My Voice: Tomi Komoly

Survival, escape and new horizons

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• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781526186942
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526186935
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Jewish History
• Index: History

Tomi Komoly, born in 1936 in Budapest, was the only child of a loving Jewish family. Tomi describes the ordeals endured by Hungarian Jews under the Horthy regime and Nazi occupation. He provides an account of his survival after he was forced to move to a constricted 'yellow star house' and eventually found shelter with a Hungarian family with his mother. Tomi's father was forcefully conscripted into the Hungarian Labour Service and did not survive.

Post-war, facing the oppression of the communist regime in Hungary, Tomi fled to Vienna, then moved to England having secured a scholarship to study engineering. He married Gill, built a successful career in engineering and settled in Manchester with his family. Tomi received the British Empire Medal for services to Holocaust education.

Tomi's book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.

Table of contents

• Front matter
• My Voice Project
• Dedication
• Contents
• 1 – My family
• 2 – Growing up in Budapest
• 3 – Moving to a yellow-star house
• 4 – Uncle Ottó’s bravery
• 5 – Moving to a protected house
• 6 – In hiding
• 7 – Reunited with my grandmother
• 8 – Searching for survivors
• 9 – Post-war hardships
• 10 – Fuelling the apartment
• 11 – My primary education, sporting and leisure activities
• 12 – A ‘proper’ upbringing
• 13 – The kitchen was the heart of the home
• 14 – High school
• 15 – Working the system
• 16 – Going to University
• 17 – Time to leave Hungary
• 18 – Crossing the border to the free West
• 19 – A refugee in Vienna
• 20 – The question of studying
• 21 – My arrival in England
• 22 – Help from the Jewish Refugee Committee in London
• 23 – College life in Scotland
• 24 – Flat sharing and improving language skills
• 25 – Hitchhiking in Europe
• 26 – Adventures in Kenya
• 27 – Studying for a Master’s at Birmingham University
• 28 – Studying and socialising at Imperial College
• 29 – Supplementary income
• 30 – Buying my first property
• 31 – Becoming British and my mother’s arrival
• 32 – My job at ICI
• 33 – From single to married life
• 34 – Relocation with a newborn
• 35 – Life in Dumfries
• 36 – The tile business
• 37 – From Cumbria to Manchester
• 38 – Settling in Wilmslow
• 39 – Project management
• 40 – My girls and grandchildren
• 41 – Enjoying life after retirement
• 42 – My love of travel and SHERPA
• 43 – Spending time with relatives in Hungary and Israel
• 44 – My personal development in later life
• 45 – Involvement with the Holocaust Educational Trust
• 46 – Reflections
• Glossary
• My Voice volunteers
• About The Fed