János Esterházy

János Esterházy (1901–1957) was a Hungarian politician of aristocratic origin, born in the territory of present-day Slovakia to a Polish mother. During the interwar period, he was a member of the Czechoslovak parliament as chairman of the National Christian Social Party. During World War II, he used his personal and family contacts to facilitate the escape of Poles through Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. After the war, Esterházy criticized the post-war persecution of the Hungarian minority and participated in a memorandum against the Košice Government Program. In 1945, he was arrested by the Czechoslovak authorities and subsequently illegally deported to the Soviet Union, where he was sentenced to ten years of forced labor in Siberia on trumped-up charges. In 1947, in his absence, the Slovak National Court sentenced him to death for high treason, collaboration with the enemy, and participation in an anti-democratic regime. However, the sentence was not carried out thanks to a presidential pardon, and the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Esterházy died in prison in 1957.

His figure is the subject of conflicting historical interpretations. Some Jewish communities consider him a hero for saving Jews during the war, while others criticize efforts to present him as a democratic anti-fascist and savior of Jews.

In 2009, Polish President Lech Kaczyński posthumously awarded János Esterházy the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his contribution in saving Poles during World War II.

Category:1901 births
Category:1957 deaths
Category:Hungarian politicians
Category:Czechoslovak politicians