Elza Brandeisz
Brandeisz holding a letter from George Soros for her 100th birthday.
Born
Erzsébet Brandeisz

(1907-09-18)18 September 1907
Rust, Burgenland, Austria-Hungary
Died6 January 2018
(aged 110 years, 110 days)
Sopron, Hungary
NationalityHungarian
Occupation(s)Teacher, dancer
AwardsRighteous Among the Nations

Erzsébet "Elza" Brandeisz (18 September 1907 – 6 January 2018) was a Hungarian dancer, teacher, and supercentenarian. She was considered a pioneer of expressionist dance in Hungary. During World War II, she hid several Jews in her family's summer home in Balatonalmádi, including the 14-year-old George Soros. In 1995 she was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.

Early life and education

Brandeisz was born in Rust, Burgenland, Austria on 18 September 1907.[1][2] She grew up in Budapest, Hungary, in a German family which belonged to the Lutheran church. As a child, she witnessed the coronation of Charles I of Austria in Budapest.[3]

Between 1923 and 1928, she studied dance at the school of Lili Kállai.[3] In the 1930s, she studied in Vienna and in Dresden under Mary Wigman.[3]

Career

Brandeisz was a dancer and later a state-licensed[2] teacher in a private school for modern dance run by Béláné Lajtai, a Jewish woman.[4] Brandeisz was considered "one of the pioneers of expressionist dance in Hungary".[3] Dance competitions still call a difficult, spinaround movement that she taught the "Brandeisz Jump".[2]

During World War II, to avoid takeover by German Nazis, Brandeisz registered Lajtai's school in her name.[5] When Lajtai was forcibly relocated to a yellow-star house, Brandeisz brought her food and helped her obtain a letter of protection from the Portuguese embassy.[5] Brandeisz also hid Bözsi Soros and her 14-year-old son, György, in her family's summer house in Balatonalmádi. After emigrating to America, György changed his name to George Soros.[4][5] The Soros family shared the one-room house with Brandeisz's elderly father, mother, and sister.[6]

In the postwar era, dance was viewed negatively by the new communist government and Brandeisz was banned from performing in 1948.[3] She began teaching gymnastics and sports in Balatonalmádi.[3]

Later life

In 1963, Brandeisz retired and became a museum guide in the Storno House in Sopron, where she worked until 1978.[3] She refused to be supported by George Soros, but she was supported by nurses on his initiative.[3] In 1995, she was honored by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.[4][5]

In her last years she lived in seclusion in Sopron.[3][1] At the time of her death on 6 January 2018, Brandeisz was the oldest resident of the city, aged 110.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "George Soros Lebensretterin gestorben" [George Soros' lifesaver died]. burgenland.orf.at (in German). 6 January 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Nagy, Márta (19 September 2016). "Elza néni 109 éves" [Aunt Elza is 109 years old]. Kisalfold (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Schütz, Hartmut (8 January 2018). "Eine der Pionierinnen des Ausdruckstanzes: Elza Brandeisz starb mit 110 Jahren" [One of the pioneers of expressionist dance: Elza Brandeisz has died at the age of 110]. Dresdner Neuesten Nachrichten (in Hungarian). Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Lázár, György (11 July 2017). "George Soros's savior Elza Brandeisz, member of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church". Hungarian Free Press. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Rescue Story: Brandeisz, Elza". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  6. ↑ Soros, Tivadar (2001). Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi-occupied Hungary. Arcade Publishing. pp. 115, 169. ISBN 9781559705813.
  7. ↑ Molnár, Zoltán (6 January 2018). "Meghalt Soros Györgyék megmentője". 24.hu. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
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