Dr. Joseph Jaksy poses on a hillside in Bratislava with members of the Suran family, whom he rescued during WWII.
Overview
- Caption
- Dr. Joseph Jaksy poses on a hillside in Bratislava with members of the Suran family, whom he rescued during WWII.
Pictured with Dr. Jaksy from left to right are Valeria, Lydia and Mrs. Suran.
The Surans were among the 25 Jews rescued by Dr. Joseph Jaksy during WWII. Jaksy engineered the fictitious purchase of the Suran's home in Bratislava; he provided false papers that allowed the Suran children to escape to South America; he registered the elder Surans as his own Slovak domestics; and, after a Gestapo search of the house, he provided Mrs. Suran with false papers and drove her to safety. - Date
-
Circa 1945 - 1948
- Locale
- Czechoslovakia
- Photo Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Amira Kohn-Trattner
Rights & Restrictions
- Photo Source
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumProvenance: Amira Kohn-Trattner
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Biography
- Dr. Joseph Jaksy (1900-1991) was a Slovak urologist from Bratislava who served as the personal physician to Andrej Hlinka, founder of the Slovak People's Party, and other leading members of the fascist regime that ruled Slovakia during WWII. During this period Jaksy used his privileged status to organize rescue efforts that saved at least 25 Jews from deportation. Together with a group of friends, Jaksy devised a four point plan for rescue that included finding shelter; providing money, food and medical care; forging identification papers and falsifying medical records; and helping people to get out of the country. Though suspected of involvement with the resistance, Jaksy was never arrested. After the war Jaksy remained in Czechoslovakia until 1948. Fearing persecution by the new communist regime, he went to the U.S. on a visiting medical fellowship and remained. He was honored posthumously by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.
- Record last modified:
- 2004-04-09 00:00:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa19312
