Levi, Gertrud (Oral history)

Hungarian Jewish civilian in Budapest, Hungary, 1942-1944; inmate of Szombathely Ghetto, 5/1944-6/1944; inmate of Sarvar, Birkenau, Hessisca-Lichtenau and Tekla camps, 1944-1945

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Szombathely, Hungary, 1924-1941: family circumstances; treatment during education at Jewish school; deportation of Austrian grandmother; advice to learn trade; antisemitism ; arrival of German troops on route to invade Yugoslavia, 1941; antisemitic character of town. Recollections as nursery nurse in Budapest, Hungary, 1942-1944: training in Jewish college; daily life in Budapest; influx of refugees and revelations about concentration camp; abortive attempts of various family members to emigrate; brother's escape to Romania; effects of growing restrictions on father. REEL 2 Continues: character of father's patients. Recollections of Germans occupation of Hungary, 1944: reaction to arrival of German troops; rapid appearance of huge stocks of yellow stars; effects on Jewish community; problems of obtaining permit to return to Szombathely; character of journey from Budapest to Szombathely; treatment on arrival in Szombathely during curfew; effect on parents of German raid on flat; further restrictions 4/1945-5/1945. Recollections of period as inmate of Szombathely Ghetto, 5/1944-6/1944: move into ghetto, 7/5/1944; looking after children; attitude towards family friends who denied hiding valuables; move to camp in disused motor factory near Szombathely. Aspects of period as inmate at Sarvar, 6/1944: eagerness to volunteer to go to camp; meeting with father on arrival in camp. Recollections of journey from Sarvar to Birkenau, 6/1944: organisation of trucks; conditions in cattle trucks; German treatment of inmates. Recollections of period as inmate at Birkenau, 6/1944- 8/1944: disappearance of father and mother on arrival; reception procedure; move into B2 Gypsy camp; crowded conditions in barracks. REEL 3 Continues: conditions in camp; description of 'coffee'; behaviour of inmates during issue of coffee; sanitary conditions; problems of menstruation; food rations; incident of standing up to a cheating Kapo; behaviour of Polish Jewesses who replaced SS guards; beating by SS man on way to showers; sight of séance, 7/1944; meeting with Anita Lasker- Wallfisch in camp orchestra; meeting with cousin; preparation for move to Hessisca- Lichtenau, 1/8/1944. REEL 4 Continues: Various aspects of journey from Birkenau to Hessisca-Lichtenau, 1944: issue of cabbage soup; character of journey. Recollections of period as inmate in Hessisca-Lichtenau, 1944-1945: initial reaction to arrival in camp; issue of soap and shoes marked with 'made of human skin'; nature of ablutions; issue of uniforms; reasons for not being tattooed; work in munitions factory; character of camp commandant and his second in command; shooting of escapees; volunteering to bury commandant's dog; refusal to be work leader; story of how camp commandant saved her from being sent back to Birkenau; walk through forest and villages; sabotage in factory; character of assembly-line work. REEL 5 Continues: relations with German workers; advance of Allied forces and expectation of release; character of useless work; evacuation of camp, 3/1945. Various aspects of train journey from Hessisca-Lichtenau to camp near Leipzig, 3/1945: bombing of trains by US aircraft; character of journey. Various aspects of period in former SS barracks near Leipzig, 3/1945-4/1945: bombing of camp; survival of hand made book of poems and songs. Various aspects of period as inmate in Tekla, 4/1945: arrival barefoot; contact with French inmates from Buchenwald. Recollections of march away from Tekla, 4/1945: character of march; supply drop from Russian aircraft; collapse and narrow escape from being shot, 23/4/1945; seeking shelter in barn; arrival of Russian ex-POWs. Aspects of liberation in Germany, 1945: arrival of French displaced persons; story of falling in love with Charles Oreste Paroldo; official liberation in Wurzen; move to Metz. Recollections of period living in France, after 1945: move to Toulon via Paris; physical condition. REEL 6 Continues: behaviour of Charles Oreste Paroldo; reception in new home in Toulon; discovery that his mother and sister were prostitutes; denouncement as an SS women; attempted suicide and return of memory; character of internment in Marseilles; meeting with Paul Morrell and release from internment; move to uncle and his wife in Paris; job in Jewish childrens' home; mental condition of Jewish children who had been in hiding during war; mental breakdown; refusal to return to Hungary. REEL 7 Continues: social life with choirs; marriage to Stephan Deak. Reflections on Holocaust experiences: effect of husband's experiences on his mental state; question of lack of interest in her experiences; growing intolerance of religion; effect of experiences on children and grandchildren; attitude towards prosecution of war criminals; question of son's suicide as an effect of the Holocaust; reasons for speaking about experiences to educational establishments. REEL 8 Continues: question of age factor in understanding Holocaust; writing her book 'A Cat Called Adolf'; attitude towards Germans; question of forgiveness.