www.abrahamevents.org

(You can turn off subtitles by clicking on cc at the bottom of the screen)
This temporary link will remain active for a few weeks.
A more permanent link will be published on our website.

Tomi Komoly

My Uncle Ottó: Hero of the Holocaust 

Saved orphans from certain death
Zionist leader - refused the opportunity to escape
Murdered in Budapest on 1 January 1945

Tomi was born in Budapest in 1936. Brought up as a single child in a secular environment. Survived the Hungarian Holocaust (1944) but lost his father and 75% of his wider family. Went through the communist state schooling system, and one year of Technical University studies, but left in 1956 during the Hungarian uprising, becoming a refugee in Austria.
Tomi continued his studies in the UK, graduating in Engineering.  He worked in the chemical industry with a multinational company as project manager in the UK, Italy, France, Spain and in Asia (India, Thailand, Indonesia, China); retired and set up as design consultant. Authored patents and technical articles, and published books on laboratory design and baking Hungarian desserts.

Tomi is one of a small group of survivors who share their story through the Holocaust Educational Trust in London. Communicated to nearly 23,000 people – mostly school children, and some official bodies and government departments. Tomi now considers its continuation as a mission and looks forward to every forthcoming event with enthusiasm.

Today Tomi will tell the story of his Uncle Ottó, a little-known hero of those terrible times when the Jews in Budapest were being rounded up for deportation.  As a leader of the Jewish community he worked tirelessly to save thousands of lives, refused the opportunity to escape from Hungary and was murdered by the Arrow Cross on 1 January 1945. A street and a moshav are named after him in Israel, and he is commemorated in the Forest of the Martyrs in Jerusalem.