came to what is now Bardejov originated from Koprzywnica settlers from Silesia arrived in these regions The commercial privileges granted to the town caused it to develop rapidly The defensive walls of Bardejov began to be erected in the mid-14th century during the reign of King Louis the town obtained the right to wield the sword and had its own executioner The peak of the town’s development came at the beginning of the 17th century the following 18th century was full of epidemics Bardejov was connected to Prešov by a railway line and many believe that this helped preserve many of its historical monuments the town of Bardejov became a symbol of the national revival of Slovakia the town was the venue for the Bardejov Congress an important meeting of national activists who sought autonomy for Slovakia Many people say that Bardejov has the most beautiful market square in Slovakia and if you take away the stalls from my photo It is in the Bardejov market square that the executioner’s monument is located along with an ax and a stump to perform “executioner’s” work Its construction began in the 15th century on the site of a previously located monastery and its construction was completed in 1518 it is worth paying attention to the wing altars and each of them hides a lot of interesting details The side altar of the Nativity of the Lord is considered the most interesting The church has the title of minor basilica The church has many interesting historic altars The church is open to visitors from Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m but there is also an additional fee for taking photos – 2 Euro a ticket for them costs 2 Euro and for students 4 Euro The ticket to the basilica also includes entry to the bell tower Giles is not only an extraordinary building with an interesting history and priceless objects but also an observation tower from which there is a spectacular panorama of the city It is from here that you will have a clear view of the Bardejov market square and the entire surrounding area It is almost impossible for two people to pass each other on the stairs it is better to use the alcoves on the route up the stone staircase turns into a larger staircase Remember that the tower still serves its original function and then the entire structure gently trembles The Town Hall is located in the very center of the Market Square It is a Gothic-Renaissance building that today houses a museum It is probably the first secular Renaissance building in Slovakia and in the meantime the builders also changed The last major modification took place after a fire in 1902 when the facility was adapted for the needs of a museum In many places you will encounter city walls that have protected the city against unexpected guests for years towers and walls themselves are waiting for you City fortifications began to be built in 1352 during the times of King Louis of Hungary Bardejov’s city walls were made of stone and the entire fortifications had a shape similar to an oval the city was surrounded by 23 towers and double walls with a moat The towers have been preserved to this day they have been preserved entirely on the eastern side and most of them on the north and south The towers were under the care of local guilds and contained weapons supplies in case of an enemy attack There is a Jewish district near the Market Square The history of the Jewish community in the city dates back to the first half of the thirteenth century In the first photo you will see the synagogue of the Bilkur Chocim association which many consider to be the best preserved in all of Slovakia It is located approximately 2 kilometers from the center at ul but I managed to find out that there are matzevot there dating back to the 17th century most of which were restored during the renovation of the cemetery in 2008 a Holocaust monument with the names of over 3,000 victims was unveiled in 2014 Near the Market Square you will find a place dedicated to the work of John Lennon and The Beatles A tribute to them was created at the back of the house of one of the fans – Pavel Zajac He also has a rich collection dedicated to the band in his basement There are also other bands on the wall from the glory days of The Beatles but also from later ones that used and were inspired by their work This street is one of the shortest in the city the anniversary of John Lennon’s death fans of the band from all over the world come to Bardejov There is also a concert in memory of the musician In Bardejov you will find a lot of interesting places offering cuisine from all over the world We decided on a place located near the Market Square Traditional decor and the menu includes regional cuisine Bardejov is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List but there are also other sites on this list in the area It is included on the list together with other wooden Carpathian churches The one in Hervartov probably dates back to the 15th century and is the oldest wooden church in Slovakia pay attention to the characteristic cellars that you will find in this region There are also several castles right next to Bardejov but they give an idea of the former building and the views from underneath are worth the hike to the top lies the Bardejov spa town (Bardejovské kúpele) There you will find an extraordinary Museum of Folk Architecture and healing waters Bardejov is a small town that can charm you It made a huge impression on me and I know that when I’m in the area but also the surrounding area seems very interesting castle ruins and mountains are just some of the reasons why Bardejov should be included in your travel plans My name is Jakub Juszyński and I create this place Nie zabraknie tu lokalnych smaków i ciekawostek 2013-2023 © tymrazem.pl | made with ♥ by fajne studio kreatywne Hungary owns property in several Slovak towns A historical building in Bardejov, north-eastern Slovakia, has been bought by a Hungarian firm as groups linked to people close to Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party continue to purchase properties across the country According to the investigative centre of Ján Kuciak Manevi plays an important role when buying foreign real estate on behalf of Hungary and its Slovak daughter firm has already purchased a well-known building close to St Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice a castle and mansion in the village of Veľký Kamenec two Burghers' houses in Levoča and Kežmarok Manevi SK is represented by Tibor Rigó from Dunajská Streda. He previously told the Korzár daily that the purchased properties would be used for tourism with the exception of the building in Košice which would be used commercially Former foreign minister Ivan Korčok previously criticised Hungary for buying property and keeping silent about it pointing out that the purpose of the purchases was unclear EASTER is quite a popular and well-observed holiday in Slovakia In the eastern-Slovak city of Prešov there is a thriving tradition of re-enactment with the Last Supper performed on April 1 in front of the Con-cathedral of St Nicolaus at 17:00 The city hall informed the SITA newswire that 30 volunteers participated in the performances of the last days of Jesus Christ around 4,000 people came to watch the authentic re-telling of the events surrounding the Easter period an Easter Town will appear: in Nový Smokovec competitions and regional gastronomy will be built striving also to make a new record in the number of Easter eggs hung on the Tatra Easter tree entertainers and events for children will attract locals and tourists to this mountain spa site situated about five minutes’ walk from the Starý Smokovec railway station has the biggest hand-decorated Easter egg in all of Slovakia – it has a diameter of 411 centimetres and is 213 centimetres tall construction glue and façade plaster it was decorated by 20 children from two elite classes of the Komenský Elementary School in Bardejov The town received a certificate for the record egg a total of 420 children came to the central Radničné (Town-hall) Square bringing with them traditionally decorated eggs and hanged them on nearby trees close to the giant egg – which is placed in a big wicker nest to be lighted at night The Bardejov Easter decorations can be seen until April 13 People who prefer more secular celebrations and like to do something useful to the benefit of those helpless can attend the Easter Dog Walking event in Zvolen the Zvolen rescue shelter is administered by the city of Banská Bystrica and following a successful Christmas action they call on people to come again to the local Unionka Street carpets or food for dogs – or to take them for a walk Some may even come to like one of the animals and take him home THE SLOVAK National Library (SNK) has published a unique book within its Sources to the Spiritual History of Slovakia series The book is considered to be the oldest from the territory of Slovakia written in the local codified language of Slovakised Czech “The book [serves as] a pioneering probe of the research of the cultural history of Slovakia The issue of this work was inspired by a Slovak expert of Slavonic studies and it was prepared for publishing by a team of historians theologians and bibliographers in cooperation with graphic designer Peter Ďurík,” SNK spokesperson Michaela Štefková told the TASR newswire “The book is the Slovak translation and adaptation of the ‘Small Catechism’ of Martin Luther,” she said adding that the group of researchers started the project in 2009 with the goal of obtaining a clear understanding of the original format of the oldest Slovak book and its authentic text including sections that were damaged or lost The preserved copy of the Bardejov Catechism was damaged by the bookbinder who unprofessionally cut off the upper section thus complicating the process of reproducing its original layout The upper lines are partially or completely missing as a result Part of the impetus for publishing the book was to enhance and deepen the knowledge of Slovak history especially its literary culture in the 16th century as well as the history of Christianity and the Reformation in Slovakia The Bardejov Catechism was the only issue printed among numerous others in Latin the catechism is called “the Bardejov one” IN THE midst of bad news about layoffs and the departure of foreign investors from Slovakia more positive tidings have arrived with the news that several tens of million of euros are being allocated to five Slovaks towns in order to revitalise their old industrial premises of which four are in or near eastern Slovakia will reconstruct and modernise their brownfield sites create new jobs and thus aim to reduce jobless rates near to – or in some cases exceeding – 20 percent create new jobs and thus aim to reduce jobless rates near to – or in some cases exceeding – 20 percent The Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) announced in early January that Trnava Gelnica and Stropkov will receive a total of more than €37 million from European Union structural funds to revitalise brownfield sites Individual contracts should be signed later this month “The selection committee of the Slovak Economy Ministry and SARIO picked five projects from a total of nine applications requiring a total of €62.9 million,” Jana Murínová Humenné and Brezno failed in their bids to attract funding All of Slovakia’s regions except Bratislava Region qualify for financial assistance from EU structural funds in this call the committee gave preference to regions with higher rates of unemployment the impact on employment in the region and other factors,” Murínová said “The applicants were able to apply for assistance of between €200,000 and €10 million while the total costs of the project could not exceed €50 million.” This was not the last chance to obtain money from EU structural funds to revitalise brownfield sites perhaps even later this year,” Murínová told The Slovak Spectator Out of the towns in eastern Slovak regions Bardejov will receive the largest sum this way - €9.94 million It will use it to revitalise the former premises of footwear producer JAS Bardejov “Bardejov was always known for its tradition in footwear production,” René Semanišin the head of the Bardejov mayor’s office “Even though JAS Bardejov does not exist in its original form any more and the main part of the production is being moved to Asia Bardejov managed to keep some footwear production This means that footwear production will remain the main scope of activities of the revitalised brownfield site.”If everything goes according to plan Bardejov will start reconstruction work in April 2009 and complete it by the end of May 2010 “The ambition of the project is to employ at least 240 people here,” said Semanišin The town suffers from a jobless rate of 18.2 percent and prepared the project in order to help unemployed people find jobs we endeavoured to get a project which was feasible but also in line with real needs of the town with regard to employment,” according to Semanišin is not worried about low interest from investors because of the global crisis “So far we have closed agreements with the Finnish company Jalas India’s Bachi and the German firm Van Elten,” he told the Hospodárske Noviny financial daily should continue the tradition of footwear production in this region.” will get €3.54 million to revitalise its former tractor maintenance company the revitalised premises should provide employment for 60 people,” said Eduard Cichý of EC–EDMA which is acting on behalf of Stropkov in the project.The town hopes that when the whole project is complete “We are intensively communicating with potential investors active in the metalworking and electro-technical industries and in the production of materials for the construction industry,” Cichý told Hospodárske Noviny The revitalised industrial park should prevent a repeat of the situation in which a French delegation was unable to start more detailed negotiations because there were no preparations in the town for the arrival of potential investors which is the district town of an area which had an unemployment rate of 12.82 percent at the end of 2008 is also pondering plans to build a solar power station within the industrial park with an output of 1 megawatt which would cover the electricity consumption needs of 1,100 households Gelnica will support small and medium-sized companies and their innovation activities with the €4.04 million it was allocated the town will invest the funds into the former premises of electro-technical company SEZ Nemčíková hopes that they will manage to attract four or five investors from the electro-technical and light industrial sectors which suffers from an unemployment rate of 16.51 percent The remaining two towns which succeeded in obtaining EU structural funds lie outside eastern Slovakia’s two self-governing regions Trnava will invest €9.58 million into re-building the former premises of Technical and Recreation Services into a town industrial and technology park located just a few kilometres from the borders of the Košice Region in southern Slovakia “We got the money to revitalise the former premises of the clothing producer Ozeta,” Tornaľa Mayor Ladislav Dubovský told The Slovak Spectator “We will modernise one existing hall and build three new halls We hope that 600 people will get jobs here.” Tornaľa plans to start reconstruction work in April 2009 and complete the project by 2010.“A new production programme may start here as soon as this September,” said Dubovský The town worked out the project in order to help those presently unemployed find jobs.“1,200 women used to work in the state-owned Ozeta factory,” said Dubovský “The focus was on the clothing industry and people were used to working in continuous production So we have held talks with potential investors who do something similar.” Dubovský is optimistic and hopes that they will manage to draw investors to the town which reports a jobless rate of about 22 percent “Primarily we have applied for this project to create new jobs because unemployment in this region and the town is high,” said Dubovský We have a strong currency and producers in neighbouring countries are interested in moving their production here.” WHILE Slovakia is not yet recognised as a popular destination for health tourism its spas enjoy a long and highly-regarded reputation Each year thousands of foreigners travel to Piešťany Trenčianske Teplice or Bardejov and many of them return annually to receive special treatments with various kinds of mineral waters or just to enjoy the wide range of wellness procedures offered Each year thousands of foreigners travel to Piešťany Slovakia is rich in deep underground springs with varying thermal and mineral properties Information on the healing value of these waters for various illnesses dates back to the earliest settlements in what is now Slovakia Apart from treatments based on therapeutic mineral water there are also localities Altogether there are more than 20 specialised resorts in the country providing professional spa treatments The most popular spa destination for Slovak as well as foreign visitors is Piešťany on the Váh River “The most sought-after spa in Slovakia is Piešťany,” Peter Salem a travel agency specialising in well-being which regularly brings foreigners to Slovak spas “Mostly clients from German-speaking countries and the Middle East come to Piešťany.” His agency brings guests to spas in Slovakia from across Europe By using the internet Avicenum is able to attract clients from around the globe but he said his company’s experience is that growth of foreign visitors to Slovakia is stagnating compared with previous years “There are several reasons behind this but they are all based on the economic crisis and adoption of the euro after which Slovakia lost its attractiveness as a country with cheap services,” Salem said “But the positive feature is that thanks to the drop in sales many businesses care more now about increasing the quality of their services and securing quality supplementary activities in culture or sports because not only is the quality of the spa or the hotel itself important but so are the opportunities for spending free time We believe that this stagnation is only of a temporary nature.” He added that Slovakia's entry into the Schengen zone has helped the spa business because clients flying into Vienna now have easier access to Slovakia Salem views positive references as the main reason for customers of his agency to choose Slovak spas He sees as a disadvantage the failure of Slovakia to systematically build its image as an attractive destination even though it has an abundance of quality infrastructure a high concentration of natural beauties and interesting historical sights “Contrary to Austria or the Czech Republic Slovakia has lacked an integrated concept for development of tourism which cannot be made from behind a writing desk but would also include involved businesses such as incoming agencies the 200-year-old Piešťany spa is also the biggest spa in Slovakia It owes its reputation mainly to its unique natural springs of thermal mineral water These are the main ingredient in the formation of its curative sulphur mud Treatments in Piešťany are mostly centred on Spa Island with its hotels and an outdoor swimming pool as well as a golf course which all come under the umbrella of the Slovak Health Spa Piešťany company Last year almost 48,400 people received treatment in Piešťany of which 24,750 were foreigners The second most-visited Slovak spa is in Trenčianske Teplice: last year 13,045 Slovaks underwent treatment there “The interest of foreign visitors in the spa in Trenčianske Teplice has not been decreasing,” Andrej Puček sales manager at Kúpele Trenčianske Teplice company told The Slovak Spectator “Last year we registered a moderate increase in foreign visitors We recorded a drop in Czech and Polish clients that was connected with the adoption of the euro and the unfavourable development of the world economy we registered an increase from markets in Austria In Trenčianske Teplice the share of foreign customers has been hovering around 25 percent of the spa's total clientele and the Netherlands are interested in classical treatments Wellness and relaxation stays are less popular with visitors from these countries Visitors from the Czech Republic are more balanced in their treatment interests and they are also more likely to come for shorter wellness and relaxation stays where the shorter travel distance plays a role Puček sees the quality of Trenčianske Teplice’s thermal water as the key to foreign interest in the spa adding that another important factor is the high-quality medical services available He noted that the requirements of guests for high quality accommodation food and services are also improving at the spa The spa in Sklené Teplice which features a rare thermal cave steam bath called Parenica is also reporting growing interest among foreigners “Foreign clients make up 19 percent of all guests,” Simona Schwarz from the marketing department at Liečebné Termálne Kúpele Sklené Teplice told The Slovak Spectator “During previous years this share was lower because our spa was not yet reconstructed and was not as well known abroad as it is now In 2008 we invested a not insignificant amount of money into the development of our spa facilities Schwarz said Sklené Teplice receives the greatest number of visitors from the Czech Republic but guests also come from Germany and Russia “Most of our clients are repeat visitors or they become so after spending a number of stays here,” she said “They are drawn by our unique healing springs as well as our balneo treatment or they just want to draw new strength in the beautiful environment of the Štiavnické Vrchy mountains.” The main philosophy behind the Sklené Teplice spa is to improve the health condition of its guests as well as their satisfaction Constant efforts to remove shortcomings based on comments from clients and the individual attention of employees to clients are also important elements of the spa’s philosophy A foreign clientele has also discovered Dudince in southern Slovakia which can boast of being the youngest spa region in the country Several individual facilities there provide treatment Most of them are united under the Balnea Cluster Dudince The Flóra Hotel registers visitors especially from the Czech Republic and Germany “They come to Dudince either because of the mineral water or because of the quality of the curative and physiotherapy services our relaxation programmes or other wellness services,” Bohuslav Beňuch “New clients are arriving from the Czech Republic while from Germany there are mostly returning clients some of whom have returned even for the 20th time clients arrive from time to time as well.” Beňuch said that foreign guests now account for about 80 percent of the clientele of the Flóra Hotel mostly from the Czech Republic and Germany “During previous years the share of foreign guests was almost 100 percent and almost completely German but now there is a declining tendency in foreign clientele especially from countries other than the Czech Republic,” said Beňuch which focuses especially on traditional spa treatments and seeks a close doctor-patient relationship reports increased interest especially from Scandinavian countries – Norway Denmark and Sweden – while it also has a stable and ‘loyal’ clientele among visitors from Germany and Austria according to Lenka Záhorská from the marketing department at Slovthermae foreign clientele made up about 30 percent of all the guests,” Záhorská told The Slovak Spectator “Compared with previous years we registered a downward trend but we remain optimists.” Záhorská said most of the spa’s clients are aged 60 or over and it records most interest in two- or three-week all-inclusive stays tells the story of small town Jewish leader Rafuel Lowy who found an ingenious way to save Bardejov Slovakia’s Jewish population from being sent to Auschwitz during World War II How old were you (Emil) when World War II broke out What was life like before WWII started for the Jews in Bardejov My life was really very simple before the war which was a few kilometers from my village and so he interacted with a lot of non-Jews which was unusual for a cheder boy growing up in a charedi home Bardejov was mostly what you would classify today as ultra-Orthodox I rarely walked to school without being called names or getting beaten up you’ve taken on the endeavor of restoring the neglected Jewish institutions of Bardejov How did a Holocaust survivor come to produce a film There’s no business like the film business Nobody really knows what works or what doesn’t It was in the back of my mind for some time and I started chatting with the man seated next to me It turned out he was a film director named Danny Abeckaser I just so happened to know a screenwriter-turned-kiruv-rabbi You might think you’re ready to do something but Hashem knows you may not be ready until you’re 88-years-old to do it Can you tell us a bit more about the hero of the film and he had a big heart and a lot of courage We have a lot to learn from him about resilience He was willing to risk his own life to save the girls and women of Bardejov from being deported to Auschwitz I want people to remember the little town called Bardejov as a place where people fought for each other “Beyachad Neneazeyeach,” and we’re seeing a lot of achdus today That’s the message I want people to take away from the film Even a tiny little town of Orthodox Jews can fight off the darkest and most powerful forces imaginable and an 88-year-old man can produce his first film “Bardejov” really highlights how the community leaned into tefillah and maintaining bitachon and that Hashem would protect them as they took action to save the girls from being deported Is this something that was an active discussion in incorporating in the film or something that just came naturally as the film took shape I told Danny that we must portray Bardejov authentically This was a town that has deep chasidic roots going back to the 1800s A Halberstam [of the Sanz chasidic dynasty] this was a community that was built on tefillah and bitachon What’s unique about this film compared to other Holocaust films is that “Bardejov” shows how faith can be a powerful tool of resistance Why have you taken on memorializing the Jewish presence in Bardejov Do you view making this film as part of that I hadn’t gone back to Bardejov until my children nudged me enough to see that the shuls were being used as a storage facility for local businesses and residents I knew that those that were lost during the Holocaust wanted to be remembered I wanted to not only ensure the survival of their memory but to keep alive and restore that which still stood I founded the Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee (BJPC) Its mission is to preserve and document the Jewish heritage in Bardejov and to memorialize and honor its Holocaust victims we’ve done some great work that I am very proud of I was appointed by President Obama to the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad What we’re doing with the BJPC is wholly unique to be able to walk into a town and see the shuls where people davened before the war There are hundreds of siddurim and sefarim in the shuls that predate the war What do you hope viewers take away from “Bardejov” That Jews fought back during the Holocaust “Bardejov” is available to watch on Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, YouTube TV and several other platforms. You can find more information about how to watch “Bardejov” and how to bring the film to your shul to be screened for your community, at bardejovfilms.com.