Holocaust Survivor, 87 year old Andy Sarkany

Meeting Andy Sarkany today was a true honor. Andy dedicates his time to educating young people across the country about the Holocaust. As a young survivor, he is a valuable source of firsthand information, especially considering that many older survivors have unfortunately passed away. It is crucial that we seize the opportunity to learn from individuals like Andy who can still share their powerful stories with us. Endre (Andy) Sarkany was born in Budapest, Hungary on October 31, 1936. The building he lived in was located inside the Budapest ghetto which is where he remained during the Holocaust. The building housed a nursery/kindergarten on the ground floor. The school was affiliated with the Jewish Agency of Hungary and was led by Mr. Eugene Polnay. The building also housed on the top floor a dance, acrobat, and ballet studio. These facts were significant in Endre’s survival and that of at least 150 orphaned children. Endre’s father was taken to Mauthausen concentration camp in the spring of 1944, fortunately, he survived. After WWII, Hungary became a communist nation. Although Endre graduated high school in 1955, he was not accepted to university because he was deemed an undesirable element of society. This label was given to anyone who owned a business before the communists took over the country. Endre was fortunate to escape Hungary after the October 1956 uprising and was able to immigrate to the United States.  He received his bachelor’s degree from Tusculum College in Tennessee and his Master of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.  Endre worked for both the McDonald Douglas Corporation and the IBM Corporation. Over the past 10 years, Endre has been speaking to students about his personal experiences during the Holocaust, living under the brutality of the Soviet regime in Hungary, and finding a home in the United States. Andy is married, has a daughter and son, and five grandchildren.