The Angel Makers of Nagyrév and the truth around murderous women of myth

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In central Hungary, you’ll find the tranquil village of Nagyrév. This small farming town, situated southeast of Budapest, had a population of approximately 800 people and was much like other peaceful villages in Hungary during the early 1900s. The community was close-knit, their facilities basic. However, what it lacked was a local doctor, leaving those who fell ill or needed medical advice with limited options. This changed in 1911 when a woman named Zsuzsanna Fazekas arrived in town. In just fifteen years, she would gain notoriety across Europe as the self-proclaimed leader of a group of women accused of murdering nearly three hundred people by poisoning. They became known as the Angel Makers of Nagyrév.

Upon her arrival in Nagyrév, Zsuzsanna Fazekas elicited a few surprised glances. Her past was somewhat mysterious, her husband seemed to have vanished under puzzling circumstances, and no one could trace her origins. Yet, she presented credible recommendations and boasted previous experience as a midwife.

As a gamer exploring the annals of history, I’ve stumbled upon an intriguing tale about midwives – women who held remarkable power and respect for thousands of years in various communities. In ancient Egypt, they were revered as skilled professionals, while during Roman times, their service was highly valued, even among enslaved or servile women who could earn their freedom through this craft.

However, the tide turned during the Middle Ages when midwifery started to be associated with witchcraft. Many women, especially those with extensive medical knowledge and expertise in natural remedies, were falsely accused of being witches by the church. Regulations gradually tightened around their profession, and men began to encroach upon it. Birthing became a domain for doctors (men), not midwives.

In smaller communities or regions with limited medical resources, midwives continued to play an essential role in people’s lives. These women were also known as abortion practitioners. They served as confidantes and advisors during women’s most challenging times, acting like wise counselors to those seeking solace. Zsuzsanna Fazekas was one such figure who offered solace and guidance to the people of Nagyrév.

In the 1910s, Hungary was a turbulent region marked by political instability, widespread poverty, and limited opportunities for women. The country suffered heavily from World War I, which conscripted nearly 9 million men from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leading to an alarming number of casualties. Many marriages during this time were arranged, with young girls being matched with older men selected by their families. These women had no choice in the matter and divorce was not yet an option, even in cases of domestic abuse. As a result, many women found themselves trapped in loveless and tumultuous marriages with men they feared, a situation worsened by the outbreak of war. They were left with little money, support, and growing families to care for.

However, Nagyrév, a village in Hungary, experienced an influx of Allied prisoners of war who were sent to work on local farms after the men were conscripted. Some of these men became integrated into village life and even established romantic relationships with the married women. In some cases, women took on multiple lovers. This brief period of sexual freedom resulted in numerous unwanted pregnancies, for which Fazekas, a midwife, would provide abortions – a practice that was illegal at the time. Despite being arrested over ten times between 1911 and 1921 for performing these illegal procedures, Fazekas was always acquitted by sympathetic judges and continued her work in Nagyrév.

Following the war, some of Nagyrév’s soldiers came back to their village, but their time on the battlefield had left them profoundly altered. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was not yet acknowledged as an official diagnosis, and many were plagued by unhealed physical wounds. These men, who once provided for their families, found themselves in need of assistance – a stark contrast to the self-reliance their wives had cultivated over the years. Overwhelmed by their husbands’ dependence, these women sought guidance from Fazekas. They confided in her about their personal issues, and when they expressed their struggles with their returned spouses, Fazekas proposed an unconventional solution.

“If there’s a problem with him, I have a simple solution.”

The solution they spoke about was arsenic, created by boiling flypaper and skimming off the harmful substance left behind. For hundreds of years, arsenic has been used for various purposes such as treating diseases (like syphilis) and improving skin complexion. During the Victorian era, it was even sold as a remedy for facial blemishes. However, it’s also been one of the most frequently employed methods of murder throughout history. Exposure to arsenic can happen naturally through consuming contaminated water, which made it an attractive option for those looking to conceal their crimes by blaming it on cholera due to its similar symptoms (such as vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, and skin discoloration.) In a region like Nagyrév, where infrastructure is scarce and reliable water sources are lacking, arsenic poisoning seemed like the ideal crime.

In a covert manner, Fazekas persuaded women to secretly poison their husbands by claiming her arsenic concoctions were undetectable in the body. She even recruited Susi Oláh to assist as a clerk, forging death certificates that concealed the true cause of death. It was revealed that Oláh had poisoned her elderly husband when she was only 18 years old. The news of these heinous acts quickly spread throughout the community, resulting in numerous deaths. Not just husbands were targeted; the women also murdered other dependents such as their parents and children. Fazekas reportedly told one woman, “Why endure them?” Over an 18-year period, it’s estimated that between 45 to 50 murders occurred in Nagyrév, earning it the grim nickname of “the murder district.

As a passionate history enthusiast, I’ve always been intrigued by the mystery surrounding the Angel Makers. The exact method of their detection remains somewhat vague, but one version suggests a medical student in a nearby town stumbled upon elevated arsenic levels in a body found along the riverbank. This discovery triggered an investigation.

Another account, penned by Béla Bodó, a Hungarian-American historian, indicates that the murders were brought to light when an anonymous letter was sent to a local newspaper, accusing these women of mass murder. Regardless of the initial details, it wasn’t long before the authorities felt compelled to excavate numerous bodies from the local cemetery. Shockingly, 46 out of the 50 exhumed corpses showed significant amounts of arsenic.

When law enforcement arrived to apprehend Fazekas, she was found deceased, having ingested poison herself. A total of 26 women faced trial for her murder, each with diverse motivations. These crimes became local legends. Some women testified they were fed up with their abusive partners. Others aimed to seize land belonging to their kin. Many confessed to wanting to prevent their lovers from the perils of war. It was astonishing at the time that these women appeared unremorseful in court, even seemingly bored by the courtroom’s theatrics. They believed they had acted necessary, regardless of the heinousness of their actions. Eventually, eight of the Angel Makers of Nagyrév were sentenced to death, but only two were actually executed. The remaining twelve received prison sentences.

Today, the tale of Nagyrév carries a local folklore status, an intriguing piece of Hungarian history that no longer instills the terror it once did. However, it’s plausible that these women weren’t the only ones involved in the murders. In the neighboring town of Tiszakurt, additional exhumed corpses were found to have traces of arsenic, but no one was ever brought to justice for those deaths. Back in the 1950s, historian Ferenc Gyorgyev encountered an elderly villager while serving time under the communists who asserted that the local women had been killing their husbands for centuries. In 2004, Maria Gunya, who was a young girl during the Angel Makers’ activity in Nagyrév, subtly told the BBC that after the poisonings, the men’s behavior towards their wives noticeably improved.

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2025-07-07 17:47