Peter Munk (M / Hungary, 1927-2018), Holocaust survivor
Peter Munk (M / Hungary, 1927-2018), Holocaust survivor
- KEYWORDS : <Kastner Train> <Bergen-Belsen> <Switzerland> -- <Canada>
Biography
Munk was born Nov 8, 1927 in Budapest, Hungary, into a prosperous Hungarian-Jewish family, the son of Katharina Adler Munk and Lajos "Louis" Munk (1898–1977). His grandfather, Gábor "Gabriel" Munk, had descended from a family of rabbis, was a brother of the noted linguist and ethnologist Bernát Munkácsi (né Munk), and uncle of the Hungarian jurist and writer Erno Munkacsi. Gábor became wealthy via Austro-Hungarian distribution rights for the popular Viennese chocolate brand, Manner, invested in real estate, then, during World War II, used what remained of his fortune to buy safe passage out of Hungary to neutral Switzerland for members of his immediate family, including his grandson Peter. They escaped on the Kastner train, which carried 1,684 Jews to safety in Switzerland. The journey had been arranged by Rudolf Kastner of the Zionist Aid and Rescue Committee, as a result of secret negotiations with Adolf Eichmann. Munk's mother, who divorced his father when he was four, was deported from Budapest to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. She survived, but later died by suicide.
Peter was part of the first group of refugees that arrived in Switzerland in August 1944.
Munk arrived in Canada in 1948, via Switzerland, initially on a student visa, then graduated from the University of Toronto, in 1952, with a degree in electrical engineering. He became a successful Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist.
Munk died March 28, 2018 in Toronto, Canada.
Source
- Kastner Train List I (confirmed: "Peter Munk")