Brothers For Resistance And Rescue By David Gur

Stern, head of the Jewish community in Budapest, told him about thedeportations and asked for his help in absorbing refugees arriving inBudapest from Slovakia. Stern categorically rejected his request saying:“I will allow no intruders to endanger the relative safety of HungarianJews”. In 1943 Andrej was arrested by the police, moved from one prisonto another and sentenced to imprisonment on charges of forgery andslipping across the border. Andrej escaped from prison and arrived at the“Glass House” on Vadász Street. He immediately joined the undergroundactivities and was part of the team in the forgery workshop. In December1944, when the workshop was discovered, Andrej was arrested withDavid Gur and Miki Langer. He was interrogated, tortured and about tobe executed. He was liberated in a daring operation of the Zionistunderground.After the liberation he organized children’s houses for the hungryorphaned Jewish children outside Budapest. For about six months hemanaged the children’s house in Békéscsaba. He returned to Budapestand worked in the children’s department of the International Red Cross.In 1946 he traveled to Prague, registered at the university and completedhis studies as an agricultural engineer. He published many researchesand acquired an international reputation. He was a professor at thePrague University. He has been retired since 1989. He resides in Prague.Fast Otilia (Tila)Feldman OtiliaBorn in Munkács (Mukacsevo) on 31.7.1919Died in 1991Member of “Hashomer Hatzair”Otilia came from a religious Jewish family. Her father died when she waseleven years old. She joined the movement at an early age. In 1939 Otiliawas a member of a hahshara unit “Al Hahoma” (On the wall) inBratislava. She arrived in Budapest and gave assistance to the refugeesarriving from Slovakia. After the Germans invaded Hungary on 19.3.1944,she dyed her hair in order to give herself an Aryan look. Otilia managedto cross the border into Romania within the framework of the tiyul.At the end of 1944 she arrived in Eretz Israel (Palestine) and joinedKibbutz Ha’ogen.Brothers for Resistance and Rescue 82