Opening of the Exhibition Dedicated to the Korompay Family at the Polish Institute in Budapest
On 20 April 2023, the exhibition “The Korompay Family. The Tragic Fate of Captain Emanuel Aladár Korompay and His Family Through the Eyes of His Daughter Ilona (A Korompay Család – Korompay Emanuel Aladár százados és családjának tragikus sorsa Ilona lánya szemével)” was opened at the Polish Institute in Budapest.
The exhibition was organised by the Polish Institute in Budapest, with the Polish Cultural and Educational Centre as co-organiser. The project was carried out in partnership with the Katyn Museum, the Mausoleum of Struggle and Martyrdom, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Budapest and the Embassy of Hungary in Warsaw.
The exhibition presents the story of an extraordinary Polish–Hungarian family whose history has become a symbol of the shared experiences of both nations and a testimony to the tragedies of the twentieth century. At the heart of the narrative stands Captain Emanuel Aladár Korompay (1890–1940) – Hungarian by birth, Polish patriot by choice, lecturer in Hungarian at the University of Warsaw, and author of the first Polish–Hungarian dictionaries and Hungarian-language textbooks for Polish learners. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for military service, was taken prisoner by the Soviet authorities and murdered by the NKVD in the spring of 1940. He is buried at the Polish War Cemetery in Kharkiv as one of the victims of the Katyn Massacre.
The tragic fate of the Korompay family also affected its other members. Marta Korompay was killed during the defence of Warsaw in September 1939. Elżbieta Korompay, a Girl Scout and member of the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa), was arrested by the Gestapo, subjected to brutal interrogations and died in January 1943 without betraying her comrades. The mother of the family, Mieczysława Korompay, was imprisoned in Pawiak Prison and murdered in the German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The only family member to survive the war was the eldest daughter, Ilona Korompay, whose invaluable memoirs form the basis of the exhibition.
Drawing on Ilona Korompay’s recollections, the exhibition follows the family’s journey through some of the most significant sites of twentieth-century remembrance and martyrdom: Katyn, Kharkiv, occupied Warsaw, Szucha Avenue, Pawiak Prison and Auschwitz. It is a moving story of fidelity to one’s values, service to others, courage and resilience in the face of totalitarian oppression.
The history of the Korompay family is both a remarkable testimony to Polish–Hungarian solidarity and a reminder that behind the history of the Katyn Massacre stand real people, families and personal tragedies that have become part of the collective memory of both nations.
The exhibition opening was attended by numerous members of the Korompay family, Hungarian citizens interested in the family’s history and the exhibition devoted to it, as well as representatives of Polish institutions. The Katyn Museum was represented by Dr Bartłomiej Bydoń.
Following the opening ceremony, a meeting was held during which the story of Emanuel Korompay was presented in the context of his death in Kharkiv. The audience also attended a lecture devoted to the Mausoleum of Struggle and Martyrdom at 25 Szucha Avenue in Warsaw.
