June 1941 Germany invaded, his mother, his older brother and he tried to escape eastward

His brother and he could jump on a train, but his mother could not make it, so Matus jumped down again

Minsk ghetto

By fall ‘42, aunt arranged false papers for him and his mother

Walking at night, they reached the partisans after a month, eating whatever food they could find, they reached the front line

Soviet soldiers liberated them

After war, return to Minsk

Despite Antisemitism, he became an engineer

Persecution due to the decision to emigrate

1982 Finally allowed to leave

Matus passed away in May of 2020.

Lest We Forget Chicago 07-16-2018