1. Szilveszter Matuska was a Hungarian mass murderer and mechanical engineer who made two successful and at least two unsuccessful attempts to derail passenger trains in Hungary, Germany and Austria in 1930 and 1931.
10 Facts About Szilveszter Matuska
1. 2.
Szilveszter Matuska carried out this crime by placing numerous sticks of dynamite in a brown fibre suitcase, which detonated at a viaduct due to the weight of the train, causing the engine and nine of the eleven coaches to plunge into a ravine 30 metres deep.
3.
Szilveszter Matuska was discovered at the scene of the crime but, passing himself off as a surviving passenger, he was released.
4.
Szilveszter Matuska was tried and convicted in Austria for the two unsuccessful attempts.
5.
Szilveszter Matuska was later extradited to Hungary on condition that he not be executed.
6.
Szilveszter Matuska was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment as agreed with Austria.
7.
Szilveszter Matuska posed as a surgeon, worked for a time with the Russian war hospital, and then moved on with the troops in January 1945.
8.
At his trial, Szilveszter Matuska claimed to have been ordered to derail the express by God.
9.
In 1990 Szilveszter Matuska became the subject of a song, "Sylvestre Matuschka", by the band Lard.
10.
In 1993 Szilveszter Matuska became the subject of an art installation by Belgian artist Danny Devos.