Maria Lanc
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Maria Lanc (born Maria Jenewein; 1911 – 15 November 1995) was an Austrian humanitarian. She lived in Gmünd,
Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...
with her husband
Arthur Lanc Arthur Lanc (20 March 1907, in Vienna, Austria – 20 May 1995, in Gmuend, Lower Austria) was medical officer in Gmünd and responsible for the medical care for all Jewish forced laborers in the area of Gmünd. Administering medicine to these pe ...
, a medical officer, in 1944. He and his wife owned the house number 35 in Kirchengasse. In the early summer of 1944 a carriage of 1700
Hungarian Jews The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...
which were sheltered in a grain silo, arrived in Gmünd. Arthur and Maria Lanc decided to help the inmates of the camp by all available means to alleviate their suffering. They collected clothes, food, medicine and baby linen. In the late autumn of 1944 an order was issued that in case that the frontline approaches the Jews should be transferred to a
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
in order to be killed. The date for the evacuation of the Jews was assigned for the end of March. Arthur Lanc hurried to the camp and decided to rescue three Jewish families - the family Fisch with three children aged five, four and one, the Yugoslavian nurse
Piroska Blau Piroska is a Hungarian feminine given name. Derived from the Latin name ''Prisca'' ("ancient"), the Hungarian form of the name originally appeared as Piriska, later developing into Piroska. This change was likely due to Piriska's similarity to the ...
and
Georg Uhely Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg, an Internet meme See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: ...
, a lawyer from
Ödenburg Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...
. In the night these three families flew through a small backdoor of the grain silo. At first the fugitives were hidden at the place of forester Christ, afterwards they were housed and hidden in the house of Arthur and Maria Lanc - conscious that an act like this was under threat of death penalty. On 16 December 1986 Maria Lanc and her husband
Arthur Lanc Arthur Lanc (20 March 1907, in Vienna, Austria – 20 May 1995, in Gmuend, Lower Austria) was medical officer in Gmünd and responsible for the medical care for all Jewish forced laborers in the area of Gmünd. Administering medicine to these pe ...
were bestowed the medal of the
Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
by Yad Vashem during a festive ceremony in Vienna.


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Maria Lanc
– her activity to save Jews' lives during the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, at
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
website 1911 births 1995 deaths Austrian Righteous Among the Nations People from Gmünd, Lower Austria Women in World War II {{Austria-hist-stub