List of Hungarian Jews

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This is a list of Hungarian Jews. There has been a Jewish presence in today's Hungary since Roman times (bar a brief expulsion during the Black Death), long before the actual Hungarian nation. Jews fared particularly well under the Ottoman Empire, and after emancipation in 1867. At its height, the Jewish population of historical Hungary numbered more than 900,000, but the Holocaust and emigration, especially during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, has reduced that to around 100,000, most of whom live in Budapest and its suburbs.

This is a list of anyone who could be reliably described as "Hungarian" and is of significant Jewish heritage (ethnic or religious). See List of Hungarian Americans for descendents of Hungarian émigrés born in America, a significant number of whom are/were of Jewish ancestry.

Please note the names are presented in the Western European convention of the given name preceding the family name, whereas in Hungary, the reverse is true, as in most Asian cultres.

Historical figures

• Victor Basch, politician
• Johanna Bischitz von Heves, philanthropist
• Pál Hevesy, diplomat
• Sándor Hatvany-Deutsch, merchant
• Miksa Falk, tutor of Hungarian language for emperor Franz-Joseph I.
• Miksa Fenyő, Jewish intellectual, writer, MP, and co-founder of the NYUGAT periodical.
• Ernő Gerő, communist politician
• Theodor Herzl, Zionist leader
• Miklos Kanitz, survivor
• Rudolf Kasztner, controversial Holocaust figure
• Zsigmond Kornfeld, banker
• Béla Kun, communist revolutionary (Jewish father)
• Leó Lánczy, deputy
• Tom Lantos, US Congressman
• Trebitsch Lincoln, British adventurer [3]
• Max Nordau, Zionist leader
• Alexander Rado, Soviet military intelligence agent
• Mátyás Rákosi, communist politician
• Tibor Rubin, American militaryman
• Solomon Marcus Schiller-Szinessy, Rabbi, first jewish professor in Cambridge
• Rosika Schwimmer, feminist and diplomat
• Yehoshua Stampfer, Zionist pioneer
• Tibor Szamuely, politician [4]
• Hannah Szenes, WW2 partisan
• Moritz Wahrmann, politician
• Alexander Wahrmann, politician
• Berthold Weisz, deputy
• Solomon Winter, philanthropist
• Markus Nissa Weiss, advocate of Reform
• Philip Wodianer, communal worker
• Theodore Wolfner, deputy
• Károly Csemegi, jurist, editor of the first Hungarian modern legal codex

Religious Figures

See Hungarian-Jewish Religious Figures

Scientists

Mathematicians

Social scientists

Films and stage

• Mischa Auer, actor
• George Cukor film director^[11]
• Tony Curtis, actor
• Jamie Lee Curtis, actress, Hungarian paternal grandparents
• Michael Curtiz, director
• Paul Czinner, director/screenwriter/producer
• Eva Gabor, actor (Jewish mother)^[12]
• Magda Gabor, actress and socialite (Jewish mother)
• Zsa Zsa Gabor, actor (Jewish mother)
• Goldie Hawn, actress
• Harry Houdini, magician and film actor
• Kate Hudson, actress
• Gustav Kadelburg, actor, dramatist, writer
• Heinrich Kadelburg, actor
• Peter Kassovitz, director
• Sir Alexander Korda, director & producer
• Vincent Korda, art director and production designer
• Zoltán Korda, director
• Robert Lantos, producer
• Peter Lorre, actor
• Paul Lukas, actor
• Emeric Pressburger, Oscar-winning film director, screenwriter, producer
• István Szabó, director [16]
• George Tabori, playwright and director
• Alexandre Trauner, set designer
• Rachel Weisz, actress

Musicians

• Paul Abraham (composer)
• Moshe Atzmon, conductor
• Caroline von Gomperz-Bettelheim, singer
• Leopold Auer, conductor, violinist, educator
• Gábor Darvas, composer
• Antal Doráti, conductor (Jewish mother)
• Ilona Eibenschütz, pianist
• Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, violinist
• Adam Fischer, conductor
• Annie Fischer, pianist
• Ivan Fischer, conductor
• Carl Flesch, violinist
• Karl Goldmark, composer
• Stephen Heller, composer
• Naftali Hershtik, chazzan
• Joseph Joachim, violinist
• Emmerich Kálmán, composer
• István Kertész, conductor
• Joseph Kosma, composer
• Lili Kraus, pianist
• György Kurtág, composer
• Yehoshua Lakner, Israeli composer
• György Ligeti, composer
• Oszkar Maleczky, opera singer
• Ervin Nyíregyházi, pianist ^[13]
• Eugene Ormandy, conductor, violinist
• Ödön Pártos, violist, composer
• Adolph Pollitzer, violinist
• Tommy Ramone, drummer
• Fritz Reiner, conductor
• Eduard Remenyi, violinist
• Sigmund Romberg, composer
• Vera Rozsa, singer, singing educator, vocal consultant
• Márk Rózsavölgyi, composer, originator of csardas
• András Schiff, pianist
• Friedrich Schorr, bass-baritone
• Matyas Seiber, composer
• Edmund Singer, violinist
• Sir Georg Solti, conductor
• János Starker, cellist
• George Szell, conductor
• Joseph Szigeti, violinist
• Miklós Vig, singer and cabaret performer
• Endre Wolf, violinist
• Bela Zerkovitz, composer

Writers

• Béla Balázs, poet & film critic^[14]
• Sándor Bródy, journalist
• Zsigmond Bródy, journalist
• György Faludy, writer
• Miksa Fenyõ, writer, intellectual and politician
• Daniel Ganzfried, Swiss author
• Jenő Heltai, poet
• Theodor Hertzka, journalist
• Arthur Holitscher, essayist, novelist
• Illés Kaczér, satirist, political humorist
• Imre Kertész, author, Nobel Prize (2002)
• Arthur Koestler, novelist & critic [17]
• György Konrád, writer and former political dissident
• Ephraim Kishon, satirist
• Paul Lendvai, journalist
• Rudolf Lothar, dramatist^[15]
• Georg Lukács, philosopher & literary critic
• George Mikes, humorous writer (UK)
• Ferenc Molnár, playwright
• Max Simon Nordau, social critic & Zionist leader
• István Örkény, writer
• Ernő Polgár, writer
• Miklós Radnóti, poet^[2]
• Anna Sandor, screenplay
• Ernő Szep
• Tamás Sipos, sports commentator and writer
• Antal Szerb, scholar & writer^[16]
• George Tabori, writer & theatre director
• Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel Peace Prize 1986^[17]
• Ludwig Wysber, Hungarian journalist and author
• Zvi Yair, Hebrew poet

Artists

• Imre Ámos, painter
• Margit Anna, painter
• Maurice Ascalon, sculptor & industrial designer (immigrated to Israel)
• Lipót Baumhorn, architect
• Gyula Basch, painter
• Árpád Basch, painter
• Andor Basch, painter
• Marcel Breuer, artist, architect
• Robert Capa, photojournalist
• István Farkas, painter
• Andre Francois, painter and graphic artist^[18] (Jewish father)
• Ilka Gedő, painter and graphic artist
• John Hirsch, theatre director
• Nándor Katona (1864-19324) - painter
• Isidor Kaufman, painter
• Oskar Kaufmann, architect
• André Kertész, photographer
• Paul Laszlo, architect
• László Moholy-Nagy, painter, photographer
• Martin Munkacsi, photographer
• Sylvia Plachy, photographer (Jewish mother)^[12]
• Constantin Daniel Rosenthal, painter
• Hugo Scheiber, painter
• Arpad Szenes, painter
• Lajos Vajda, painter
• Ignaz Wechselmann, architect and philanthropist

Business

• Leo Castelli, Trieste-born US paint merchant^[19]
• André Deutsch, publisher
• Móric Farkasházi Fischer
• William Fox, founder of Fox
• Andrew Grove, co-founder and chairman of Intel
• Josef Ganz, automotive engineer
• Arthur Murray, dance instructor
• Joseph Pulitzer, newspaper baron (Jewish father)
• Reichmann family
• George Soros, financial speculator
• Teodoro Schwartz, father of George Soros
• Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures
• Estée Lauder, founder of worldwide cosmetics company
• Ronald Lauder, businessman, philanthropist, son of Estée Lauder

Sports

Chess

• Gyula Breyer
• Rezső Charousek
• Ernst Karl Falkbeer
• István Fazekas
• Ernő Gereben
• Isidor Gunsberg
• Ignác Kolisch
• Gyula Kluger
• Imre König
• Samuel Lipschütz
• János Jakab Löwenthal
• Andor Lilienthal
• Josef Noa
• Judit Polgár
• Zsófia Polgár
• Zsuzsa Polgár
• Samuel Lipschütz
• Endre Steiner
• Herman Steiner
• Lajos Steiner
• László Szabó
• Miksa Weiss

Fencing

• Ilona Elek, Olympic fencer (2g1s) (Jewish father)
• Jenö Fuchs, Olympic champion fencer
• Endre Kabos, Olympic fencer (3g1s)
• Attila Petschauer, Olympic champion fencer

Other

• Viktor Barna, table tennis World Champion (5 singles, 8 doubles, 2 mixed)
• Béla Guttman, football (soccer) coach (10 championships, 2 European Cups)
• Dezső Gyarmati, Olympic water polo player & captain (3g1s1b) (half Jewish)^[20]
• Alfréd Hajós, first Olympic swimming champion (2g)
• Paul Havas, Columbia Quarterback (Transylvanian Grandparents)
• György Kárpáti, water polo player (half Jewish)^[20]
• Béla Komjádi, water polo player
• György Bródy, Olympic water polo players (3g1b & 2g & 2g)^[21]
• Ágnes Keleti, Olympic gymnast (5g4s1b)
• Ferenc Kemény, co-founder and first secretary of the IOC^[22]
• Lily Kronberger, figure skating World Champion (4g2b)
• Emilie Rotter & Laszlo Szollas, figure skating World Champions (4g1s) & Olympic medalists (2b)
• Gusztáv Sebes, national Hungarian football (soccer) coach (gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics, and silver medal at the 1954 FIFA World Cup)
• Anna Sipos, table tennis World Champion (2 singles, 6 doubles, 2 mixed)
• Miklós Szabados, table tennis World Champion (1 singles, 6 doubles, 3 mixed)^{[citation needed]}
• Éva Székely & Andrea Gyarmati, mother and daughter Olympic swimmers (1g1s & 1s1b)^[21]

Pedigrees

• Baron Hatvany-Deutsch family
• Zuckerkandl pedigree
• the House of Bischitz von Heves / Hevesy-Bischitz
• Mendel family
• Baron von Engel di Janosi

See also

• List of Hungarians
• History of the Jews in Hungary

References

1. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "He was a devout Jew"
2. ^ ^{a b c} converted to Catholicism
3. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica
4. ^ Jewish Biomedical Scientists
5. ^ Views of a Physicist: selected papers of N.G. van Kampen - Page 233 - Parents were Lutheran by religion
6. ^ (Encyclopaedia Judaica, art. Historians)
7. ^ Michael Balint (www.whonamedit.com)
8. ^ converted to Christianity
9. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "registered with the Jewish community of Pest"; Jewish Encyclopedia
10. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia article on Adolf Neubauer
11. ^ Religious Affiliation of Directors of AFI's Top 100 Movies
12. ^ ^{a b} Catholic by religion
13. ^ Kevin Bazzana (2007). Lost Genius. Canada: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-1100-9.
14. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica, art. Balazs, Bela; [http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/taite/vk/honti/principl.pdf (p100, footnote 171) "German on his mother's side and Jewish on his father's"
15. ^ [1]
16. ^ brought up a Catholic
17. ^ [2]
18. ^ Andre Francois Photo Gallery by Christopher Wheeler at pbase.com
19. ^ Salon People | Leo Castelli
20. ^ ^{a b} http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/Olympika/Olympika_1996/olympika0501k.pdf
21. ^ ^{a b} Jewish Olympic Medalists
22. ^ Ferenc Kemeny (Kauffmann)

External links

• Jewish Hungarians and Hungarian Jews
• A list of about 5000 Hungarian Jews