Debreczeni Károly & Klára (Sladky)

Debreceni, Károly Debreceni, Klára Dr. István Fűredy was an assimilated Jewish doctor, who lived in Budapest with his wife, Sarolta (née Rosenschein), and daughter, Susan (b. 1934). When the Nazi occupation of Budapest began on 19 March, 1944, Fűredy and many other Jews like him felt deeply disappointed and helpless in the face of the racial laws. Next door from the Fűredys lived Károly Debreceni and his wife Klára, strictly observant Catholics. The Debrecenis used to call on Fűredy when they needed a doctor, but the two families maintained a polite distance. Nevertheless, Károly opposed the racial laws and measures from the depth of his heart, and decided to do something about it. He walked over to his neighbor’s apartment, and discussed at length with Fűredy his rage over the new laws, and his will to help them in any possible way. He then offered to hide Fűredy and his family in his own apartment. Fűredy accepted immediately, and the family moved into the Debrecenis' apartment. Károly gave Sarolta Klára's identity papers, and procured false papers for Susan under a different family name. Sarolta and Susan were presented as an auntie and her godchild, an orphan being raised by her godmother. The Fűredy family lived there for some time: mother and daughter in one room, and István in a tiny niche next to the kitchen. The Debrecenis lived in the other two small rooms. Keeping István a secret was challenging, especially during visits of friends and family. Food was very scarce, with the Debrecenis sharing their minimal rations with their charges. Years later, Susan still remembered the time she spent in Pécs, and how she and her mother went to church and crossed themselves, in order to keep up their appearance as Christians. In early August 1944, as Budapest’s Jews were being forcibly crowded into an area that later became the Budapest ghetto, Károly Debreceni took Sarolta and Susan to the town of Pécs, where he presented them as refugees fromthe Budapest bombings. Soon afterwards, Károly ran into István’s parents in the street. His father had a bullet wound in his arm and their home had been destroyed by a bombing raid, and they were on their way to look for their son to help them. They had no identification papers and could have been arrested at any moment. Luckily the streets were empty because of the bombings and the siege of Budapest. Seeing their condition, and understanding they could had nowhere else to go, Károly took them back to his apartment and hid them in the same small niche as their son. They took turns lying down in the tiny space and for the most of the days remained motionless. Thus they survived the remaining few weeks until liberation on February 18, 1945. In November 1944, when police began searching for Jewish refugees in Pécs, and Sarolta's money had run out, Károly went to bring her and Susan back to Budapest. They hid once more in the Debrecenis' apartment until liberation. Due to the Debrecenis' fierce religious convictions and humanitarian feelings, all of the Jews hiding with them survived the war – and the two families became lifelong friends. On 29 November, 2009, Yad Vashem recognized Klára and Károly Debreceni as Righteous Among the Nations.