Reviczky Imre

Reviczky, Imre Imre Reviczky was a lieutenant colonel in the Hungarian army. He was a descendent of one of Hungary’s oldest, most aristocratic families. In 1943, Reviczky was appointed commander of Battalion No. 10 in Transylvania, serving in the induction center for Jewish and Romanian military labor servicemen in Nagybánya / Baia Mare (today Romania). When Reviczky arrived at his post, he put an end to the rampant abuse of the servicemen, and made sure they were treated like regular soldiers. Reviczky instituted administrative changes, allowing the men of the labor-service companies to submit complaints and requests directly to him, rather than having to rely on men of lower rank who might be less sympathetic. Although taking on this responsibility meant that much of his time was taken up with the needs of individual servicemen, it allowed Reviczky to keep a close eye on his staff, and ensure humane treatment of those under his command. Following the German invasion of Hungary, Reviczky’s headquarters became a place of refuge that allowed many Jews to avoid deportation to Auschwitz. Reviczky sent draft notices to the ghettos, inducting Jews of all ages and of all health conditions into his unit. He did everything he could to prevent the Jews from being deported or transferred to the Russian front, even disobeying direct orders in order to do so. He refused to transfer some of his servicemen to the Germans, and also refused to deliver a large amount of ammunition, which was held by Reviczky’s battalion, to German command. He avoided carrying out an order to blow up the gold and copper mines and the essential factories in Nagybánya, by waiting until the Germans and the commanders of the Arrow Cross fled the approaching Red Army. When the Arrow Cross party rose to power in October 1944, Reviczky sent his Hungarian staff and the men of the labor-service companies who were originally from Transylvania to a nearby forest to cut down trees. In fact, Reviczky’s“assignment” for these men was to go out to the forest, and to avoid deportation. After a few days in the forest, the group was liberated by the Russians. Together with the remnants of his battalion, including many Jewish servicemen, Reviczky reached Szalonna near the Slovakian border. It was there he learned that members of the Arrow Cross, and the Germans, were preparing to execute all the Jews the following day. He revealed this fact to the men under his command, and supplied them with passes allowing them to leave the unit, as well as food and clothing. Thanks to Reviczky, many escaped and joined the Slovakian partisans who were nearby. Later, Reviczky was arrested by the Arrow Cross. He was imprisoned in Sopronkőhida, and it is only thanks to the rapid advance of the Red Army that he was not killed. After the war, Reviczky was promoted to the rank of general. However, at the end of the democratic period in the 1950s, he was discharged from the army. Over the years even the small army pension he received was discontinued. For years, until his death in 1957, he made a living doing hard, physical labor in a coal storage house. Thousands of survivors in Romania, Israel and all over the world are a living testament to Reviczky’s bravery and nobility of spirit. A street in Safed, Israel is named for Imre Reviczky, the Hungarian army officer who saved so many lives. On February 16, 1965, Yad Vashem recognized Imre Reviczky as Righteous Among the Nations.