Joseph Soos

Joseph Soós, age 96, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, at St. Elizabeth’s Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Baltimore. Joseph is the beloved husband of Rozália Soos; devoted father of Charles Soos, Nellie Horvath, and John Soos; loving grandfather of Kristina Horvath.

Joseph Soós’s journey in life began on December 1, 1919 in Rácegres, Hungary. He was born on the estate of a large landowner and was the youngest of eight children born to Daniel and Erzsébet (Szentpétery) Soós. His father was the vintner on that estate, and Joseph was born in the single room the family occupied next to the wine press house. Both of his parents died before he was six years old. His father was murdered. His mother died of typhus.

He was raised for a time by his older sisters, but when they got married he spent some time in foster care. His life was one of extreme poverty—a hardscrabble existence. He joined the Hungarian army at the age of nineteen and spent time on the Russian Front in 1942-1943 during World War II. Fortunately, he was called back far behind the lines just before the Russian breakthrough which decimated the Hungarian army.

He later became a policeman. He did that for several years before he found himself in trouble with the communist government, who promptly threw him into prison. He served time at three different locations until he was released in the early ‘50s and was assigned to live in Sztálinváros, Hungary’s model communist city (named after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin) and the place to which most political prisoners were paroled. It was here that he met Rozália Varga. They married in December, 1954.

In October, 1956, the Hungarian Revolution broke out. Although most of the fighting occurred in Budapest, civilians in Sztálinváros signed out weapons from the Hungarian army which had joined the revolt against the hated Hungarian Stalinist government and its Soviet ally. Joseph and Rose got ahold of an automatic pistol and some hand grenades and patrolled the streets of the city with friends and co-workers looking for members of the AVO, the despised secret police. The Soviets withdrew their forces from the cities. Hungary enjoyed about two weeks of freedom.

In early November of that year the Soviets roared back in full force, crushing the rebellion and installing a puppet leader, Janos Kadar. Tens of thousands of Hungarians began to flee the country, most of them to Austria. Joseph and Rose also decided to leave. Rose was pregnant with her first child and was afraid her husband would be arrested again, as were some of their friends who “disappeared”— they too had signed out weapons.

Biding their time the best they could, they buried their weapons and laid low. In early February, 1957 they traveled by bus to southern Hungary with a half-dozen friends. Their intent was to cross the border into Yugoslavia, an independent-minded communist nation hostile to USSR and other Warsaw Pact nations such as Hungary. Yugoslavia was still accepting refugees long after Austria had closed its borders.

They and the others crossed the border on foot in the middle of the night during a cold rain and sleet storm. It was a harrowing ordeal. They didn’t know whether they were crossing through mine fields, and they had to hit the ground when flares were shot up into the sky from guard towers spaced about a half a kilometer apart. Tank traps were also an obstacle that needed to be overcome. Joseph, wearing riding boots that came up to his knees, carried the others one-by-one through one of these water-filled tank traps. In the morning the men drew straws to see who would knock on the door of a house in a village they had stumbled upon to ask whether they were still in Hungary. They simply didn’t know for sure. Fortunately, they had made it across the border and were directed down the road to a refugee station that had been set up long before.

Joseph and Rose Soos spent the next ten months in refugee camps waiting for an opportunity to come to the United States. Their first child, Charles, was born in a hospital near one of these camps. Finally in November, 1957, they were taken to an airport on the outskirts of Belgrade and flown out of the country. They flew to Germany, then Ireland, and then had a brief layover in Newfoundland, Canada before flying the final leg of the journey to Elizabeth, New Jersey. They arrived there with a baby, one suitcase, one dollar, and no idea how to speak English.

They were then taken by bus into New York City, and almost immediately the three of them were put into a cab and taken to the railway station to catch a train to Baltimore. Rose’s cousin lived in Baltimore, and through the sponsorship of the Associated Catholic Charities they were taken there.

Her cousin and several friends greeted them at Pennsylvania Station, and by the following Monday Joseph had a job. He worked several different jobs over the years, finally retiring as a printer.

A second child, Nellie, was born in 1959, and John was born five years later. Joseph and Rose bought a house in Arbutus and moved there in 1966, and up until January of this year Joseph continued to live in that house.

For many years Joseph Soos edited an anti-communist Hungarian language newspaper, and when communism fell in Eastern Europe he was recognized by the new democratic Hungarian government for his efforts to defeat communism and bring democracy to Hungary.

A viewing will be held at Ambrose Funeral Home, 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus, MD 21227 on Sunday, March 13 from 3-5 pm and 7-9 pm and Monday, March 14 from 3-5 pm and 7-9 pm. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday, March 15 at 11 am with burial to follow at Loudon Park Cemetery.