Walking with the enemy

Inspired by the True Story of Pinchas Tibor Rosenbaum

Against the backdrop of war-torn Budapest, Hungary during the Second World War, a young man became a hero to the Jewish people. As a rabbi’s son from a small village called Kisvarda, Pinchas Tibor Rosenbaum fought against great odds in one of Hungary’s most terrifying periods. During the Nazi occupation in 1944, he and a group of resistance fighters, managed to outsmart the German machine and save thousands of Jews from deportation and extermination in the camps.

Thanks to his courage and Aryan features, Rosenbaum was able to disguise himself in the uniform of the Arrow Cross, the Hungarian Nazi party, in order to obtain information on Jewish individuals and families that were to be seized. He would then proceed to their homes, disguised in uniform, barking orders and threats while corralling the families into the Arrow Cross vehicles. He was convincing even to those he was saving. He would only reveal himself as a Jew once they reached their destination. One of the destinations was an old glass factory that had been taken over by the Swiss government. It was a diplomatic facility that printed protective Swiss passports for Hungarian Jews during the war. It also became a safe-house for those fortunate enough to be rescued by Rosenbaum and his comrades.

Unfortunately unable to save his own family from Hitler’s “Final Solution,” Rosenbaum selflessly gave every effort to save his people, thus earning every right to be called a hero. After the war, many individuals he personally rescued, would talk to him about this brave, Jewish hero who they owed their life to. And in perfect balance with his character, he never took credit.