At the end of the street where I grew up, there was a Ukrainian Orthodox monastery. Although I do not understand the nature of their relationship, I know that my parents had some interactions with the priests who lived there. I think that some of the priests even read Hebrew and knew the Old Testament well. Following the German occupation of Hungary on March 19, 1944, the priests and my parents began discussing how they could save our family. They were hoping to get papers for us, establishing new identities. Unfortunately, it was impossible for them to accomplish this before we were forced to leave our house.
As soon as the Nazis came, schools were closed and we had to wear yellow stars on our outside garments. We feared what was coming next. It was the beginning of April with Pesach approaching. Growing up, our family always got new clothing and shoes for the holidays. It was also my birthday month, and I was turning 14 that year. My special presents were silk stockings and shoes with a one-inch heel. We were ordered to pack as little as possible and move to the nearest ghetto. That ghetto was about three blocks from our street. We packed some pots and some food. All of my special presents went into our suitcase and to the ghetto. My uncle’s wife’s family had a compound within the ghetto with many adults and children living there. My parents, grandmother, sister, brother, two cousins, and I—all eight of us—were placed in one of the little houses. I have no memories of the few weeks we spent there.
We were told to pack up again and go to the brick factory. We had no idea as to why we were being sent there. We put on all of our new clothing under our coats. That meant that I had on three dresses under my coat, my silk stockings, and probably my new one-inch heels. We walked to the brick factory, where we saw the cattle cars lined up on the railroad tracks. Next stop, Auschwitz.
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