András Toma
Encyclopedia
András Toma was a Hungarian soldier who was taken prisoner by the Red Army
in 1944, then discovered living in a Russia
n psychiatric hospital
in 2000. He was probably the last prisoner of war
from the Second World War to be repatriated. The case was covered in 137 countries.
As he knew no Russian
and nobody at the hospital spoke Hungarian
, he had apparently not had a single conversation in over 50 years, a situation of great interest in the fields of psychiatry
and psycholinguistics
.
(Бокситогорск) near St. Petersburg. Due to an illness he was taken to the military hospital of another camp in Bistrjag (Быстряги) 1,000 km east of Boksitogorsk. In January 1947 he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Kotelnich
(Котельнич). Since those who were in hospitals were deleted from the lists of prisoners of war, Toma was lost to Hungarian authorities. He was declared dead in 1954.
He lived under the name András Tamás (Андраш Тамаш). A Czech linguist identified him as Hungarian, and on August 11, 2000 Toma arrived back to Hungary where his family was identified with the help of DNA investigation. Toma was promoted to sergeant major by the Minister of Defense, and since his service was continuous, his salary was paid. 74-year-old Toma moved in with his half-sister Anna who cared for him until his death.
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1944, then discovered living in a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
in 2000. He was probably the last prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
from the Second World War to be repatriated. The case was covered in 137 countries.
As he knew no Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and nobody at the hospital spoke Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, he had apparently not had a single conversation in over 50 years, a situation of great interest in the fields of psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. Initial forays into psycholinguistics were largely philosophical ventures, due mainly to a lack of cohesive data on how the...
.
Life
He lost his mother when he was four years old. He lived in Sulyánbokor near Nyíregyháza, when he was drafted in 1944. His regiment fought around Auschwitz and Kraków. Toma was captured on January 11, 1945 and was taken through Ukraine and Belarus to the camp of BoksitogorskBoksitogorsk
Boksitogorsk is a town and the administrative center of Boksitogorsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Pyardomlya River east of St. Petersburg. Population: -History:...
(Бокситогорск) near St. Petersburg. Due to an illness he was taken to the military hospital of another camp in Bistrjag (Быстряги) 1,000 km east of Boksitogorsk. In January 1947 he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Kotelnich
Kotelnich
Kotelnich is a river port town in Kirov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vyatka River near its confluence with the Moloma, along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway, southwest of Kirov. Population:...
(Котельнич). Since those who were in hospitals were deleted from the lists of prisoners of war, Toma was lost to Hungarian authorities. He was declared dead in 1954.
He lived under the name András Tamás (Андраш Тамаш). A Czech linguist identified him as Hungarian, and on August 11, 2000 Toma arrived back to Hungary where his family was identified with the help of DNA investigation. Toma was promoted to sergeant major by the Minister of Defense, and since his service was continuous, his salary was paid. 74-year-old Toma moved in with his half-sister Anna who cared for him until his death.