Former premier’s pilgrimage
It is in Budapest's Jewish cemetery – the world's largest – which spans 80 hectares and has more than 300,000 graves but has suffered from decades of neglect.
“I’m probably not the most emotional person in the world, but that day was actually very emotional for me,” Nick Greiner told The AJN on Tuesday.
The former NSW premier was recalling attending the rededication ceremony last month of a 115-year-old Greiner family mausoleum that until recently he didn’t know of.
It is in Budapest’s Jewish cemetery – the world’s largest – which spans 80 hectares and has more than 300,000 graves but has suffered from decades of neglect.
Buried inside the mausoleum are two of Greiner’s great-grandparents – Emmanuel and Theresa – who both died in 1908, as well as the oldest of their three sons, Sandor, his wife and their son Ferencz.
Unlike Sandor, his two younger brothers – including Greiner’s grandfather Hugo – converted to Catholicism in the early 20th century under the shadow of worsening antisemitism and the loss of their business.
Greiner’s parents, Catholic-raised Nick Senior and his wife Clare migrated from Hungary to Australia in 1951, when he was four. “My parents chose not to talk about their past until very late in the piece,” Greiner said.
“So it was only when I was introduced (through an acquaintance) to Michael Perl – a most diligent researcher and a co-founder of Friends of the Budapest Jewish Cemetery (FBJC) – that I became aware of the mausoleum.”
Perl, a Moriah College graduate who resides in New York, established FBJC in 2017 to raise funds for restoration and maintenance work at the massive cemetery.
So far the charity has funded improvements to 23 hectares of land, regaining direct access to 72,000 graves.
A registered Australian chapter of FBJC was created last year, and Greiner was its first major donor, funding the complete restoration of the mausoleum – which was in serious disrepair – and also the nearby grave of his maternal grandmother.
Greiner and Perl both spoke at the rededication ceremony, which was attended by Budapest Jewish community president Tamas Mester, and Peter Kunos, executive director of Hungary’s Jewish communal roof body, Mazsihisz.
“You know, one of my middle names is Frank, but I’d never understood why,” Greiner said.
“It turns out Frank [Ferencz in Hungarian] was a cousin of my father’s, so to see his name on the plaque was so impactful.
“I’m pleased to say that last week, my 19-year-old grandson visited the mausoleum while on his university break.
“It’s such an important thing, to understand your heritage.”
For more information, visit budapestjewishcemetery.com
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