Brothers for Resistance and Rescue 1 - CENDO

Arányi Asher
Arányi István
Born in Újpest in 1924
Died on 2.2.2003 in Israel
Member of “Dror Habonim”
Asher trained the members of the underground in the use of weapons.
He evaded being enlisted into forced labor. He procured forged
documents and helped the members of his movement to escape from
forced labor camps. He traveled to country towns in order to take Jewish
families out of the ghettos before they were deported to extermination
camps. He traveled to the border zone in the Carpathian Mountains with
a bag full of forged documents in order to try and give them to the Jews
being transported on the trains to exterminations camps. However, these
Jews refused to run away believing they were being sent to labor camps.
Asher smuggled Jews into Romania via the Hungarian border and often
went to the border himself. In the border town of Nagyvárad (Oradea) he
was arrested by the Gestapo, interrogated for eight days and told he
would be executed. However, after a month he was released, he returned
to Budapest and started liberating people from forced labor camps.
Arni had contacts with the Swedish Red Cross, the International Red
Cross as well as with the parachutists that went on mission to Europe on
behalf of the Yishuv in Eretz Israel (Palestine). He took part in building
bunkers that were meant to take in underground fighters.
Asher was caught again on 8.12.1944 by Hungarian policemen when he
was in possession of a gun. He was interrogated for three days but did
not reveal his real identity. He was lucky again and he survived. After the
liberation he worked for the aliya of comrades in the movement and
children.
When Asher made aliya, he was arrested by the British and held captive
in Cyprus for ten months. He was freed on 14.9.1947 and joined Kibbutz
Ma’agan. Later he was among the founders of Kibbutz Beit Ha’emek.
Asher held various key positions in this kibbutz, in “Hanoar Ha’oved”
(Working and Studying Youth Union, the Histadrut youth organization)
and was sent to Persia (Iran) by the Jewish Agency on a Zionist mission.
He was awarded the Kaplan Prize.
At his death in Kibbutz Beit Ha’emek, he left a widow, three children,
thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Asher Arányi's life story published in Hebrew: Ayin Ahat Boha- Ayin Ahat
Tzoheket ( One Eye Cries While the Other Laughs by 'The Society
for the Research of the History of the Zionist Youth Movement in
Hungary'. Israel. 2002. And translated to English -
Asher Arányi: One Eye Cries While the Other Laughs. Maarechet Kibbutz
Dalia. 2004. Israel.
Brothers for Resistance and Rescue 40