Grausenburger Maria

Grausenburger, Maria Maria Grausenburger was a farmer from the village of Grafenwörth, Lower Austria, in northwestern Austria. Her husband had been killed in the war. In February 1945, a long line of Hungarian Jews passed by Grafenwörth on foot, as part of a death march, which began at a labor camp in Floridsdorf near Vienna, and would end at the Mauthausen concentration camp. A woman and her three children – the Weiss family from Debrecen, Hungary – managed to steal away from the line. Grausenburger took the fugitives into her home, hid them in the basement and gave them food. Neighbors who knew of Grausenburger’s action advised her to throw the Jews out and not to endanger herself. However, Grausenburger replied that she could not have the deaths of a woman and her children on her conscience. A few days later, Grausenburger went to the mayor of the village and told him that a family of pro-German fascists from Hungary had arrived in the village, running away from the Russians, and were seeking asylum. The mayor said he would agree to have the family stay only if work was found for the two boys. Grausenburger found the boys work with local farmers, and the Weiss family was able to stay in the village. They were given official papers with the Hungarian name Warga. But rumors continued that Grausenburger was sheltering Jews, and one day an SA official demanded at gunpoint that the family be removed from her house. The Weiss family escaped the village on foot, and were subsequently arrested and interned in the Gneixendorf camp for prisoners of war. With the help of their false papers they managed to convince the camp director to release them, and, having nowhere else to go, they returned to Grausenburger’s house. Despite the fact that six SS soldiers were now billeted in her home, Grausenburger welcomed the Weiss family back. She continued to shelter the Weiss family even after her neighbors threatened to inform on her for hiding Jews. Grausenburger put herselfin grave danger by hiding Jews. She received no compensation for her activities. The two Weiss boys, Ernst and Tibor, grew up and became artists. Tibor immigrated to Israel and changed his name to Arieh. On November 28, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Maria Grausenburger as Righteous Among the Nations.