us-005578-irn714796-irn39915
history: Tom Kovary was born as Tibor Kövári on June 23, 1920, in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Tom’s parents were Olivio and Esther Fuchs Kövári. He joined his one year old brother, Ernö (Ernest), born April 2, 1919. Tom’s parents spoke Esperanto at home and taught this to their children as their mother tongue. Tom and Ernest were the first native Esperanto speakers in the world. Their other native languages were German, Hungarian, and Slovak. The brothers were extremely athletic and belonged to the Bar Kochba Jewish Sports Club. They were national champions in gymnastics and wrestling. Their father, Olivio, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on November, 4, 1890. His parents, Alexander and Josefine Berkovits Kovari, arrived in the US in early 1890. Olivio’s birth was never properly registered. The family returned to their hometown of Galanta in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, because Josephine was ill. She died soon after; Alexander remarried and did not return to the US. Gaining recognition of his status as a US citizen was a consuming passion for Olivio; he finally achieved this recognition in 1949. Olivio tried to emigrate to the United States in the early 1930s, but the United States did not recognize his citizenship. As part of the preparation for their imminent emigration, Olivio pulled the boys out of school, in 1934, to teach them the fur trade. But the US response remained negative. Tom and Ernest returned to school and Tom graduated from a vocational school in Bratislava in 1937. However, his father did officially register their desire to emigrate with the US consulate in 1936, a fact that would aid them in their flight from Czechoslovakia in a few years. On September 2, 1939, Tom and Ernest got into a fight with two Nazi sympathizers on the street in Bratislava. This landed the Nazi sympathizers in the hospital and Tom and Ernest were arrested, along with their father. This was an internationally publicized instance of Jewish resistance; it was even broadcast on the BB…
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn714796-irn39915/acquisitions/1
type: RecordSet
scope and content: Good Conduct Medal, three red and white ribbon bars, and 3 replacement ribbons issued to Tom (Tibor) Kovary for service in the United States Army from 1943-1946. On September 2, 1939, 19 year old Tibor Kovari and his 20 year old brother, Erno, were attacked on the street for being Jewish by Nazi sympathizers in their hometown, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (Slovakia). They fought back, put their attackers in the hospital, and were arrested, along with their father, Olivio. The incident received such widespread publicity that the authorities advised them to flee for fear of retaliation. They illegally crossed the border into Hungary, where they obtained visas for the US, arriving in New York on February 29, 1940. Both brothers joined the US Army: Tom was in Military Intelligence stateside; Ernest in combat, landing with the infantry on D-Day. He searched for surviving relatives, but found only one cousin, a survivor of Auschwitz death camp.
record resource extent: a: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) b: Height: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) c: Height: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) d: Height: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) e: Height: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) f: Height: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) g: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 2.250 inches (5.715 cm) | Depth: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm)
history: The medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009 by Myra and Vally Kovary, the daughters of Tom T. Kovary.
has or had some members with language: eng
has record set type: Item
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: a. Bronze circular medal with an attached ribbon with a wide red center stripe and 3 narrow white stripes alternating with 3 narrow red stripes on each side. The medal front has an embossed eagle standing on a sword and closed book, encircled by English text. On the reverse is a 5-pointed star, then text, then a scroll encircled by a wreath formed by a laurel branch on the left and an oak branch on the right. There are clasps on the ribbon to represent subsequent awards. There is a ring and suspension ring a the top of the medal through which the ribbon is threaded. b. Rectangular bar ribbon with a red base and 3 white stripes on each end. The ribbon is wrapped around a rectangular piece of metal, with a tension pin on the back. Plastic is wrapped around the outside of the ribbon. c. Rectangular bar ribbon with a red base and 3 white stripes on each end. The ribbon is wrapped around a rectangular piece of metal, with a tension pin on the back. Plastic is wrapped around the outside of the ribbon. d. Rectangular bar ribbon with a red base and 3 white stripes on each end. The ribbon is wrapped around a rectangular piece of metal, with a tension pin on the back. e. Replacement ribbon; rectangular in shape with a red base and 3 white stripes on each end. f. Replacement ribbon; rectangular in shape with a red base and 3 white stripes on each end. Ribbon has been creased on one end. g. Replacement ribbon; rectangular in shape with a red base and 3 white stripes on each end. Ribbon has been creased on one end.
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn714796-irn39915/alternateIDs/4
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1946-12-31
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn714796-irn39915/alternateIDs/2
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1943-01-01
date: 1940 February
is or was included in: us-005578-irn714796
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn714796-irn39915/alternateIDs/3
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn714796-irn39915/alternateIDs/1
identifier: irn39915
title: US Army Good Conduct Medal, 3 ribbon bars, and 3 ribbons awarded to a Czech Jewish refugee