Oral History Interview with Tibor Baranski

Tibor Baranski, born June 11, 1922 in Budapest, Hungary and honored as a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, describes being educated in a Hungarian gymnasium; being aware of rising antisemitism by 1938; studying for the priesthood in Veszprem in 1940 and in Kassa (Kosice, Slovakia) in 1943; learning of the Nazi extermination plans through church channels; returning to Budapest on October 20, 1944 as the Russian Army drew near; his participation in several rescues of Jews from October to December 1944 at the request of Angelo Rotta, the papal nuncio, who acted as a representative of the Vatican under orders of Pope Pius XII; rescuing Jews from a transit camp to safe houses in Budapest; working with representatives from neutral nations and the Red Cross to stop deportations from Hegyeshalom, Hungary, using protective letters (Schutzpass) and safe houses to shelter almost 6000 Jews; being nearly executed several times; the efforts to hide Jews by Christian groups and individuals; the rescue efforts of Elizabeth Kemeny Fuchs (RG-50.462*0008), Per Anger (RG-50.462*0001), Raoul Wallenberg, Prince Esterhazy, Father Hummel, and a number of priests and nuns; his encounter with Wallenberg and his arrest; being arrested by the Russians December 30, 1944 and sent on a death march from Budapest to Szekszard; being saved by a Russian soldier and returning to Budapest; working with an underground movement opposed to communist rule and being arrested by the Russians again in November 1948; postwar life in Hungary under communist rule; Hungarian-German relations; Miklos Horthy’s attitude towards Jews and Nazis; the German occupation of Hungary; the role of the Vatican in great detail based on his contacts; entering the United States in 1961; and becoming a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

Date: 10/02/1986
Interviewer: Josey G. Fisher
Interviewee: Tibor Baranski
Language: English
Subject: Antisemitism--Hungary.
Catholics--Hungary.
Communists--Hungary.
Hiding places--Hungary.
Holocaust survivors.
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary--Personal narratives.
Human smuggling.
Jews--Hungary.
Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust.
World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue--Hungary.
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Hungarian.
World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--Hungary.
World War, 1939-1945--War work--Hungary.
Men--Personal narratives.
Geographic Name
Budapest (Hungary)
Hegyeshalom (Hungary)
Hungary--History--1918-1945.
Kosice (Slovakia)
Szekszárd (Hungary)
United States--Emigration and immigration.
Veszprém (Hungary)
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Hegyeshalom, Hungary
Permalink: https://hoha.digitalcollections.gratzcollege.edu/item/oral-history-interview-with-tibor-baranski/