Melbourne – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today presented new evidence regarding the persecution, torture, and murder of Jews carried out at Arrow Cross headquarters in Budapest during the winter of 1944/1945 as part of its efforts to bring wartime fascist leader, and current Melbourne resident, Lajos Polgar to justice. At a press conference held at the Melbourne Holocaust Center, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff presented Holocaust survivor Suzanne Nozick who, together with her mother, was tortured and raped at Arrow Cross headquarters, which were under the authority of Polgar who was a youth leader of the Hungarian fascist movement. After being tortured for several days, Mrs. Nozick and her mother were marched, along with other Jews who had been held at Arrow Cross headquarters, to the banks of the Danube River, where they were shot. Mrs. Nozick’s mother was murdered, as were the others, while she miraculously survived.
Dr. Zuroff announced that he had already discussed the new evidence in the Polgar case with an official of the Australian Federal Police, and would be submitting the testimony as well as additional trial records to the Australian authorities within the coming two weeks.
According to Zuroff: “The irony of the case is that despite the mighty efforts of Polgar and his fellow Arrow Cross members to annihilate Hungarian Jewry, at least one of their intended victims has survived to tell the tale and found refuge in the same city as the person in charge of the site of her torture. We urge both the Hungarian and Australian authorities to make every effort to ensure that Lajos Polgar will be held accountable for these crimes.”
For more information call+972-50-721-4156.