Re: The Last POW

Date: April 05, 2004

"How Europe's last PoW 'learned to live again'

CLARE CHAPMAN

HE EARNED the title of Europe’s "last prisoner of war" after enduring more than half a century of incarceration, written off as a confused mental patient with no family or friends.

But for the past three years Andras Toma has enjoyed a small but very sweet taste of freedom after becoming a symbol of hope for thousands of Hungarian families whose loved ones never returned from the Second World War.

And following his death last week at 79, Toma’s newly discovered family have told of the joy they experienced having their war hero back in the village where he belonged and "where he learned to live again" for just a short time.

Toma’s extraordinary story began in 1944 when he was captured by Soviet soldiers near Auschwitz in Poland, badly shellshocked and having lost a leg. The young soldier then endured several years of being transported from one Siberian prisoner of war camp to another, during which his mental state became more and more delicate. He suffered many horrendous journeys between the camps, often ending up sleeping on comrades who had died as they were transported amid intolerably cramped conditions.

Toma was one of countless soldiers who fought for the Germans who simply disappeared in the chaotic last battles on the Eastern Front, languishing in forgotten PoW camps. The Soviets refused to release them to the newly formed West Germany simply because the new country was not recognised.

Any final hope Toma might have had of being released, free to return to the peaceful Hungarian village of Nyiregyhaza, ended in 1947 when he was transferred to a psychiatric institute in Kotenich, some 600 miles east of Moscow, where he was diagnosed as suffering from ‘psycho-neurosis’ because the Russians mistook his Hungarian for gibberish.

A staggering 53 years later a chance visit by a Hungarian-speaking doctor to the institute led to the vital turning point in Toma’s life. The doctor managed to coax enough detail from the frail Toma to realise what had happened and he was eventually flown home on August 11, 2000, after an extensive search using DNA and the last of Toma’s fragmented memories to trace his surviving relatives in Nyiregyhaza.

A search by the Hungarian authorities then began in Russia to try to find some of the other thousands of unaccounted-for loved ones from the war. But their efforts were fruitless and so Toma earned his title and the adoration of his country.

His return to Hungary was emotional not only for Toma but also for his newfound relatives - his half-brother Janos and his half-sister Anna Gabulya.

Gabulya said she remembers the first time she saw Toma as he arrived at Budapest airport. "It was like a bolt of lightning coursing through me. His eyes, ears, the back of his neck were just like my father’s."

Gabulya and her husband, also named Andras, took her wheelchair-bound relative into their home. She said: "He would hardly say a word. He would eat breakfast in silence and then say ‘Let’s go’.

"I don’t think he could quite comprehend that this was his home now."

But within weeks Toma’s condition improved and he began to settle into his new family. "He remembered lots of things, including names of people he grew up with," said his half-brother. "There was no doubt that he was my brother. We were similar in many ways despite everything he went through."

His half-siblings, who shared the same father with Toma, said he spent the last three years of his life "learning to live again".

But he was unable to completely put the past behind him and he could often be heard muttering words of contempt for Adolf Hitler and his Hungarian ally Miklos Horthy. "Not worth a pipe-full of tobacco," was one of his most uttered thoughts on the two leaders.

His sister said he was particularly skilled at mending broken tools and would spend days perfecting them, making new handles out of juniper wood that he collected from nearby trees.

"He would work as long as three days on one tool, making sure it was perfect," she said.

Toma’s family say one of the most important things he learned to do again was to trust people, and after three years he had many friends in the village.

Psychiatrist Dr Andras Veer from the National Psychiatry and Neurology Institute, who led the team that first examined Toma when he was found, described how the search for his home began. "He told us where he was born and where he went to school. He even told us the name of his teacher and which village he worked in as a blacksmith’s apprentice."

Veer, who visited Toma several times over the past three years, said each time he went to see him the veteran had noticeably improved.

"His memory was improving all the time and he could remember more and more about his childhood," Veer said.

"He became far more communicative and showed himself to be a very kind man, although there were times when he would retreat back to how he was when we first found him and he could become quite angry. He always wanted to know when he would get his leg back."

According to the psychiatrist, Toma spent a lot of time listening to the radio and enjoying the luxury of a bath in private - something that was not allowed in the Russian hospital.

Toma will be buried in his home village with full military honours on Tuesday.

A history of struggle

ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A history of struggle

ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A history of struggle

ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A history of struggle

ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A history of struggle

ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE


ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE


ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE


ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

A history of struggle

ALTHOUGH Hungary did not join Hitler in his war against the Allies until 1940, the country was the first in Europe to set up a nationalist dictatorship under Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Horthy, below, was elected as regent of Hungary in 1920 and went on to ruthlessly suppress all political opposition, successfully defeating attempts by Charles I, former emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to regain the throne.

He united with Nazi Germany in 1938 after the Allies refused to help him reclaim sections of Czechoslovakia that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon after the First World War. Together with Italy, Germany arranged for parts of Czechoslovakia to be awarded to Hungary, which in return offered its support in the Second World War.

But by 1942 Horthy believed the Axis powers would lose the war and began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Allies.

His attempt to step away from the war failed, however, when the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944 and he was forced to again collaborate.

After the war, Horthy was a witness at the Nuremberg trials. Unable to return to his native Hungary, he lived in exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957."