Kálmán Ferenczfalvi (15 March 1921,

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

– 8 April 2005,

) was a Hungarian humanitarian, named as one of the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Holocaust

Kálmán Ferenczfalvi is credited with having saved the lives of more than 2000 people*. A Hungarian Army Supply Officer, he created a phantom unit and in falsifying military documents, payroll books, food ration cards and bilingual open orders in order to rescue Jews and forced laborers*. He also smuggled people under blankets of his horse-drawn wagon out of deportation camps and

ghettos A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

. By taking in the first

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 ...

family into his parents' home, he endangered not only himself, but also his own family*. After

Ferenczfalvi was a bookkeeper for various state companies and kept silent for decades about his actions during the war. Through a chance “discovery” a forced laborer, who himself was rescued by Ferenczfalvi, made Ferenczfalvi’s

heroism A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of ...

known. Shortly thereafter numerous people from Europe, America and Australia came forward to bear witness to the rescue actions*. Kálmán Ferenczfalvi was honored on 2 June 1988 in Jerusalem by the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

Institute with the title

and an olive tree was planted in his honor in Remembrance Park of the Yad Vashem Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.

External links

Article in the New York Times, 14. April 2005
– his activity to save Jews' lives 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 ...

, at

website

Sources

* * Yad Vashem Archives, Jerusalem, Hungary No. 3741
Horváth, László
''A gyöngyösi zsidóság története, Mátra Múzeum Gyöngyös'', 1999, p. 79 (in Hungarian) * Szita, Szabolcs: A zsidók üldöztetése Budapesten 1944-1945. In: Holocaust Füzetek, Published 1994/4. Magyar Auschwitz Alapítvány - Holocaust Dokumentációs Központ, Budapest, 1994, p. 54, (in Hungarian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferenczfalvi, Kalman 1921 births 2005 deaths Hungarian Righteous Among the Nations People from Debrecen