Saving the Jews of Bardejov

One morning, in the small and peaceful town of Bardejov, Slovakia, 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.

Rafuel Lowy, 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. He knew he had to act.

In a new film called, “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.

Saving the Girls

Originally, Rafuel, who was in possession of gunpowder, wanted to blow up Bardejov. 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, some people could have escaped, and it would have sent a powerful message to the Guard: Stay away from us.

But once he told the rabbi his idea, it was shot down since it goes against Jewish law. So, with two local doctors, Mikulas Atlas and Jakub Grosswirth, they came up with a better idea: Intentionally give the girls typhus.

Filming in Bardejov

In doing this, 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.”

After the doctors injected all the girls, the guards came to round them up. However, since the girls were clearly sick, and it looked like the town was suffering from an epidemic, the girls could stay in Bardejov, which the guards quarantined.

“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.

Synagogue in Bardejov

While Rafuel was able to save these girls, he was not able to save himself. According to Lynn, the Lowy family stayed in town until 1944, since they were given special working permits. But eventually Rafuel was found out, beaten in the town square and imprisoned. In 1944, 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.”

In Dark Times, a Message of Hope

Though Rafuel knew the risks he was taking, he stood up and did what was right. In dark times for the Jewish people, “Bardejov” is inspiring and hopeful.

“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, a survivor from the town, about five years ago. He offered to donate to the organization on condition that they visit Bardejov.

At the time, the scheduling didn’t work out. But two years later, while Lynn was running a Poland trip and they had a gap in their schedule, they went to Bardejov.

Rabbi Shmuel Lynn

“When we arrived in the city, 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. “He took us to the town’s synagogue. When we entered, 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. Abeckaser and they made the film, which is now out on Amazon Prime, YouTube and other streaming platforms.

The rabbi hopes the movie spreads far and wide, inspiring Jews to be proud of who they are, and helping to combat antisemitism.

“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, be it through the big screen, 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.”