György Bálint (originally surname Braun; 28 July 191921 June 2020) was a Hungarian

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, journalist, author, and politician who served as an MP. He was colloquially known as Bálint gazda (lit. "Farmer Bálint"), from his appearances in the TV program ''Ablak'', where he appeared as an amicable, fatherly horticultural expert.

Biography

Bálint's parents Braun Izidor and Koch Rozália were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

from a long tradition of farming. He graduated from the Royal Hungarian Institute of Horticulture in 1941. His parents and their children were deported to a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

; only Bálint and one of his sisters survived. He was taken first to Mauthausen and then to the extermination camp in

Gunskirchen Gunskirchen is a town in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Geography Gunskirchen lies in the Hausruckviertel. About 11 percent of the municipality is forest, and 78 percent is farmland. Internal combustion engine maker Rotax has been headquarte ...

. He weighed 42 kilos when he escaped in 1945. He was a

, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, journalist, author, and politician who served as an MP. He died at 100 years of age in 2020 from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary.

References

1919 births 2020 deaths Hungarian men centenarians Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1994–1998) People from Gyöngyös Jewish Hungarian politicians Alliance of Free Democrats politicians Hungarian agronomists Mauthausen concentration camp survivors 20th-century Hungarian male writers 20th-century Hungarian journalists Horticulturists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary Jewish centenarians {{Hungary-politician-stub