Endre Ságvári (born Endre Spitzer; 4 November 1913 – 27 July 1944), was a Hungarian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

activist.

Biography

Ságvári was born into a Jewish family in Budapest. He became interested in Marxism as a student, and joined the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP). In 1936 he graduated from the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

of the

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University ( hu, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, ELTE) is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in Hung ...

. In 1940, he left the MSZDP for the then illegal Hungarian Communist Party (MKP). From the 1930s, Ságvári participated in the organization of anti-war demonstrations, and after the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

occupation of Hungary during World War II, he joined the underground

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

. Eventually, Ságvári was tracked down by the authorities, and in July 1944 he was surrounded by four gendarmes in a café in Budapest. After pulling his gun on the gendarmes and wounding three of them, he was shot to death.

Legacy

During the years of the Hungarian People's Republic, Ságvári was highlighted as a legendary leader and martyr of the anti-fascist cause, with several streets and institutions being named after him as well as monuments being erected to his memory. László Kristóf, one of the gendarmes involved in the killing of Ságvári, was arrested and sentenced to death in a 1959

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...

. After the fall of communism, attempts have been made to portray Ságvári as an ordinary criminal rather than an anti-fascist martyr; streets named after him have been renamed, and monuments and other memorials to him have been removed and taken down. In 2006, the conviction of László Kristóf was overturned. This process has been criticized by oppositional forces in Hungary, with Tamás Krausz, professor of history at the

in Budapest, writing that the post-communist portrayal of Ságvári "reflects a wider tendency across eastern and central Europe to rehabilitate those who collaborated with the Nazis and prewar fascists, and criminalise those who resisted them."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ságvári, Endre 1913 births 1944 deaths 1944 murders in Hungary Politicians from Budapest People from the Kingdom of Hungary Jewish anti-fascists Anti-war activists Deaths by firearm in Hungary Hungarian communists Hungarian Jews 20th-century Hungarian lawyers Hungarian resistance members Hungarian Communist Party politicians Social Democratic Party of Hungary politicians People murdered in Hungary Jewish socialists Jewish resistance members during the Holocaust Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany