Vali Rácz

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Lore & Background

Vali Rácz finished the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest in 1932. Between 1933 and 1934, she played at City Theatre and then at Hungarian Theatre. In 1936, she sang at 'Terézkörúti Színpad' and at City Theatre for three years. After 1945 she was a member of Royal Revue-theatre, Medgyaszay Theatre, then Kamara Varieté. She acted in twenty films, but was primarily a chanteuse, giving solo concerts at the Music Academy and Vigadó concert hall, as well as appearing regularly at the Hangli Kioszk nightclub. During the Second World War, between April and November 1944, she sheltered five Jewish friends at her villa in Budapest. She was betrayed by the husband of one of the fugitives and arrested by the Hungarian secret police, who incarcerated her at their headquarters, the Hotel Majestic. Through the efforts of her supporters in the underground, she was released. All five Jews she had helped survived the war. In 1946, she married writer and journalist Péter Halász. Their children were Mónika and Valér. The family left Hungary in the wake of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. She lived in New York City, later in London, and in 1975 settled in Munich, Germany. On 25 May 1992, she was honored as a Righteous Gentile by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. She died at the age of 85 on 12 February 1997.

Reader's Guide

Vali Rácz's significance rests on two pillars: her career as a celebrated Hungarian singer and film actress, and her courageous act of sheltering Jews during the Holocaust. As a performer, she was a regular at the Hangli Kioszk nightclub and gave solo concerts at prestigious venues like the Music Academy and Vigadó concert hall. Her filmography includes twenty films, though her primary identity was as a chanteuse. Her wartime heroism is the defining chapter of her legacy. From April to November 1944, she hid five Jewish individuals in her Budapest villa. Her arrest by the Hungarian secret police and imprisonment at the Hotel Majestic—a notorious site of interrogation and torture—highlighted the extreme risk she took. Her release came through underground supporters, and all five fugitives survived. After the war, she married Péter Halász and had two children. The family fled Hungary after the 1956 Revolution, eventually settling in Munich in 1975. Her recognition as a Righteous Gentile by Yad Vashem on 25 May 1992 cemented her place in history. Her daughter Monica Porter later wrote a book about her wartime exploits, bringing her story to a wider audience.

Did You Know?

• Vali Rácz finished the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest in 1932.
• She acted in twenty films but was primarily a chanteuse.
• Between April and November 1944, she hid five Jewish friends in her Budapest villa.
• She was arrested by the Hungarian secret police and held at the Hotel Majestic.
• She was honored as a Righteous Gentile by Yad Vashem on 25 May 1992.