Otto Šimko, a Slovak jurist and Holocaust survivor, died on February 11, 2026.
Born in Topoľčany on June 1, 1924, to Artúr and Irena Šimko, he spent most of his childhood in Nitra. His father was a Jewish lawyer and later a judge.
Šimko was a member of Hashomer Hatzair, the Jewish scouts with a strong left-wing and communist orientation. During World War II, after the adoption of the anti-Jewish laws, police came to his apartment in Nitra to deport him, but he was at work digging a canal in Svätý Jur for the Jewish work center. His father was imprisoned in Ilava because he was a social democrat.
Otto Šimko (1 June 1924 – 10 February 2026) was a Slovak jurist and Holocaust survivor.