46 Facts About Tibor Baranski

Tibor Baranski was a Hungarian-American man credited with saving more than 3,000 Hungarian Jewish women, men and children from the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Tibor Baranski talked his way into the residence of Papal Nuncio Monsignor Angelo Rotta, the Vatican's representative in Budapest.

Tibor Baranski persuaded Rotta to give him papers that would allow a Jewish family, friends of his aunt, to escape Hungary.

Rotta was so impressed by his boldness, he recruited Baranski to help save other Jews.

Over nine weeks, before the Soviets surrounded Budapest, Tibor Baranski orchestrated the rescue of over 3,000 Jews.

Tibor Baranski was arrested by the Soviets on December 30,1944, and sent on a 16-day, 160-mile forced march towards a Soviet prison, during which he ate only four times.

Tibor Baranski was saved by a sympathetic guard and made his way back to Budapest.

Tibor Baranski left Hungary during the 1956 revolution and settled with his wife in upstate New York, where both became US citizens and educators, and raised a family.

On January 11,1979, Tibor Baranski was recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.

Tibor Baranski was a member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council.

Tibor Baranski was the son of Reszl Tibor Baranski and Maria Schelnader.

Tibor Baranski's grandfather was born in Poland and after serving in the Polish army in Budapest, decided to stay.

Tibor Baranski's father married Maria Schelnader and Tibor was raised in Budapest.

Tibor Baranski was educated in Hungarian Gymnasia and became aware of rising antisemitism by 1938.

Tibor Baranski studied for the priesthood in Veszprem in 1940 and in Kassa in 1943.

Tibor Baranski learned of the Nazi government's extermination camps through church channels.

In 1944, Tibor Baranski was studying at a Catholic seminary near Kassa, Kosice to become a priest.

Tibor Baranski learned of Nazi extermination plans through church channels.

Tibor Baranski was forced to return to Budapest at age 22 on October 20,1944, as the Russian army drew near.

Tibor Baranski lived with his aunt, who requested his help contacting Catholic church officials to ask them to intervene on behalf of the Szekeres family.

Tibor Baranski found a long line of people waiting for passes at Papal Nuncio Monsignor Angelo Rotta's embassy residence, the Vatican's representative in Budapest.

Tibor Baranski wandered through the embassy until he found Rotta's office.

Tibor Baranski persuaded Rotta to give him nine letters of protection, one for each member of the Szekeres family.

Rotta was impressed that Tibor Baranski spoke excellent German and had bluffed his way to the front of the line and into his presence.

Tibor Baranski recruited Baranski to help protect Jews at risk of being sent to the death camps.

Tibor Baranski collaborated with Wallenberg and arranged private, unofficial meetings between the Swedish diplomat and Papal Nuncio Angelo Rotta.

Tibor Baranski personally escorted individuals and families to hiding places, sometimes in secret rooms hidden within factories, and in the homes of other Catholics.

Rotta asked Tibor Baranski to go the next day to a factory where nearly 50 Jews who had been baptized as Catholic were being held captive before deportation to Germany and almost certain death.

Tibor Baranski persuaded another young man to act as his driver and brought along a few others.

At the factory, the Nazis refused to open the gates, and Tibor Baranski threatened to crash the car through it.

Tibor Baranski discovered 2,000 Jews were being held captive inside, and called out the names of the baptized individuals he had been given.

Tibor Baranski boldly intercepted groups of Jews who were being deported to the death camps and using fake Vatican letters of protection, persuaded their guards to allow him to bring some prisoners back to Budapest.

Tibor Baranski freed hundreds of Jews, bringing them back to Budapest on a train.

Tibor Baranski credited his deep Catholic faith for the strength to ignore demands by Nazi officers that he stop working on behalf of Jews.

Tibor Baranski successfully won the release of dozens and hundreds of captive Jews again and again.

Tibor Baranski gave the Nazis and Arrow Cross officials meaningless but official-looking and lifesaving documents and used every other ploy he could imagine.

Tibor Baranski harbored about 3,000 Jews in the Vatican's protected sector of apartment complexes.

Tibor Baranski believed he would have died if a religious Soviet guard had not taken mercy on him, preventing another guard from shooting him, and then moving him to a line of prisoners who received medical help.

Tibor Baranski was hospitalized and after the war ended, eventually made his way back to Budapest.

Tibor Baranski finished his studies and became a vicar in Dregelypalank in Northern Hungary.

Tibor Baranski was arrested in 1948 for anti-Communist "clerical reaction," and in a show trial, was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Tibor Baranski went to Rome in 1956 to seek Western support for the revolution.

Tibor Baranski liked Communists as much as he liked Nazis.

Tibor Baranski remained in Italy where he married Katalin Korosy on 8 July 1957.

In 1980, Tibor Baranski was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the US Holocaust Memorial Council where he helped guide the formation of the memorial.

Tibor Baranski's adopted son Peter Forgach said people used to ask Tibor Baranski how he could believe in God after all he witnessed.