6 A Good Friend

After escaping from the Star House, and separating from Father, we had one possible chance; to find, and perhaps get a Schutz-pass from Raul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat, who was well known as a saviour in the Jewish community. I cannot remember exactly how it happened, as with the passing of the years some details have become rather foggy and also there was great confusion at the time. The crowd was pushing and shouting noisily as everyone tried desperately to get into the house to obtain the lifesaving document. I don’t know how, but we got in, then we stood before a table where three men sat; one of them was perhaps Raul Wallenberg. We were eventually given the all-important Swedish protection document and with this we went to one of the Swedish owned houses. The house was already full inside with people; all the rooms were fully occupied; with people guarding their place for lying or sitting on the floor. Even women with children had to be satisfied with finding a place to sit on the staircase. The scene was very depressing and we decided not to stay. Not only because of the crammed bodies, but because it was a place where the Arrow Cross murderers could easily break in at any time and trap us or take us away.
We were left with one last possibility; to try to find a Christian friend of mother’s who had said that she was ready to help us. After we left the Swedish house we three children and Mother walked a long way, we crossed the bridge over the Danube to the Buda side of the city to look for and ask for shelter from this very good Christian friend. She was happy to see us and happy that we were still alive, but at the same time was very anxious for her own safety. Every person who hid or helped a Jew to escape would be severely punished, even executed. She told us that we could not stay there, but she gave Mother some official papers that enabled her to pretend that we were Christians. This document helped Mother to save us.
Mother instructed us in our new pretend names and from where we came from. To more easily find a place to live and a possible job, she took her two older remaining children Edit and me, for safety, to a building that was under the Red Cross protection. When we got there I began to look for a way to escape if an emergence arose. I found a tunnel that led to waste land. The building had previously been a German Army base. A few days later the Arrow Cross thugs broke into the house to take away everybody, but Edit and I escaped just in time through the basement tunnel.

2007

Oil on panel 112 X 56 cms