NEW YORK (Press Release) – In its annual Haggadah supplement, The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) highlights the story of Magdalena Maria Ana Stroe, a Righteous Gentile from Romania who saved the life of her Jewish classmate, Hanna Hamburg, during the Holocaust. Thanks to Stroe’s selflessness and courage, Hamburg survived the atrocities of the Holocaust.
The JFR’s annual Haggadah supplement serves as a platform to use the seder table conversation as an opportunity to honor and express gratitude for the Righteous Gentiles who risked their lives to save Jews during this dark period of history.
Stroe lived in Kolozsvar, now known as Cluj-Napoca or Cluj, in northern Transylvania. In 1940, the region came under Hungarian rule. Stroe attended the local Calvinist High School, where she befriended Hanna Hamburg, a Jewish girl. The two became close friends. In 1942, as a result of Nazi laws, Hamburg was expelled from the Calvinist School and transferred to a Jewish High School. Despite the change, the bond between the two young women remained strong.
In the spring of 1944, as the Jews were ordered to move into the ghetto, Hamburg visited Stroe to say goodbye. In a courageous act, Stroe handed Hamburg her own identity documents, including her birth and baptism certificates. These papers allowed Hamburg to evade the ghetto deportation and flee the city. She went to Budapest, where she survived by posing as a Christian, relying on Stroe’s documents.
Meanwhile, Stroe left without her identity papers and mainly stayed at home, never seeking to replace the lost documents for fear of endangering Hamburg. On the rare occasions when Stroe did leave her house, she carried only her matriculation diploma. The constant fear of being stopped by Hungarian police or German soldiers loomed over her, and she faced several close calls due to her act of heroism.
Both Stroe and Hamburg survived the Holocaust. Today, Stroe lives in Bucharest and will celebrate her 100th birthday this September.
“As we gather around the seder table, it’s a special time to remember not just the miracles of the Exodus but also the miracles that have occurred in each generation,” said JFR Executive Vice President Stanlee Stahl. “Magdalena’s relationship with Hanna Hamburg and her incredible heroism during the Holocaust represents one such miracle that we, as the Jewish people, should recognize and be thankful for, ensuring that stories like Magdalena’s, and other acts of heroism, are passed down to future generations.”
The JFR continues its work of providing monthly financial assistance to 78 aged and needy Righteous Gentiles living in 10 countries. Since its founding, the JFR has provided more than $46 million to aged and needy rescuers. Its Holocaust teacher education program has become a standard for teaching the history of the Holocaust and educating teachers and students about the significance of the Righteous as moral and ethical exemplars. For more information, click here.
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Preceding provided by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.