Willy Kohner

Baron Simon Vilmos "Willy" Kohner de Szászberek (1877-1943)

My paternal great grandfather was named Simon Vilmos "Willy" Kohner. He was born in Budapest in 1877, the only surviving son among 6 girls. He was also the "baby" of the family. Everyone called him "Willy," and in fact even some of the official documents we have discovered refer to him as "Willy Kohner" rather than his more official name.

Willy's parents were named Zsigmond and Lujza Kohner. Originally of German decent, the Kohner line eventually settled in Budapest. The marriage of Zsgmond and Lujza in 1875 combined two of the wealthiest Jewish families in Budapest. Thus creating an extended family that went on to own and manage a variety of farms, factories, and and banks around Budapest and greater Hungary.

Zsigmond was extremely active in a variety of Jewish organizations of the time. He was on the board of directors of the Hungarian National Rabbinical Seminary, and elected president of an organization called the Pest Israelite Society. He also supported and helped fund many community organizations such as the local children's hospital, a synagogue on Arena Road in Budapest , and an orphanage for boys.

As the only surviving son of such a prominent family, I assume there was a lot of family expectation placed on Willy. Some of the newspaper articles and documents we have found describe him as an "avid sportsman" and "very fond of cars." My guess is that he grew up greatly enjoying the many perks of his privileged life, and probably pretty spoiled. My grandmother and great aunt always described their father as very intelligent and learned, which I am guessing he was, but other accounts seem to additionally describe him as quite the bon vivant. He owned many horses, loved to race them, and it is unclear if he went to university.

By the time Willy married my great grandmother, Franziska Schmidt, he had already been married two times before, had converted to Catholicism, and acquired the title of Baron. He and many of his cousins acquired the title of Baron in 1912. A large number of them also converted to Christianity. This was not unusual among Hungarian Jews, especially those that lived in Budapest and were a part of the upper class. Many of them still felt very culturally Jewish, but they saw the conversion as a way to protect their status in a country that demonstrated various levels of antisemitism throughout history.

Willy's first wife, Vera Keppich, was from another well known Jewish Hungarian family, and wedding announcements describe a large and lavish society wedding. However, a few years later, it is reported in society columns that she and Willy divorce, and she soon went on to marry Prince Theodoros Ypsilanti of Greece. The small amount of time between her divorce from Willy and marriage to the Prince leads one to think that she was having an affair, but who really knows.

All three of them were avid horse racers. An article written at the time subtly referenced a love triangle between the three of them. In an memoir written by another Hungarian horse racer, he makes reference to Willy losing a bet the prince, and therefore having to let him marry Vera. Once married for the second time, Vera moved to Athens, Greece, and died in 1922. Some accounts say by suicide, and some say by the Spanish flu.

Willy married his second wife, Serena Basch, in 1913. She also came from a well known Hungarian Jewish family. They married in 1913, and eventually divorced in 1933. However, it appears for much of their marriage they actually lived apart. It's not exactly know for how long, but we do know that Willy was still married to Serena when he met my great grandmother Franciska Schmidt.

My grandmother and great aunt always reported that Serena (although they never used her name, we figured that out ourselves) was already living in some sort of hospital or sanitarium when Willy met Franciska at his bank. The story went that Franciska was a new young secretary at the Kohner Bank, and the second Willy saw her, he was in love. I now realize that the romanticized version of their first meeting is probably not completely true.

We do know that even though Willy and Franziska had two children together (my great aunt in 1921, and my grandmother in 1923), they did not officially marry until both girls were elementary school aged. In fact, Willy was not even put on the birth certificates for either girl, and then later had to officially adopt them even though he was in fact their biological father. Instead, a man named Rasko Rezsone was listed as the father for each girl.

Willy died of heart failure in March of 1943. Even though he had converted to Catholicism, the Hungarian anti-Semitic laws stated that a conversions before 1895 were not considered legal. You were still considered Jewish, and still needed to abide by all the restrictions.

However, even though my great aunt and grandmother were Kohners, and half Jewish, because Rasko Rezone's name was on both of their official birth certificates, they could not officially be considered Jewish and thus were much more fortunate than many of their cousins and other relatives.

While Willy's wife and daughters lived long enough to feel the effects of the increased anti Semitism in Budapest, Willy was spared the majority of the worst. For the most part, Budapest Jews were protected from the worst of the Nazis until the end of 1943 and 1944.

Willy's elder daughter, my great aunt, always said that he actually died of a broken heart as he watched his fellow Hungarians turn on their Jewish fellow citizens.

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