Holocaust Memorial Day: Remembering Geza Kertesz, Roma coach and war hero

On International Holocaust Memorial Day, when people from all over the world remember the murder of millions of Jews during the Second World War, along with the genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, Darfur and many other countries, the club also remembers former coach Geza Kertesz.

Kertesz's Roma tenure may have been cut short by events beyond his control – but his bravery and actions will live on forever.

It was December 1942 when Geza Kertesz stepped in to begin what was - at the time, at least - the biggest challenge of his career.

A Hungarian coach of some repute, the departure of his friend and fellow Hungarian Alfred Schaffer after a four-year spell as Roma coach enabled him to step into the breach.

Here he was, coach of the reigning Italian champions – a side that reached the final of the Coppa Italia in 1941 and then had gone one better in the league a year later.

Kertesz knew the league well, having already presided over Lazio and Catania in his career.

But Roma was a side with potential, a club where perhaps he could really achieve something impressive and continue the great reputation for Hungarian coaches and players that reverberated around Europe in the era.

Instead, external events would have other ideas – and Kertesz would be dead barely two years after taking on the biggest job of his career.

The escalation of World War II meant that by June 1943, Kertesz had been recalled to his home country, enscripted in the army as Hungary lived under Nazi occupation. He was at least able to return to coaching, with local side Ujpest – but now, as a former army officer himself, he also had to train his compatriots for the ongoing war.

Kertesz was technically under Nazi orders, but he did not follow all their requests. He was focused on the best interests of his people.

As the occupation began rounding up and deporting Jews to concentration camps, it was Kertesz, along with his former teammate Istvan Toth, who helped create a secret organisation that worked tirelessly to help Hungarians evade the deporting attempts and remain out of the clutches of the Nazis.

At one point he even disguised himself as a German officer, so as to help keep compatriots alive.

As he stepped up his efforts and worked ever-more tirelessly, at the start of 1945 his luck ran out - and Kertesz’s efforts, headlined by the accusation that he was giving shelter to Jewish families, were reported to the Gestapo by a domestic spy.

Along with Toth, Kertesz was summarily executed on February 6 – just weeks before the Soviet Union would come in and liberate Budapest.

Kertesz’s body remains in the capital’s cemetery, where he is remembered as a ‘national martyr’.

Much later, Israel would recognise his efforts during the occupation – bestowing a national medal upon him posthumously, and including him among a dedication to 26,973 non-Jews who gave their lives to help save others.

In the end Kertesz did not even coach Roma for a year, and would not win a single trophy.

But he will always remain a hero, and not just for Giallorossi.

Kertesz oversaw just one Derby della Capitale, in March 1943.

Italy, of course, was under fascist rule at the time – and it is perhaps worth reflecting on the fates that befell some of the people on the pitch and in the stands that day.

Rubino Della Rocca was there, among the supporters, watching the game. He loved Roma, had a season ticket at Campo Testaccio (where Roma played in those days) and loved to celebrate victories with his family out in the city in the aftermath - especially if Lazio happened to have lost that day as well.

But six months after that derby Rubino, a Jew, was arrested and deported to Auschwitz.

He never made it back to Rome.

“When he died, my grandfather was just 44,” the grandson, Ruben later said. “Nazis killed him, but not the legacy he left us.”

To this day, his relatives sit in the Curva Sud and cheer on the Giallorossi.

Rubino’s story is not the only one of its type; while there are also many other Rome residents who were lucky to escape the clutches of the Nazis during that period - or were forced to go to great lengths in order to do so.

Kertesz died trying to ensure that other Jews did not endure the same fate as Rubino Della Rocca.

On that March derby day, both men were there – yet neither could possibly have known what the very immediate future was soon to have in store for them.

Such lessons are worth heeding for all of us, and worth remembering and reflecting on – not just today.

'Never again' should be more than just a slogan.