Eleven people who rescued Jewish lives during the Second World War received the “Helytállásért” (For Commitment) certificate of merit at the Budapest Holocaust Memorial Center on the Day of Humanity commemoration. At the same occasion father Imre Kozma, the Chairman of the Hungarian Maltese Aid was declared the Guardian of Humanity by the Holocaust Public Foundation and the Society for Just People. Photo gallery>>

In his address, Imre Kozma called the recognized persons the “people of bravura”, underlining that they acted on the “command of the heart” and had not followed the logic of the mind. According to him, they were more than heroes; they were able to defeat the evil against all odds and this brought them victory.

The leader of the charity organization expressed that the rescuers realized what it meant to remain human and what their obligations were. Imre Kozma added that “our task is to think about what does it mean to take care of ourselves… Just do what has to be done for somebody who needs you, and this would simply change the world.”

The “Helytállásért” (For Commitment) Hungarian certificate for merit was established in 2012. It is distributed to persons who saved, often at the risk of their own lives, Jewish people during the Holocaust. The handover ceremony takes place on the birthday of Raoul Wallenberg.

   There are police inspectors, priests, teachers and innkeepers among the persons recognized this year. Only to rescuers, Dr. Lajos Szekely and Mrs. Gyula Szenasi lived long enough to receive the certificate; in the case of the others, the recognition came posthumously.

 Prof. Dr. Szabolcs Szita, the managing director of the Holocaust Memorial Center emphasized in his speech that although the Raoul Wallenberg anniversary is an excellent occasion for paying homage to rescuers, lot more has to be done. Positive examples have to be set for the peaceful, mutually supportive people of Hungary, who constitute the majority of the population.  

Based on MTI/HDKE Photos by Lajos Soós /HDKE