A Past Born From Fire: ‘The Politzer Saga’

Hungarian Jews at Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland, in May 1944. Linda Broenniman discovered that her mother had aided Jews during World War II, including Linda’s father. This led to Linda researching her family's history, which culminated in a book. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

When Linda Broenniman was in her late 20s, the godmother to her oldest sister accidentally revealed that their father, who had emigrated along with their mother from Hungary to the United States in the years following World War II, was Jewish. Ms. Broenniman attempted several times to find out more about her father’s hidden past and the family’s European background, but he flatly refused to revisit that time of his life.

In 2006, Ms. Broenniman was astonished when the Israeli government declared her mother Righteous Among the Nations, an honor bestowed on non-Jews who had risked their lives to rescue Jews during the Holocaust.

A medal designating Righteous Among the Nations, honoring those who aided Jews during the Holocaust. Ezer58 /CC BY-SA 4.0

In this case, her mother had helped save her father’s life and those of others from the death camps. Shocked by how little she knew about her parents’ history, Ms. Broenniman tried to learn more, but was again met with resistance from her father. With her mother suffering from Alzheimer’s, her quest seemed at a dead end. From a remark made by her mother, she knew only that a box of documents packed away in her parents’ house might hold some of the answers she was looking for.

In 2011, that house caught fire. Her elderly father survived but her mother died in a coma days afterward, and Ms. Broenniman assumed that the box, if it had existed, was lost forever. Five more years passed, and then one day her sister called to tell her that she had found the box among items retrieved from the flames and would ship it to her.

The information contained in that box marked the beginning of the pilgrimage that would result in “The Politzer Saga.”

The Story

In her book, Ms. Broenniman takes readers back eight generations to the 18th century. Over that broad span of years from the age of knee breeches and powdered wigs to the present, we meet her ancestors: highly accomplished and even famous doctors, successful entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and notable collectors of art. We meet mothers and fathers, children, and other family members and friends, most of whom loved, admired, and protected one another. In addition to these word portraits, “The Politzer Saga” contains an abundance of family photographs, documents, paintings, and maps.

Because of her own diligent research—particularly valuable was the document “Our Family History” by Zsigmond Politzer (1842–1920)—and with the help of others, most notably the lawyer and indefatigable preserver of Jewish heritage Andras Gyekiczki, Ms. Broenniman weaves history into her story. Not only do we follow the fortunes of the Politzer clan, sometimes negatively affected by anti-Semitism and political upheavals, but we also learn much about Hungary’s rich past.

While readers may fix upon their own favorites in this family chronicle, the ancestor whose story most appealed to me was Ignacz Misner (1846–1944), who married Josefa Politzer and was Ms. Broenniman’s great-great-grandfather. Misner was renowned for his skill and diplomacy as an attorney—he was a founding member of the Hungarian Bar—a loving husband, and a craftsman of language. He was also a man of honor. In a 1934 interview with a journalist, he spoke of laws and people changing, then said: “One thing never changes and will never change until the end of time: eternal truth. I could perhaps be proud of this fact that I have always fought for justice.”

Suffering from dementia, and with his homes and property confiscated by the fascists, Misner likely died of starvation in a hospital in the Jewish ghetto. He is buried in a mass grave with his fellow Jews, though his name is engraved on the family crypt.

Today “The Politzer Saga” is not only the title of the book and the name of Ms. Broenniman’s website, but also the name of a permanent exhibition in the historic Rumbach Synagogue in Budapest. There, visitors can view 10 seven-minute films inspired by her family’s stories. Though the pandemic prevented any ceremony when the exhibition first opened in 2021, on Sept. 2 of this year, it was officially celebrated. In attendance was Ms. Broenniman herself.

Heroism and Holocaust

Linda Ambrus Broenniman researched and wrote about her family's heroic history. Courtesy of Linda Broenniman

Ms. Broenniman’s record of her ancestors recounts numerous incidents of men and women displaying heroism and virtue. The ever-changing laws in the 19th century regarding Hungary’s Jews created a constant feeling of unease and insecurity, no matter how prosperous the times. Yet again and again, the Politzers and others showed resilience and courage in the face of oppression and adversity.

Under the thumb of the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators, the Arrow Cross Party, the Jews suffered terribly from death and imprisonment during World War II, yet even then people like Ignacz Misner kept their pride and honor. When in 1944 the government ordered Jews to turn over all their gold, including jewelry, the 98-year-old Misner insisted on delivering his pocket watch personally to the authorities. “With his strong sense of justice,” Ms. Broenniman writes, “he would have wanted to look his perpetrators in the eye.”

Witness and Memory

A retired entrepreneur, Ms. Broenniman lives with her husband in Virginia. When asked in an interview with The Epoch Times what she hoped to achieve with “The Politzer Saga,” she said: “I wanted to tell the stories of people who suffered tremendously but who still loved and tried to serve humanity. So, no room for hate is one lesson.” She then added: “I also hope people will explore their own histories. I think it’s important to know who we are and where we came from.”

That message rings out loud and clear from every page of “The Politzer Saga.” When we know something about those who came before us, and when we extend that look over our shoulder to include the history of our country as well, the past shines a light on the present and helps us find our way into the future. Linda Broenniman illuminates this idea with a quote from the late Elie Wiesel, writer and concentration camp survivor:

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness. Not only are we responsible for the memories of the dead, we are responsible for what we do with those memories.”

Auschwitz survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel in New York on April 29, 2012. Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Several times, Ms. Broenniman also cites this traditional Jewish condolence: “May their memory be for a blessing.” In other words, it is up to the living to keep the goodness of the deceased alive. Ms. Broenniman achieves this ambition in her book.

When we know and honor our past, we can do the same.

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