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Hungarian Jewish Legacy

Project Tags

Top Surnames

Békessy, Deutsch, Erdős, Horna and 16 others
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Profiles

  •
    Imre Bekessy (1887 - bef.1951)
  • Licci “Lizi” von Balla (1915 - 1995)
    Lici Balla was born on December 14, 1915 in Pozsony, Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Bratislava, Slovak Republic]. She was an actress, known for Dunaparti randevú (1936), Everything for the Woman (1934) ...
  • Marina Elizabeth Habe (1951 - 1968)
    EXCERPT: Elizabeth Habe (1951 — Decem­ber 29, 1968) was the daugh­ter of Hans Habe and a stu­dent at the Uni­ver­sity of Hawaii. She was mur­dered while return­ing home from a date.[1] She may have bee...
  • Hans Habe (1911 - 1977)
    Hans Habe (12 February 1911, Budapest – 29 September 1977, Locarno) was an Austrian writer and newspaper publisher. Since 1941, he held U.S. citizenship. Habe used also the pseudonyms Antonio Corte, ...
  • Harry Lerner (1923 - 1999)

Agnes Szegő - PhD 
Librarian and Historian, Jewish University Library, 
Budapest - Kehilah - Eger , Heves Megye
A research team of Historians and IT professionals want to immortalize the memory of Hungarian Jewry. We would be very grateful for any help (family photos, documents) that you could provide to help celebrate the legendary Hungarian Jewish legacy of passion and genius.
Please do not hesitate to contact: Agnes Szegő

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  1. Hungarian Jewish Online Databases
  2. Hungarian Jewish congregational archives Dr Gábor Kádár
  3. Hungarian Jewish Archives
  4. Hungarian Jewish Family History Research Guide
  5. Jewish Web Index - Ted Margulis
  6. IAJGS Hungarian Jewish Cemeteries
  7. Trace Your Roots: Hungary/Romania
  8. Romania, Hungary, Ukraine: New index project
  9. Satu Mare Romania/Hungary , Notables of Satu Mare
  10. History of the Jews in Hungary Wikipedia
  11. Hungarian Jews Wikipedia
  12. World Jewish Congress - Hungary
  13. The Hungarian Jewish Museum
  14. Hungarian Archives and Libraries
  15. Memorial Museum of Hungarian Speaking Jewry
  16. Hungarian Genealogy Links
  17. Hungarian Research Links
  18. Hungary Exchange Links
  19. Hungarian Jewish Media
  20. Looted Art of Hungary
  21. The World That Was: Hungary and Romania
  22. The Beautiful Szeged Synagogue 360 view
  23. The Pecs Synagogue 360 view
  24. The Dohany Synagogue in Budapest 360 view
  25. Dohány_Street_Synagogue
  26. Dohány_Street_Synagogue YouTube
  27. Yivo - Hungary Since 1945
  28. Hungarian Literature Yivo
  29. Hungarian Histography Yivo
  30. Yad Vashem
  31. Hungarian Jewry
  32. Kastner's Train , Kasztner Transports Geni Project
  33. Chabad Lubavitch in Hungary
  34. The Hungarian Jewish Homepage
  35. Books from Hungarian Authors Amazon
  36. Kati Marton , Interview with Charlie Rose
  37. A Hungarian Stamp Maker Rescuing Lives in the Shoah
  38. Jewish Life in Hungary: The History of Abaújszántó
  39. The Jews of Hungary: History, Culture, Psychology, By Raphael Patai
  40. Jewish Budapest: Memories, Rites, History  By Kinga Frojimovics, Géza Komoróczy

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History of the Jews in Hungary

Historical figures

Inventors, Scientists

  • László Bíró, inventor of the ballpoint pen.
  • Marcel Breuer architect
  • Dennis Gabor, inventor of the holography.
  • David Gestetner, inventor of the stencil duplicator
  • Peter Carl Goldmark, inventor of long-playing (LP) records
  • András Gróf (Andrew Grove), pioneer of the semiconductor industry, CEO of Intel
  • Rudolf E. Kálmán of Kalman filter
  • Gedeon Richter, pharmaceuticals - inventor & industrialist
  • David Schwarz, inventor of the Zeppelin
  • Charles Weissmann, biochemist
  • Eugene Wigner (Wigner Jenő), physicist; Nobel laureate
  • Ernő Rubik ,Rubik's Cube

Nobel Prize Winners

Seven out of the ten Nobel Prize winners who were born in Hungary were Jewish. This number does not include Robert Bárány, who was born in Vienna, John Polanyi, who was born in Berlin, while Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, belonging to Romania after the First World War. Avram Hershko was born in Karcag, Hungary, while the remaining six Nobel Prize winners on the list were born in Budapest.

Mathematicians

  • Manó Beke
  • Raoul Bott
  • Arthur Erdélyi
  • Paul Erdős
  • Lipót Fejér
  • Michael Fekete
  • László Fuchs
  • Tibor Gallai
  • Géza Grünwald
  • Alfréd Haar
  • Paul Halmos
  • László Kalmár
  • John Kemeny
  • Dénes König
  • Julius König
  • Imre Lakatos
  • Kornél Lőwy (Cornelius Lanczos)
  • Peter Lax
  • John von Neumann
  • Paul Nevai
  • Rózsa Péter
  • George Pólya
  • Tibor Radó
  • Gusztáv Rados
  • Alfréd Rényi
  • Mór Réthy
  • Frigyes Riesz
  • Marcel Riesz
  • Lajos Schlesinger
  • Otto Szász
  • Gábor Szegő
  • Peter Szüsz
  • Paul Turán
  • Abraham Wald
  • Eugene Wigner

Physicists

Historians

  • Ignác Acsády, historian
  • Ignác Kúnos, linguist
  • John Lukacs,] historian
  • Henrik Marczali, historian
  • Bernát Munkácsi, linguist & orientalist
  • Géza Vermes, historian

Religion

Writers

  • Bernát Alexander
  • Béla Balázs, poet & film critic
  • Tibor Déry
  • György Faludy
  • Milán Füst
  • Andor Endre Gelléri
  • Oszkár Gellért
  • Lajos Hatvany
  • Jenő Heltai
  • Ágnes Heller.
  • Hugó Ignotus
  • Ferenc Karinthy
  • Ákos Kertész, Kossuth prize winner, emigrated to Canada in 2012, due to antisemitic harassment and physical intimidation
  • Imre Kertész, winner, Nobel Prize in Literature (2002)
  • József Kiss, poet
  • Arthur Koestler, novelist & critic
  • Aladár Komlós
  • György Konrád
  • József Lengyel, survivor and writer of the Gulag
  • Anna Lesznai
  • Rudolf Lothar, dramatist
  • György Lukács, Marxist literary critic and philosopher.
  • Rodion Markovits
  • Kati Marton
  • György Moldova
  • Ferenc Molnár
  • Péter Nádas
  • István Örkény
  • Károly Pap
  • Giorgio Pressburger
  • Miklós Radnóti, poet
  • Endre, Nagy, creator of Hungarian cabaret
  • Jenő Rejtő
  • György Somlyó
  • Zoltán Somlyó
  • György Spiró
  • Gábor T. Szántó
  • Ernő Szép
  • Antal Szerb
  • Dezső Szomory
  • József Vészi
  • Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel Peace Prize (1986)[29]
  • Zoltán Zelk
  • Béla Zsolt writer of Kilenc Koffer

Psychoanalysts

  • Michael Balint, psychoanalyst
  • Sándor Ferenczi Psychoanalyst.
  • Péter Popper, psychologist
  • Jenő Ranschburg, psychologist
  • Géza Róheim
  • Lipót Szondi (Léopold Szondi), psychiatrist

Social scientists

  • Peter Thomas Bauer, economist
  • Milton Friedman Parents emigrated from Beregszász, then Hungary.
  • John Harsanyi, economist, game theory; Nobel laureate
  • Nicholas Kaldor, British economist
  • János Kornai, economist
  • Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner (1840–1899), educationist and orientalist
  • Karl Mannheim sociologist,
  • Adolf Neubauer, Hebraist

Films and stage

  • Adrien Brody's mother was born in Budapest.
  • George Cukor film director
  • Tony Curtis Parents were born in Mátészalka.
  • Michael Curtiz, born Manó Kertész Kaminer, film director
  • Judit Elek, film director and screenwriter
  • William Fox, founded Fox Film Corporation
  • Béla Gaál film director
  • Zsa Zsa Gabor
  • Viktor Gertler film editor and director
  • Harry Houdini
  • Leslie Howard's father was born in Hungary
  • Alexander Korda, born Sándor László Kellner, brother of Vincent and Zoltan Korda, film producer and director
  • Vincent Korda, born Vincent Kellner, brother of Alexander and Zoltan Korda, art director
  • Zoltán Korda, born Zoltán Kellner, brother of Alexander and Vincent Korda, film screenwriter, director, and producer
  • Peter Lorre
  • Paul Newman Father was born in Hungary, as was his Catholic mother.
  • Joe Pasternak
  • Emeric Pressburger
  • S.Z. Sakall
  • István Szabó, film director, screenwriter, and opera director
  • István Székely film director
  • Alexandre Trauner
  • Rachel Weisz Father was born in Hungary.
  • Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures

Hungarian Actors

  • Alfonzó (József Markos)
  • Oszkár Ascher
  • Lajos Básti
  • Miklós Gábor
  • Dezső Garas
  • Gyula Gózon
  • Gyula Kabos
  • László Kabos
  • György Kálmán
  • Kálmán Latabár
  • László Márkus
  • Imre Ráday
  • Márton Rátkai
  • Kálmán Rózsahegyi
  • Éva Ruttkai
  • Mária Mezey
  • Béla Salamon
  • Zoltán Várkonyi

Conductors

  • Antal Doráti
  • Adam Fischer
  • Ivan Fischer
  • Ferenc Fricsay
  • István Kertész
  • Jenő Ormándy (Eugene Ormandy)
  • Fritz Reiner
  • Sir Georg Solti
  • György Széll (George Szell)

Composers

  • Pál Ábrahám (Paul Abraham)
  • Károly Goldmark
  • Imre Kálmán (Emmerich Kálmán)
  • György Kurtág
  • György Ligeti
  • Arnold Schoenberg (father born in Szécsény)
  • Johann Strauss I was not Jewish, but his grandfather was born Jewish in Buda.[23]
  • Rezső Seress
  • Leó Weiner
  • Béla Zerkovitz

Performers of Music

  • Gitta Alpár - voice, soprano & actress
  • Martha Eggert
  • Ilona Fehér - violin
  • Annie Fischer - piano
  • Joseph Joachim - violin
  • Endre Granat - violin
  • György Pauk - violin
  • László Polgár (bass) - voice, bass
  • Ede Reményi - violin
  • Márk Rózsavölgyi - violin
  • András Schiff - piano
  • János Starker - violoncello
  • Mihály Székely - voice, bass
  • Joseph Szigeti - violin

Musicians

  • Pál Budai, pianist, composer
  • Jenő Deutsch, pianist, composer
  • Ádám Fischer, conductor
  • Peter Frankl, pianist
  • Endre Granat, violinist
  • György Justus, composer, musicologist, choir master
  • István Kertész, conductor
  • Sándor Kuti, composer
  • Walter Lajthai-Lazarus, conductor, composer
  • Ervin Nyíregyházi, pianist [24]
  • Georg Solti, conductor
  • Sándor Vándor, composer, educator
  • László Weiner, composer
  • Varnus Xavér, organist

Artists

Business

  • Leo Castelli, Trieste-born American art dealer of note.
  • Paul Reichmann's parents were born in Hungary
  • George Soros, broke the British pound
  • Robert Maxwell, British media proprietor
  • Laszlo Tauber, surgeon & real estate mogul

Industrialists and Bankers in Hungary

  • Lipót Aschner (Tungsram - incandescent lamps),
  • Móricz Fischer (china-factory in Herend in 1839),
  • Leó Goldberger (textile), Manfred Weisz, (heavy industry),
  • Leó Lánczy, Jenő Vida,
  • Ferenc Chorin, Wolfner. Mauthner,
  • Fülöp Weisz,
  • Kornfeld,
  • Kohner,
  • Korányi,
  • Ullmann

Families ennobled between 1874 and 1918 (mainly industrialists)

  • Biedermann 1902
  • Dirsztay 1905
  • Groedl 1900
  • Gutmann 1905
  • Harkányi 1904
  • Hatvany 1917
  • Hatvany-Deutsch 1895
  • Hazai 1912
  • Herczel 1912
  • Herzog 1904
  • Kohner 1904
  • Korányi 1912
  • Kornfeld 1908
  • Königswarter 1897
  • Kuffner 1904
  • Lévay 1897
  • Madarassy-Beck 1906
  • Nauman 1906
  • Ohrenstein 1913
  • Orosdy 1905
  • Schosberger 1890
  • Tornyai-Schosberger 1905
  • Ullmann 1918
  • Weiss 1918
  • Wodianer 1874
  • Wolfner 1918

Chess Players

  • Rudolph Charousek
  • Isidor Gunsberg
  • Ignatz von Kolisch
  • Andor Lilienthal
  • Johann Löwenthal
  • Judit Polgár
  • Susan Polgár
  • Zsófia Polgár
  • Richard Réti
  • Adolf Schwarz
  • Endre Steiner
  • Herman Steiner
  • Lajos Steiner
  • László Szabó

Sports

Boxing

  • György Gedó, Olympic champion light flyweight

Canoeing

  • László Fábián, sprint canoer, Olympic champion (K-2 10,000 meter), 4x world champion (3x K-2 10,000 meter and 1x K-4 10,000 meter) and one silver (K-4 10,000 meter)
  • Imre Farkas, sprint canoer, 2x Olympic bronze (C-2 1,000 and 10,000 meter)[38]
  • Klára Fried-Bánfalvi, sprint canoer, Olympic bronze (K-2 500 m), world champion (K-2 500 m)
  • Anna Pfeffer, sprint canoer, Olympic 2x silver (K-2 500 m), bronze (K-1 500 m); world champion (K-2 500 m), silver (K-4 500 m), 2x bronze (K-2 500)[40]

Fencing

  • Péter Bakonyi, saber, Olympic 3x bronze
  • Ilona Elek, saber, 2x Olympic champion
  • Dr. Dezsö Földes, saber, 2x Olympic champion
  • Dr. Jenö Fuchs, saber, 4x Olympic champion
  • Támas Gábor, épée, Olympic champion
  • János Garay, saber, Olympic champion, silver, bronze, killed by the Nazis
  • Dr. Oskar Gerde, saber, 2x Olympic champion, killed by the Nazis
  • Dr. Sándor Gombos, saber, Olympic champion
  • Endre Kabos, saber, 3x Olympic champion, bronze
  • Attila Petschauer, saber, 2x team Olympic champion, silver, killed by the Nazis
  • Zoltán Ozoray Schenker, saber, Olympic champion
  • Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, foil, 2x Olympic champion[43]
  • Lajos Werkner, saber, 2x Olympic champion

Figure Skating

  • Lily Kronberger, World Championship 4x gold, 2x bronze, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
  • Emília Rotter, pair skater, World Championship 4x gold, silver, 2x Olympic bronze
  • László Szollás, pair skater, World Championship gold, silver, 2x Olympic bronze

Gymnastics

  • Samu Fóti, Olympic silver (team combined exercises)
  • Imre Gellért, Olympic silver (team combined exercises)
  • Ágnes Keleti, 5x Olympic champion (2x floor exercises, asymmetrical bars, floor exercises, balance beam, team exercise with portable apparatus), 3x silver (2x team combined exercises, individual combined exercises), 2x bronze (asymmetrical bars, team exercises with portable apparatus), International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
  • Alice Kertész, Olympic champion (team, portable apparatus), silver (team); world silver (team)

Soccer (Association Football)

  • Gyula Bíró, midfielder/forward (national team)
  • Alfréd Brüll first owner of MTK Budapest FC
  • Sándor Geller, goalkeeper, Olympic champion
  • Béla Guttmann, midfielder, national team player & international coach
  • Gyula Mándi, half back (player & coach of Hungarian and Israeli national teams) and manager
  • Árpád Orbán, Olympic champion

Swimming

  • Andrea Gyarmati, Olympic silver (100-m backstroke) and bronze (100-m butterfly); world championships bronze (200-m backstroke), International Swimming Hall of Fame
  • Alfréd Hajós (born "Arnold Guttmann"), 3x Olympic champion (100-m freestyle, 800-m freestyle relay, 1,500-m freestyle), International Swimming Hall of Fame
  • Michael "Miki" Halika, Israel, 200-m butterfly, 200- and 400-m individual medley
  • József Munk, Olympic silver (4x200-m freestyle relay)
  • Rebecca Soni, her grandfather was born in Nagyvárad (now Oradea)
  • Mark Spitz, his great grandfather (Nathan) was born in Hungary
  • László Szabados, Olympic bronze (4x200-m freestyle relay)
  • András Székely, Olympic silver (200-m breaststroke) and bronze (4x200-m freestyle relay); died in a Nazi concentration camp
  • Éva Székely, Olympic champion & silver (200-m breaststroke); International Swimming Hall of Fame; mother of Andrea Gyarmati
  • Judit Temes, Olympic champion (4×100-m freestyle), bronze (100-m freestyle)[50]
  • Imre Zachár, Olympic silver (4x200-m freestyle relay)
  • [edit]Table Tennis
  • Viktor Barna (born "Győző Braun"), 22x world champion, International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame ("ITTFHoF")
  • Laszlo Bellak, 7x world champion, ITTFHoF
  • Anna Sipos, 11x world champion, ITTFHoF
  • Miklós Szabados, 15x world champion
  • [edit]Tennis
  • Zsuzsa Körmöczy, won 1958 French Singles
  • [edit]Track and Field
  • Ödön Bodor, Olympic bronze (medley relay)
  • Ibolya Csák, Olympic champion & European champion high jumper
  • Mór Kóczán, javelin, Olympic bronze
  • [edit]Water Polo
  • Robert Antal, Olympic champion
  • István Barta, Olympic champion, gold
  • Tibor Benedek, 3x Olympic champion, gold
  • György Bródy, (3g1b & 2g & 2g), goalkeeper, 2x Olympic champion
  • Dezső Gyarmati, Olympic water polo player & captain (3g1s1b) (half Jewish)
  • György Kárpáti, 3x Olympic champion, 1x bronze[55]
  • Béla Komjádi water polo player and coach, International Swimming Hall of Fame
  • Mihály Mayer, 2x Olympic champion, 2x bronze
  • Miklós Sárkány, 2x Olympic champion

Wrestling

  • Károly Kárpáti (also "Károly Kellner"), Olympic champion (freestyle lightweight), silver
  • [edit]Other Sports
  • Paul Havas, Columbia Quarterback[55]
  • Ferenc Kemény, co-founder and first secretary of the IOC[59]

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Prof. Géza Komoróczy Founder and director of the Department of Assyriology and Hebrew Studies at the Eötvös University, Komoróczy also is the founder and director of the Center of Jewish Studies at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Géza Komoróczy is an expert on Holocaust studies — particularly as they relate to Hungary.  He was an elected fellow at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Studies and the Vienna Institute for the Study of Humanity, and he has served as visiting lecturer at a number of universities throughout Europe and the United States. Komoróczy is a member of the executive committee of the International Union of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and has received numerous awards and honors for his work.

Komoróczy has authored a number of books and articles, among them, In the Sweet Joy of Your Shining Lap: Anthology of Sumerian Literature, The Sumerian Literary Tradition, The Closing of the Mind in the National Tradition: The Responsibility of the Intellectuals in the Ancient New East, Hebrew Myths and Legends, Hebrew Sources Relating to the History of Hungary and Hungarian Jewry in the Middle Ages: From the Beginnings until 1686 (with Schlomo J. Spitzer), A Voice that Cries in the Wilderness, The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Holocaust: Flying Ashes on Our Skin and Jewish Budapest.

The Jerusalem Letter is based on the author's chapter in the forthcoming book European Jewry: Between America and Israel - Jewish Centers and Peripheries 50 Years after World War II.

Research is part of the scholarly work of the Center of Jewish Studies, with emphasis on Hungarian Jewish history. The Center has already published ten large volumes, including-:

  • Synagogue Buildings in Hungary, Aniko Gazda);
  • A directory of Jewish holdings in Hungarian archives (Gyorgy Haraszti);
  • A bibliography of Hungarian Jewish newspapers and journals published between 1847 and 1992 (Alexander Scheiber);
  • The data from the census of Jewish communities ordered by the German authorities in April 1944 (comprising 740 communities) (Joseph Schweitzer and Kinga Frojimovics);
  • A bibliography of Hebrew grammars in Hungarian or printed in Hungary from the seventeenth century on (comprising about 90 titles) (Andrea Strbik);
  • The edited memoirs of Lajos Szabolcsi, editor of the most important Jewish weekly for half a century (Egyenloseg);
  • A book on the Architecture and History of the Rombach Street Synagogue (Ines Müller);
  • A book by Jacob Katz in Hungarian translation (Out of the Ghetto).
  • A bestselling book entitled Jewish Budapest, with 800 pages and 617 photos, was written by three former students of the Center (Kinga Frojimovics, Viktoria Pusztai, and Andrea Strbik) together with Prof. Geza Komoroczy who also edited the volume.
  • A history of Jews in Transylvania (Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger) is due to appear.
  • A full bibliography of community regulations (takkanot), with more than 2,000 titles published in 1997.
  • A project on Hebrew sources in the history of Hungary and Jews in Hungary (until the end of the seventeenth century), including Hebrew texts with translation and commentary, is underway (Shlomo Spitzer of Bar-Ilan University and Andrea Strbik).
  • A Ph.D dissertation at Columbia University on responsa of rabbis in Hungary is in preparation (Tamas Turan).

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BOOKS

  • Bacskai Sándor. Egy Lépés Jeruzsálem Felé Mult és Jövö Könyvek: New York, Budapest, Jeruzsalem, 1997.
  • Bacskai Sándor. Az első nap (emlékképek az ortodox zsidóságról) Múlt És Jövő Kiadó, 2004
  • Bacskai Sándor. "The History of Hungarian Orthodox Jewry After 1945," unpublished paper.

Olympic Gold Medalists at the Summer Games

Before the Holocaust.

Hungarian Jews, while comprising some 5% of the population of Hungary, won 8 individual gold medals for Hungary out of 26 (30.8%) in the Olympic sports events between 1896 and 1936. In each of the 7 gold winning teams, there were Hungarian Jews making up 35.8% of the teams (19 out of 53 team members).

After the Holocaust, 1948-1972.

After the Holocaust, less than 1% of the population of Hungary remained of Jewish heritage. In individual sports events, Hungary won 48 gold medals between 1948 and 1972. Sportsmen and mainly sportswomen of Jewish extraction won 10 gold medals (20.8%). Hungarian Jewish women won 7 gold medals out of the 15 individual gold medals won by Hungarian women. In the 19 gold medal winning teams for Hungary, 9 had Jewish members.

There are no known Hungarian Jewish gold medalist since 1976. only Tibor Benedek, in water polo. Overall, Hungarian Jews won 15.4% of the 117 individual gold medals of Hungary, and had part in at least 16 out of the 42 gold medals in team events.
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