Gidófalvy Lajos

Gidófalvy, Lajos On October 15, 1944, the Arrow Cross party came to power in Hungary with the help of the Germans, and began a reign of terror over those areas that had not yet fallen into the hands of the Red Army, especially Budapest. In order to strengthen their grip, the Arrow Cross organized military units out of the auxiliary forces, the KISKA (Kisegítő Karhatalmi Alakulatok). Every neighborhood had a unit like this, bearing both the number of the unit and the number of the neighborhood. Both the Hungarian and Zionist undergrounds took advantage of the legal structure of the KISKA to fight against the Nazis, and to save Jews. Lajos Gidófalvy, a non-Jewish man married to a Jewish woman, was the commander of the KISKA unit No. XIII/1, which stayed in a military barracks called “Vilmos” in Budapest. Gidófalvy took Jews and army deserters into his unit, and provided them with documents, uniforms, food, a weapon and a place to hide. Fugitives too old to pose as members of a military unit were hidden in the barracks; younger ones were put to work, participating in the defense of orphanages, as well as protected houses that were in danger of attack by Arrow Cross hooligans. Gidófalvy’s “unit” even participated in a sabotage operation in a city at the Russian front, in which they liberated Jews who were being held by the Arrow Cross. Gidófalvy’s actions were very dangerous, because it would be easy to prove the Jewish identity of every “soldier” under his command. During those days the punishment in the army for helping any Jew was immediate death without trial. But he took the risk, because of his humanitarian convictions. One day, an informer alerted the authorities to Gidófalvy’s activities, and the Arrow Cross attacked the unit, arresting everyone who looked suspicious. Gidófalvy and those who worked closely with him, managed to escape. One of those arrested was Dávid Grünfeld, a member of the Zionist underground. He testified later that he managed toconvince the Arrow Cross men to release him by using his false identity – that of a German who had received high military honors. He shouted at the Arrow Cross men, saying they should be ashamed for arresting a German warrior, and he was released without a body check. After the war, Grünfeld moved to Israel, along with a number of other members of Gidófalvy’s unit. Gidófalvy was killed in the last days of the battle for Budapest. Those he saved scattered all over the world. On May 22, 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Lajos Gidófalvy as Righteous Among the Nations.