Klinda Pál

Klinda, Pál Pál Klinda, a Roman Catholic priest, was about 40 years old when the Germans invaded Hungary in 1944. Klinda managed a residence and school for girls in Budapest, known as The Beatific Katalin Institute, or the Katalin, for short. After the German occupation, Klinda established a sewing factory for Hungarian army uniforms in the dormitory of his school. This factory was protected as an “essential industry” by the Hungarian military, and was also under the protection of the Vatican. All the workers in the factory were Jewish girls or women. Officially, there were about 60 workers, but in fact, dozens of additional Jews were hidden there – women, children and some men. Because the presence of children was illegal, and could not be explained as part of the factory operations, the children were kept in hiding at all times. Klinda and the building’s manager, Gitta Mallász looked after the children’s physical needs, and made sure they had food. They also supported them emotionally, and tried to help them remain children by leading them in games they could play without revealing their hiding place, such as running while staying in place, or “singing” without making a sound. When the Arrow Cross party rose to power, the situation became considerably more dangerous. Despite the factory’s protected status, gangs of Arrow Cross men attacked the building and began to expel its tenants, saying that the factory’s license had expired. Klinda managed to save the workers by getting renewed documentation attesting to the factory’s military importance. In December, the Arrow Cross again broke into the sewing-room, and his time, the army documents and the protection of the Vatican didn’t help. Thanks to Klinda and Mallász’s bravery under pressure, many of the house residents were saved. While they argued with the Arrow Cross men, most of the Jews, including Ágnes Kepes and many others, escaped through the yard of the neighboring house. However, fourteen of the Jewswere caught and sent to Ravensbrück. Of these, only one, Éva Dános (later Éva Langley), survived. On June 20, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Pál Klinda as Righteous Among the Nations.