The artist was born in Jászfényszaru, a small town near Budapest, Hungary. As a child, he showed talent in art. One of his greatest accomplishments in life, per Penczner, was “when Pope Pius XII accepted a series of my works, which I created to commemorate the founding of a Hungarian religious order. I was so very young, but honored by his acceptance.” During World War II, he was a second lieutenant in the Hungarian army, then serving in alliance with the Wehrmacht under the direction of Germany's Nazi regime. Near the city of Cegled, he was wounded by a Soviet T34 tank and suffered damage to his eyesight. He was later transferred to the western front. At the end of the war, he was held for a number of months by Allied forces. After being released, he applied for immigration to the United States. While awaiting permission to immigrate, he spent several years painting portraits and landscapes in Europe.