Eliyahu ‘Eli’ Sagi

שגיא אלי

Schwartz László

Born in Budapest in 1924

Died on 18.5.1984 in Israel

Member of “Hashomer Hatzair”

Eliyahu joined “Hashomer Hatzair” in 1939. In 1942 he graduated from the Jewish high school in the capital. At this time he earned a living as a worker and a private teacher of Jewish children. Within the framework of the movement he helped refugees from Slovakia find a shelter in Budapest. After the Germans invaded Hungary on 19.3.1944, Eliyahu was enlisted in a forced labor unit but, after the fascist Arrow Cross Party rose to power on 15.10.1944, he ran away from the service with a group of friends and joined his movement’s underground activities. Eliyahu mainly  distributed Swiss Protection Documents. He enlisted in a Hungarian armored military unit, “Hunyadi László”, which served within the framework of the SS, so that, when necessary, he would be able to help his comrades as a Hungarian soldier. During the registration to the unit he managed to avoid the physical check up but eight of his comrades were discovered as Jews and shot on the spot.
Eliyahu was a member of Kibbutz Ga’aton. In his last years he taught history and Bible in the regional school in Kibbutz Evron.