Gusztáv Zoltai, the former executive director of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz) and the Jewish Community of Budapest, passed away on Sunday, September 19. He was 86 years old. Born on July 28, 1935, he lost both of his parents during the Holocaust.
According to an obituary published on the Mazsihisz website, Zoltai, who “survived the events of ’44 as a small child, didn’t have the chance to heal the wounds in his heart,” and as a result “he was not able to trust the world again.”
Zoltai was a valued colleague of the World Jewish Congress for many years and participated in many WJC plenary assemblies, Executive Committee meetings, and other events.
Gusztáv Zoltai, the Mazsihisz obituary continued, “was our partner whose memory will always be with us. . . . Zoltai’s heritage in the Hungarian Jewish community . . . will be critically analyzed to help us learn about ourselves to benefit others.”
