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Elza Brandeisz
Elza Brandeisz
	Brandeisz holding a letter from George Soros for her 100th birthday.
Born	Erzsébet Brandeisz; 18 September 1907; Ruszt, Austria-Hungary; (present-day Rust, Austria)
Died	6 January 2018 ; (aged 110 years, 110 days); Sopron, Hungary
Nationality	Hungarian
Occupation(s)	Teacher, dancer
Awards	Righteous Among the Nations

Erzsébet "Elza" Brandeisz (18 September 1907 – 6 January 2018) was a Hungarian dancer, teacher, and supercentenarian. She was considered a pioneer of expressionist dance in Hungary. During World War II, she hid several Jews in her family's summer home in Balatonalmádi, including the 14-year-old George Soros. In 1995 she was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.

Early life and education

Brandeisz was born in Ruszt, Austria-Hungary (present-day Rust, Burgenland in Austria) on 18 September 1907.^[1]^[2] She grew up in Budapest, Hungary, in a German family which belonged to the Lutheran church. As a child, she witnessed the coronation of Charles IV of Hungary in Budapest.^[3]

Between 1923 and 1928, she studied dance at the school of Lili Kállai.^[3] In the 1930s, she studied in Vienna and in Dresden under Mary Wigman.^[3]

Career

Brandeisz was a dancer and later a state-licensed^[2] teacher in a private school for modern dance run by Béláné Lajtai, a Jewish woman.^[4] Brandeisz was considered "one of the pioneers of expressionist dance in Hungary".^[3] Dance competitions still call a difficult, spinaround movement that she taught the "Brandeisz Jump".^[2]

During World War II, to avoid takeover by German Nazis, Brandeisz registered Lajtai's school in her name.^[5] When Lajtai was forcibly relocated to a yellow-star house, Brandeisz brought her food and helped her obtain a letter of protection from the Portuguese embassy.^[5] Brandeisz also hid Bözsi Soros and her 14-year-old son, György, in her family's summer house in Balatonalmádi. After emigrating to America, György changed his name to George Soros.^[4]^[5] The Soros family shared the one-room house with Brandeisz's elderly father, mother, and sister.^[6]

In the postwar era, dance was viewed negatively by the new communist government and Brandeisz was banned from performing in 1948.^[3] She began teaching gymnastics and sports in Balatonalmádi.^[3]

Later life

In 1963, Brandeisz retired and became a museum guide in the Storno House in Sopron, where she worked until 1978.^[3] She refused to be supported by George Soros, but she was supported by nurses on his initiative.^[3] In 1995, she was honored by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.^[4]^[5]

In her last years she lived in seclusion in Sopron.^[3]^[1] At the time of her death on 6 January 2018, Brandeisz was the oldest resident of the city, aged 110.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "George Soros Lebensretterin gestorben" [George Soros' lifesaver died]. burgenland.orf.at (in German). 6 January 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nagy, Márta (19 September 2016). "Elza néni 109 éves" [Aunt Elza is 109 years old]. Kisalfold (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2018-03-15.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Schütz, Hartmut (8 January 2018). "Eine der Pionierinnen des Ausdruckstanzes: Elza Brandeisz starb mit 110 Jahren" [One of the pioneers of expressionist dance: Elza Brandeisz has died at the age of 110]. Dresdner Neuesten Nachrichten (in Hungarian). Retrieved 3 December 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lázár, György (11 July 2017). "George Soros's savior Elza Brandeisz, member of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church". Hungarian Free Press. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Rescue Story: Brandeisz, Elza". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
^ Soros, Tivadar (2001). Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi-occupied Hungary. Arcade Publishing. pp. 115, 169. ISBN 9781559705813.
^ Molnár, Zoltán (6 January 2018). "Meghalt Soros Györgyék megmentője". 24.hu. Retrieved 9 January 2018.