We suffered greatly
Mária Ševčíková, née Zelenayová, was born in 1935 in Hlohovec to her parents Michal and Barbora. They were rich landowners who, during the World War II, decided to help their acquaintances from Bratislava. The Stern family was at that time escaping from persecution and bombing together with two children and their grandmother. Since they were Jews, they often had to hide, but they were always able to survive thanks to Zelenays‘ help. After the war, the Zelenay family was deprived of their land, which unfairly became a part of the joint agricultural cooperative. Mária‘s father had to sign the document on the property nationalization under pressure. In 2009, the Zelenay family received the „Justice among the Nations“ award.