Episode 1
World War II and the Holocaust in Hungary
In this episode, we will discuss the history of the Holocaust, or the Shoah, which happened here, in the Jewish district. I will talk to Vera Varsa Szekeres, who survived the war and who can tell us more about her experiences and how she remembers this past.
Show Notes
Biography of Vera
Vera Varsa Szekeres was born in Budapest in 1933. During WWII she was forced to move to one of the Yellow Star Houses with her family. After the war, she worked as a language teacher and as the chair of the Hungarian branch of Amnesty International. Now, she actively helps those who wish to learn what happened here during WWII.
Photos below:
left: Vera as a child. Source: Centropa / Vera Varsa Szekeres (https://www.centropa.org/hu/node/78659/photos#&gid=1&pid=1)
right: Vera now, by Nina Andro
The Jewish District: traces of the past
The Jewish District in Budapest attracts a wide range of people, including tourists and locals, who love visiting the bars or restaurants there. At night, the bars and restaurants start to shine with colorful lights as can be seen in these photos. Szimpla Kert, one of the famous "ruin bars" in Budapest (right picture) evokes a strange feeling when one enters it as if one were experiencing time travel. Nowadays, what happened around 80 years ago during World War II is almost invisible in this part of the city. Many of those who visit the district today are unaware of its history. Sometimes, the phrase "going to the ghetto," is even used to mean going to enjoy the nightlife of the district. However, under the vibrant façade of this district, one can still some find traces of one of the most horrible events of the city's history: the Holocaust. For instance, the former ghetto wall stands in the courtyard of a building where tourists tend to rent Airbnb rooms (left picture; the ghetto wall is reconstructed).
Photos below:
by Kana Fukumoto
Antisemetic laws during WWII
Before WWII, there were already antisemetic sentiments in Budapest but the city itself was a relatively save haven for its Jewish inhabitants. The culture and the community were flourishing. However, during the war, the situation of Jews in Budapest changed dramatically. During the war, more than half a million Jewish Hungarians perished.
The photos below were taken in 1944, in Budapest. In the left image, a Jewish man is reading a poster announcing new anti-Jewish regulations regarding the confiscation of property. The poster with the word "Hirdetmèny" announces that Jewish people living in Budapest must submit their radio receivers to the authority. The photo containing the word "Zsidók" is a poster about the limited food supply to Jewish people, which corresponds to what our interviewee Vera experienced during the Holocaust.
Photos below:
left: Fortepan (https://fortepan.hu/en/photos/?id=200855)
middle: Fortepan / Lissák Tivadar (https://fortepan.hu/en/photos/?id=72695)
right: Fortepan / Lissák Tivadar (https://fortepan.hu/en/photos/?id=72696)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
Yellow Star Houses
The three images below depict the Yellow Star Houses. In 1944, Jews in Budapest were forced to move to one of the 1,944 designated buildings marked with a yellow Star of David, as a preparation stage for deportation.
Photos below:
left: Fortepan / Lissák Tivadar (https://fortepan.hu/en/photos/?id=72786)
middle: Fortepan / Lissák Tivadar (https://fortepan.hu/en/photos/?id=72784)
right: Fortepan / Lissák Tivadar (https://fortepan.hu/en/photos/?id=72841)
.png)
.png)
For more information:
For the anti-semitic titles or phrases in newspapers or propaganda posters, see:
"This Happened To People (Emberekkel történt)," 1999.; HU OSA 00005077; documentary films telling the history of anti-Semitism in Hungary from 1919 till 1944; Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives at Central European University, Budapest. (https://catalog.osaarchivum.org/catalog/VeNQ4DY2).
For further testimonies by the survivors of the Holocaust, see;
HU OSA 419 Júlia Vajda Totalitarianism and Holocaust Interview Collection, 2004-2015.; Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives at Central European University, Budapest. (https://catalog.osaarchivum.org/catalog/jD7Pkvrb)
For the situation of the Jewish community in Budapest after the Holocaust, see: "Jewish Life", 19 July 1955. [Electronic Record] HU OSA 300-1-2-60203 Records of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute: General Records: Information Items; Open Society Archives at Central European University, Budapest. (http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:5622bcdb-cf56-45d4-b12d-9e1d8306b7fb)
For the history of Yellow Star Houses and today's remembrance of these buildings, see: Yellow Star Houses 1944-2014, Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives at Central European University, Budapest. (http://www.yellowstarhouses.org/#).
Brustein, William I., and Ryan D. King. “Anti-Semitism in Europe before the Holocaust.” International Political Science Review / Revue Internationale de Science Politique 25, no. 1 (2004): 35–53. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1601621.
For more information about the life and experiences of Vera Varsa Szekeres, you can read the transcript of an extensive interview with her which was conducted with her by Centropa in 2007 (only available in Hungarian). Her family photographs are included. https://www.centropa.org/hu/biography/szekeres-varsa-vera
