Szervánszky Endre

Szervánszky, Endre Endre Szervánszky was a well-known composer, who taught in the Academy of Music in Budapest. Through common friends, he met a Jewish woman named Éva Bíró (later Éva Slott). Although they were not close friends, Szervánszky came to Bíró’s aid after the German occupation, and risked his life to save hers. At the end of October 1944, Bíró was drafted into a forced-labor unit in Szentendre, on the outskirts of Budapest. She managed to send word of her whereabouts to several friends and acquaintances, among them Szervánszky. Szervánszky immediately did what he could to rescue Bíró. He managed to obtain a letter of protection, and had the document transferred to her in her labor camp. With the help of this document, Bíró managed to flee before her unit was deported to the German Reich. Bíró returned to Budapest and moved into a Swiss protected house. One day, Arrow Cross men stormed the house and attacked its Jewish residents. Bíró escaped and turned to Szervánszky for help. He took Bíró into the apartment he shared with his family in Buda. The family, who were all cultured and liberal people, took the Jewish fugitive in without hesitation. A member of the family gave Bíró her identification papers. Thanks to Szervánszky’s bravery and these documents, Bíró’s life was spared. Szervánszky also saved another Jewish woman, by the name of Erzsébet Práger. Práger’s husband, a friend of Szervánszky’s, was drafted into a forced-labor company. Before leaving his home, he asked Szervánszky to look after his pregnant wife Erzsébet, who remained behind in the city without support or protection. In October 1944, Erzsébet gave birth to a baby boy, and Szervánszky supplied them with both food and medicine. During the Arrow Cross period, he forged a marriage certificate in which Erzsébet Práger was listed as his wife. Thanks to this document, Práger was spared from the deportations and her life was saved. After the war, when it became clear that her husband hadperished, Szervánszky married Práger and adopted her young son, György. On March 5, 1998, Yad Vashem recognized Endre Szervánszky as Righteous Among the Nations.