Jozef Májek

Upon arriving at the International Brigades' headquarters in Albacete, Jozef Májek was assigned as an infantryman to the Thälmann Battalion.

The Thälmann Battalion was multinational in composition, with the majority of volunteers being of German origin, though they did not make up even half of the unit. The battalion included volunteers from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, England, Bulgaria, and the nations of the former Yugoslavia, as well as medical personnel from France and Belgium.

The rifle company was mainly composed of volunteers from Germany and England, while the second rifle company consisted of Polish volunteers. The final rifle company was made up of volunteers from the Yugoslav nations, including Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Slovaks. The Thälmann Battalion also had a machine gun company, which included Jozef Májek and Ladislav Holdoš.

The formation of the International Brigades was complicated, especially in the beginning, due to significant issues with military equipment and supplies.

The International Brigade was urgently sent to assist the besieged Madrid. On 11 November, the 12th International Brigade traveled by train to Villacanas, but it could not proceed further by train because Aranjuez was under the control of the Frankists (according to General Franco, who later became their leader during the war).

During the journey, some soldiers were learning how to handle weapons for the first time. In Villacanas, trucks were sent to transport the brigade closer to Madrid. However, the brigade was eventually transported by truck to La Mañarosa and the hilltop of Cerro de los Ángeles, where an old monastery fort was located.^[13]

Ladislav Holdoš recalls the battles at Cerro de los Ángeles: “Jozef Májek took command of the company. The first attack on the fascist positions. We drive them into retreat. By evening, the company, well-led and almost without losses, reaches 200 meters from the strong walls of the old monastery on Angel Hill. Due to insufficient weaponry, we cannot climb the walls. We only shoot with rifles and machine guns. During the night, Jožko Májek receives orders to retreat. He organizes it flawlessly. The fascists simultaneously make a sortie, and amidst the crackling of gunfire, the moans and cries of the wounded are heard. Jozef himself, crawling on all fours, leads the medical soldiers to these positions and saves the wounded from the adjacent company. After midnight, the last men leave the positions.”^[14]

The operation against Cerro de los Ángeles achieved its diversionary goal, successfully threatening the flank of the Frankist regiments attacking Madrid, thus alleviating the pressure on the rebel forces directly attacking the capital.

According to the plans, the 12th International Brigade was to move into an offensive towards Casa de Velázquez. However, plans changed, and the brigade instead maneuvered around Madrid from the north, reaching the edge of the university district and the western park, where they were to replace the exhausted units of the 11th International Brigade.

After the attacks on 15 and 16 November, the Frankist forces succeeded in capturing Casa de Campo and advancing into the university district. The 11th International Brigade, under the command of Edgar André, resisted in the university area.

Volunteers from the 12th International Brigade arrived at this section of the front on 18 November. They managed to take the heights of Campo del Polo, Buena Vista, and Fuente de la Reina. On the night of 19 November, the 12th International Brigade advanced within a few hundred meters of the battle line. Their task was to capture the Palacete area, especially the section near the so-called White and Red Houses. Czechoslovak interbrigadists recall the fighting around the White House: “Friend Májek, the only one among us with officer training in reserve, performed his role excellently. He managed to advance the machine guns to 25 to 30 meters from the White House.”^[15] After initial success, when German and Italian International Brigade units captured several buildings, including the White House, enemy artillery responded with massive fire, and the captured buildings were soon engulfed in flames. After a counterattack by Frankist forces, the International Brigade risked being surrounded. The 12th International Brigade was forced to retreat from their captured positions.

Another attack was launched by the 12th International Brigade on 21 November. The attack began at 10:45 a.m., and the brigade managed to capture buildings on the left side of the Palacete, but the attack on the White House was unsuccessful. After losing the White House, Jozef Májek, along with several other friends, volunteered for a nighttime mission, where he succeeded in saving several wounded friends and valuable tank ammunition from Odessa. His selflessness is also mentioned in one of the first bulletins from the Thälmann Battalion.^[14]

On the following day, the 12th International Brigade began fortifying its positions, digging defensive trenches, shelters, and communication trenches. That day, General Lukacs issued orders for a new attack on the Palacete buildings on 23 November. The attack was scheduled for 7:00 a.m., supported by three tanks. However, the attack was delayed and started at 8:30 a.m. At the Palacete gate, the first tank was hit and caught fire, blocking the way for the other tanks. The next tank was disabled due to a malfunction during reloading. The last tank withdrew after taking several hits. A subsequent attack was scheduled for 4:45 p.m., but despite high casualties, it was unsuccessful. After the failed attack by the International Brigades on 23 November, the Frankist forces launched a counterattack. During the counterattack, Slovak interbrigadist Jozef Májek fell.^[14]

Artur G. London, in his book "Spain, Spain", described the defense of the university area in Madrid as follows:

"November 23. On the orders of General Lukacs, the Thälmann Battalion was to retake the White House, lost the day before. Májek, as company commander, was overseeing the machine gun support for the infantry assault. When the machine gun on the right wing of the Palacete line went silent because the shooter Julius Kaupe and the rest of the crew had fallen, Májek rushed to it and took position. But the Maxim gun never fired again.

At night, their bodies were carried away by their friends, and the German Kaupe and Slovak Májek were buried alongside the Austrian Mager, who had fallen two days earlier. They were buried near the viaduct on the Madrid-Palacete railway, ... In this old Castilian land, the German, Slovak, and Austrian lay next to each other, far from their homelands and families, having fallen for the same cause as so many brave sons of Spain."^[16]

Since the beginning of 1937, the 2nd Artillery Battery was named in his honor: “Jožko Májek”.^[1]

Jozef Májek became a symbol of the antifascist fighters in Spain. A poem titled "Májkovská" by Ján Poničan, dedicated to his memory, was published in the Slovenské zvesti newspaper. The writer, poet, and publicist Ladislav Novomestský also wrote a poem, "Španielska krajina", which was likewise dedicated to Jozef Májek. In the German magazine Volks-Illustrierte, published under the leadership of Erwin Kubicek, a photomontage was printed that became a symbol of the struggle of international volunteers. It represented the fact that the defense of Republican Spain was not solely the work of communists. This montage, created by the renowned German artist John Heartfield, symbolized four interbrigadists: the German communist Hans Beimler, Belgian social democrat Brecht, Spanish anarchist Buenaventura Durruti, and Jozef Májek, who represented antifascist Catholics.^[17]

Jozef Májek was posthumously awarded the Order of the White Lion, 1st class, by the President of Czechoslovakia for his fight against fascism and his outstanding contributions to the Czechoslovak state. It was the highest state decoration. According to the law, this order was to be awarded only by the president, who could also authorize the prime minister or the commander-in-chief of the army for this purpose. In the photograph, there is a decree signed by General Ludvík Svoboda.

After World War II, a memorial plaque was unveiled in Ružomberok at the Liptov Museum in honor of Jozef Májek.^[18] In 1974, a tourist hut named after him was built on Malinô Brdo hill in the Great Fatra Mountains, which still bears his name today. Another plaque honoring the fallen interbrigadist was placed at the school building in Vlkolínec, which now serves as the Gallery of Folk Art. In Bratislava, a street in the Old Town was named Májkova Street in his honor.^[19]