August 2021 Portrait of the Month — Éva Székely

Éva Székely

This month we are featuring a portrait of Éva Székely, who passed away last year at age 92. Born in Hungary, Éva was a talented swimmer as a child, but was kicked off the local team at age 14 because she was Jewish. During World War II, she lived in a safe house in Budapest that was run by the Swiss. She stayed in shape by running up and down five flights of stairs 100 times every day. She defied odds to survive the Holocaust, and went on to become a world champion swimmer, and a gold and silver medalist at the Olympics.We also want to remember and honor the other Olympians whose lives were cut tragically short during the Holocaust. Among the many Jewish athletes who were killed were Anna Dresden-Polak, Lea Koot-Nordheim, and Judikje Themans-Simons. They were three of the five Jews on the gold-medaling Dutch gymnastics team at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. On July 23rd, 1943, the three teammates were murdered at Sobibór. Their coach, Gerrit Kleerekoper, and husbands and young children were also killed shortly after their arrival at the death camp. They are just a few among the many Jewish athletes who perished in the Holocaust. We remember their accomplishments and their lives, and honor their memories.