Kelemen Krizosztom

Kelemen, Ferenc (Abbot Kelemen, Krizosztom) During the thousand years of its existence, many fugitives found refuge within the thick walls of the Pannonhalma Benedictine monastery. During the rule of the Arrow Cross party, from October 15, 1944 until the liberation of the area in March 1945, Abbot Krizosztom Kelemen was the head of this monastery. Abbot Krizosztom hid many Jews in the monastery, as well as army deserters and political refugees. The monastery was officially under the protection of the International Red Cross, but this didn’t prevent the Germans, and members of the Arrow Cross party, from entering by force, in order to search for Jews and other fugitives. Abbot Krizosztom tried to prevent the break-ins, but when this was impossible, he and other members of the monastic community hid the fugitives in various places, both in the monastery itself and in the gymnasium building, which was in the yard. Abbot Krizosztom and his assistants were helped in their efforts by the complex, Byzantine layout of the ancient structure. The monastery included so many nooks and crannies that one Jewish woman and her son never knew that they were both hiding in the same building, until they came out of hiding at the end of the war. The monastery had a committee that made decisions about who should be allowed to take refuge within the monastery walls. On a number of occasions, Abbot Krizosztom ignored the decisions adopted by this committee, and secretly hid Jews who had escaped from a death march to the Austrian border, which had passed nearby. György Geréb was one of those saved by Abbot Krizosztom. Geréb had escaped from a forced-labor unit, and, at the beginning of December 1944, appeared at the monastery in a state of utter exhaustion. Although he was Jewish, Geréb had studied in a Catholic high school, and he hoped that a former classmate, who was now a priest in the monastery, would take pity on him. However, the priest didn’t want to acknowledge him. AbbotKrizosztom had been a frequent visitor at the high school, and immediately recognized the excellent Jewish student. Ignoring the decision of the monastery’s acceptance committee, Abbot Krizosztom gave Geréb a hiding place in his own apartment, in the room belonging to his personal assistant, Lajos Torda*. As Geréb later testified, he lived in constant fear of discovery, both by the Gestapo and the Arrow Cross authorities, and also by priests within the monastery who opposed his presence there. Dozens of thank-you letters from Jewish survivors testify to the bravery and humanitarianism of Abbot Krizosztom. Some of these survivors, like Endre Balázs, were hidden as children in the monastery. Others, like György Geréb, had escaped the death march and were saved by the compassionate priest. On June 22, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Ferenc (Krizosztom) Kelemen as Righteous Among the Nations. Torda, Lajos Lajos Torda was the personal servant of Krizosztom Kelemen*, abbot of the monastery of Pannonhalma. At the beginning of December 1944, Torda was on hand when György Geréb, a Jew who had escaped from a death march, arrived at the yard of the monastery. Although Geréb was on the verge of collapse, one of the priests refused him entry. Torda welcomed Geréb in, and took him to Abbot Kelemen. Abbot Kelemen decided to hide the Jewish fugitive, despite the fact that the monastery committee had already decided that Geréb should not be given shelter. Geréb hid for almost four months in Torda’s room. According to testimony Geréb gave after the war, Torda looked after Geréb throughout this period like a doting parent, providing him with basic necessities such as food and clothing, but also with things to lift his spirits, such as books. On a number of occasions, the monastery was searched for Jews. When this happened, Torda dressed Geréb in priest’s clothing, and hid him either in a secret passageway behind a picture, or in the clothes closet in his room. More than once,the German soldiers who were searching for Jews sat down on the sofa, which stood directly in front of the picture, that led to the secret passageway. Torda also helped save additional Jews who stayed at the monastery for a day or two. He did so with the knowledge of Abbot Krizosztom Kelemen. When the Red Army liberated the area, Abbot Krizosztom and Geréb went to greet them. Geréb told the Soviet officer that he was a Jew who had hidden from his pursuers in the monastery, but the officer, also a Jew, didn’t believe him, until Geréb proved it by reciting Hebrew prayers. György Geréb was the only member of his family who survived the war. He remained in contact with Lajos Torda many years. On June 22, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Lajos Torda as Righteous Among the Nations.