Victor Rona
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Victor Rona (December 26th, 1928 - April 1945) was a Romanian Jew who died as a victim of the Holocaust. He died 5 days after he was liberated by the Soviet Red Army, from a bayonet wound to his left arm.
| Victor Rona | |
| Born | December 16, 1928 Satu-Mare, Romania |
|---|---|
| Died | April 1945 Germany |
| Occupation | Student |
Contents |
[edit] Early Life and Family
Victor was born on December 26, 1928 in Satu-Mare, Romania, where he lived with his parents and his older brother Erwin. His father, Alexander Samuel Rona, had attended university in Budapest, and he was a professor in the State Commercial College in Satu-Mare. His mother, Magdalena (Balkany), was active in Jewish communal activities.
When Hungary annexed this part of Romania in 1940, it passed antisemitic measures barring Jews from various professions. Victor's father lost his job, but he became director of the Jewish High School, which was founded in 1941. Life for the Jews of Hungary became extremely difficult, but few felt that their lives were in danger.
[edit] Education
As a high school student, Victor excelled in literature, music and sports. He won a medal in a fencing competition against a non-Jewish team, despite the prevailing antisemitic attitude of the period. He took piano lessons, and he spent hours working on his stamp collection. He was also active in several Jewish youth organizations, where he was well liked.
[edit] Holocaust
In March 1944, Germany invaded Hungary. Two months later, the Jews of Satu-Mare were suddenly forced by the Germans to live in a sealed-off ghetto. Deportations to death camps began almost immediately. Victor and his family were deported on May 30, 1944.
Strong and healthy, fifteen year-old Victor was chosen for forced labor instead of immediate death. From June 1944 until April 1945, he was sent to four different slave labor camps in Germany. Somehow he survived the horrors and terrible deprivations of the camps. He was liberated in April 1945.
[edit] Death
Five days later, Victor died of a bayonet wound in his left arm that he had received in a labor camp two weeks earlier. He received no medical help at all.
Victor was sixteen years old at the time when he died.
