Szíjj László & Lenke (Róka)

Szíjj, László Szíjj, Mrs. László (Lenke) Nagymányoki, Gilbert (Péter Guth) (Father) László Szíjj and his wife, Lenke (née Rókay), were both born in 1902. In 1944, they were living at no. 23 Csalán Street in the 2nd District of Budapest. At the time, László Szíjj was the managing director of the Wolfner Leather Factory. Following the Szálasi take-over, the Szíjjs offered their home to the International Red Cross to use as a children’s home. The Good Shepherd Mission (Jó Pásztor Misszió), headed by Lutheran pastor Gábor Sztehlo*, put up about 15 Jewish children in this home together with a number of Jewish adults who were to be in charge of them. Zsuzsi Münz, Andrea Mária Lax, Péter Grauer, as well as Rudolf and Péter Schőnwald were among these children. Among the caretakers were two members of the Köves family. The Köveses, nine-year-old Péter, his mother, Mrs. István Köves, and his grandmother, were living near the Szíjjs in Pasarét, in Budapest. István Köves, Péter’s father, had already been taken away for forced labor, when the family had to move into a yellow-star house. In late October, Arrow Cross men dragged the family out of the yellow-star house and took them to the Óbuda brick factory from where the assembled Jews were to be deported. The Köveses were able to escape and went straight to the home of the Szíjjs, which by then had already been turned into a children’s home. The Szíjjs were very close to Father Gilbert Nagymányoki (before Péter Guth) b.1914, who was the priest of the Franciscan church at Pasaréti Square. In November it became necessary to find new hiding places for the children because of raids being conducted by Arrow Cross units searching for Jews. Lenke Szíjj and Father Gilbert Nagymányoki organized the children’s escape and supplied them with food. On one occasion when Arrow Cross men broke into the home and ordered everyone to leave within three hours, Father Gilbert Nagymányoki provided the Köves family with a new hiding place. Hegave them the keys of a home in Rózsadomb at no. 5 Endrődy Sándor Street. The owners of the house had fled westwards leaving the keys with the monk. Lenke Szíjj made sure the Köveses had food and clothes. On January 1, 1945, the neighborhood was liberated by the Red Army. The Szíjjs continued to shelter several Jews for a few days, and in some instances for a few weeks. These Jews were not able to get back to their homes for they were still in the hands of the Arrow Cross and the Germans. Father Gilbert Nagymányoki himself established a number of smaller children’s homes on his own. He arranged for the homes of several families, whose children he had taught the catechism, to be placed under the protection of the International Red Cross. Mrs. Pál Boros (Klára) and her son, Péter, who had managed to escape from the ghetto of Pest, survived the Holocaust in one of these houses. István Bartha, an artist, and Endre Rusznyák with his two children, Magda and András, also survived the Holocaust in the same home. All together, about 50 Jewish children and 10-12 Jewish adults found a safe-haven during the Holocaust in these homes. During the Communist regime, Father Gilbert Nagymányoki was able to serve as a priest only until 1954. He then began teaching in a high school in Szentendre, near the capital. He spent his last years in his native village, Nagymányok, with his family and died in 1988. On December 30, 2004, Yad Vashem recognized László Szíjj, his wife, Lenke, and Father Gilbert Nagymányoki (Péter Guth) as Righteous Among the Nations.