Asher Aranyi

One Eye Cries While the Other Laughs Asher Aranyi

During the fascist occupation of Hungary in World War II, Asher Aranyi was a pioneer of the underground movement, smuggling Jews over the border to Romania, creating and handing out faked identity documents, and rescuing Jews from the Ghettos and Forced Labor Camps. He was captured twice, imprisoned and tortured, but never broken. Together with his wife, Haviva, he helped start and build Kibbutz Bet HaEmek in Israel. For his brave deeds in the underground, the Hungarian government awarded him the Medallion of Courage in 2002. This is his story, told in his own words.