Thassy de Eugene

Thassy de, Jenő (Eugen) Jenő de Thassy was born into an upper-class family on an estate near the city of Barcs. He had completed his studies in the Ludovika military academy in 1942, and served as first lieutenant in the Hungarian army. Thassy was more interested in literature than a military career. He was a humane man who was influenced by other army commanders who opposed the Hungarian government’s pro-German line. After the German invasion of Hungary, all the Jews in Barcs were first ghettoized and then sent to Auschwitz. Among those deported were many of Thassy’s acquaintances and friends, as well as the family doctor to whom Thassy and his mother owed their lives. This doctor had been awarded a medal of distinction for his service in World War I. Thassy tried to save him, since according to Hungarian law, a decorated soldier was exempt from the anti-Jewish laws, but was unsuccessful. Thassy fulfilled his active military service as a clerk in Budapest, where he lived in a private house. He did everything he could to save as many Jews as possible. Together with his friend, another army officer named Guido Görgey*, he forged documents and distributed them to Jews. He hid various Jews in his apartment and later transferred them to different hiding places, continuing to look after them until the liberation. Thassy made contact with Jews in distress both through his personal connections, and through his contacts in the Hungarian underground, who were hiding Jews and army deserters in the city’s military hospital No. 11. Thassy also cooperated with Father Jacob Raile*, who stood at the head of a network of monasteries under the protection of the Vatican and the Swedish Red Cross. Klára Kaufman-Magyari, one of Thassy’s survivors, later wrote, “Because of people like Thassy we were able to restore our faith in human values and to carry on.” Another Jew saved by Thassy was the Hungarian author Ferenc Karinthy. After the war, Thassy left Hungary and settled in theUnited States. On May 16, 1993, Yad Vashem recognized Jenő (Eugen) de Thassy as Righteous Among the Nations.