Farkas Stefan & Rozalia

Farkas, Stefan Farkas, Rozalia In September 1944, Stefan Farkas, a laborer, and his wife, Rozalia, were a young Hungarian couple living with their two small children on the outskirts of Oradea in Transylvania. The city of Oradea (Nagyvárad in Hungarian) was then part of Hungary, occupied by Nazi Germany in March 1944. At that time, Eugen Szabo (formerly Salzberger), a young Jew, was in a forced labor battalion of the Hungarian army stationed near the city of Oradea. Szabo knew Stefan and Rozalia from 1942, when Szabo was active in the anti-fascist social-democratic movement along with the Farkases. Toward the end of September, Szabo’s battalion was going to be sent to the Soviet front, to take part in building fortifications for the retreating Hungarian and German armies. When Szabo’s battalion passed near the Farkases’ home, Szabo suggested to eight of the Jews serving with him in the battalion that they ask the Farkases to hide them in their house. The couple agreed to hide Szabo in the cellar of their home, together with his comrades from the labor battalion, including Yehuda Barna (later Barnea), Paul-Thomas Biro, Endre Blau, George Lustig, and Egon Hirsch. The Farkases shared their food with them, refused to take any payment for their help, and were undeterred by the danger they faced from the Hungarian military gendarmerie that patrolled the area searching for deserters and partisans. Stefan even acceded to the group’s request to go find out if the battalion was still in the vicinity and if there were still Jews there. Finally, after six days the group decided to leave their hiding place and rejoin the battalion before the area was liberated by the Red Army. After the war, Szabo kept in touch with the Farkases for several years. Stefan Farkas died several years after the war, and his wife moved to live near her children in Satu Mare. Biro, Barnea and Szabo immigrated to Israel. On March 16, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Stefan and Rozalia Farkas asRighteous Among the Nations.