Debrecen4U
July 7, 2025
World-famous women who left their mark on the history of Debrecen
Throughout its rich history, Debrecen has been home to many exceptional women who have made a lasting impact with their talent, perseverance and humanity. From art to education, from rescue to literature, their lives and work continue to serve as inspiring examples to this day. In this post, you can read about four women who have significantly enriched Debrecen’s history.
The woman after whom a street was named in Debrecen
Klára Zsindelyné Tüdős, born in Debrecen, began her studies at the Reformed Girls’ High School, then continued in London, Switzerland and at the Budapest College of Applied Arts. She opened a fashion salon in Budapest called “Pántlika”, where she revived the tradition of dresses decorated with peasant embroidery and woven fabrics. She dressed such iconic personalities as Miklósné Horthy and Hanna Honthy.
She not only made a lasting impression in the world of fashion; she hid Jewish families in her home during the persecutions, and for her life-saving activities she was included among the Righteous of the World.
In 1943, she took another historic step, with the film “Light and Shadow”, she became the first Hungarian female film director.
She was not only behind the camera in the works, she also wrote the script herself, and was also responsible for costume design and production tasks.
Her works are now preserved in the Museum of Applied Arts, the Hungarian National Museum and the Déri Museum in Debrecen, and a street in the city centre is named after her.
The Woman Who Survived the Impossible
Éva Fahidi, a contemporary Hungarian Holocaust survivor and writer, has established an award in her name in 2024, the year of her death. This award is given to activists who are committed to the mission of preserving the memory of the Holocaust for younger generations and actively fighting against all forms of racism, as Éva Fahidi did throughout her life.
Even in her old age, she regularly raised her voice against racism and anti-Semitism in the international and Hungarian press.
On August 13, 1944, she was transported to Münchmühle in Allendorf, part of the Buchenwald concentration camp, where she was forced to work in an explosives factory. A year later, she managed to escape a death march, but after her release, she was forced to wander for months. She wrote several books about her life and experiences. In her first memoir, she broke the silence about the horrors of the concentration camp; this volume was published in Germany and was also published in English and Italian in 2019.
A public square in Debrecen was recently named after her, based on a decision by the general assembly.
The country’s first female teacher with a degree
Born in 1838, Róza Kalocsa is considered by history to be the first Hungarian female teacher with a degree. The daughter of teacher Mihály Kalocsa and Krisztina Vörös, she completed her studies in Arad and Pest. From 1864 to 1875, she was the principal of the Reformed Girls’ School in Pest.
She is credited with introducing the systematic teaching of the Hungarian language.
She worked as a principal in the Protestant girls’ school in Satu Mare for five years, then taught in Újpest, Somorjá and Cegléd, and finally in Debrecen. In addition to teaching, she was also interested in writing and translation, and translated numerous foreign youth books into Hungarian. After 37 years of teaching, she was laid to rest in February 1901 in the Kossuth Street Cemetery in Debrecen.
The country’s most translated writer
Magda Szabó, one of the most translated Hungarian writers, was born in Debrecen in 1917. Her novels “Freskó” and “Az őz (The Deer )brought her national success and fame, after which she became a freelance writer.
She wrote several autobiographical novels, which depict her own and her parents’ childhood, as well as everyday life in Debrecen in the early 20th century and many of her writings deal with women’s fates.
Her 1987 novel “Az ajtó” (The Door) was first published in English in 1995, translated by Stefan Draughon, and then in 2015, translated by Len Rix. The latter was included in The New York Times’ best-seller list as one of the top 10 novels.
Magda Szabó died in her home in November 2007, while reading.
Magda Szabó, has had her world-famous novel “Az ajtó” (The Door) made into a film in international co-production, with such excellent actors as Helen Mirren. This “door” is open to all women to enrich the historical legacy of the city.
Debrecen has produced a wealth of influential women, their accomplishments serve as reminders of the powerful impact women can have on culture, science, arts, and social progress.
Source and phtoto credit:dehir.hu
