House of Fates exhibition - comments and opinion.
I. General historical and pedagogical approach
With certain modifications - as detailed below - the exhibition in its present form is suitable for giving a thorough and authentic idea to visitors of all ages, educational levels and depths of knowledge on the subject of the Holocaust and Hungarian Jewish history post-1867. The exhibition gives a good idea of how this history fits in with the course of world events. However, as I will explain on the following pages, occasionally there is a break in the chronological and logical sequence. I agree with the thematics of the exhibition, I am also of the opinion that it is historically accurate to omit the Roma Holocaust or persecution of gypsies from the discussion of Hungarian events.
The House of Fates exhibition in its present form is already different from the themes and structure of the permanent exhibition in Páva Street set up by the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation, which first opened its doors in February 2006. Yet this difference could be and should be further augmented when implementing modifications and supplementations. As they deal with a shared topic, it is obviously unavoidable to have overlaps - similar or identical themes and display materials (photographs, documents, etc) - but the House of Fates should definitely build up its current approach and display technique as it differs from the Páva Street exhibition.
The content structure allocates appropriate proportions of space to various historical time periods. It is certainly commendable that the majority of the exhibition space is taken up by the Holocaust since this is a tragedy not just for Hungarian Jews, but for Jews all over the world. Furthermore, this Józsefváros Railway Station is an authentic location of renewed deportations in November-December 1944 that made use of trains as well. In my opinion, in setting up the exhibition these authentic surroundings should be better taken advantage of. Display materials indicate an effort to impact visitors on both an emotional and an intellectual level. Various topics have a consistent display approach: a triad of quotes, short summaries and photographs; this could create an emotional impact besides the intellectual effects, but in many cases the above three are not related strongly enough to generate an emotional effect. If visitors had an opportunity to spend a few minutes at various points during the exhibition to think about and absorb what they saw and heard, this could facilitate producing an emotional impact.
Based on previous museum-pedagogical experiences, I suggest focussing on 12 to 24year-olds as a primary young audience. 7th and 8th grade students have the intellectual maturity and general knowledge of literature, history, etc., to be able to comprehend and understand the events displayed and the tragedy of the Holocaust. I believe the planners are right in designing three different programmes - in terms of length of time - for a guided tour. However, all three programmes are too tight. We cannot expect visitors to be able to fully understand, comprehend and assimilate the information displayed on the various boards. During a 50 or a 90 minute programme, visitors would only have 30 seconds to a minute to view a particular display board and usually it is almost impossible to read (comprehend and understand) the text and study the pictures in such a short amount of time. Therefore it would be essential to relax the pace of these intense guided tours. This could be achieved by the guide not stopping at each and every display board and installation but following a more compacted logical sequence only pausing at certain
displays crucial for a particular topic. It is preferable for visitors to receive less information during the 50 minute or even during the 90 minute tour, than for them to leave with a “fused mass” of vague memories due to so much having been crammed into such a short amount of time. Furthermore, the 90 minute and the 180 minute programmes should have one or two rest periods included. No visitor, irrespective of age, can be expected to pay undivided attention to the exhibition for one and a half or for three hours. And, as we learn from museum-pedagogical experiences, young people especially will need some opportunity for feed-back. This would help them to grasp the essential meaning and message of the exhibition and have an emotionally and intellectually positive attitude to what they have seen.
For all age groups, but especially for young people it is essential to make use of modern technical elements (for example an audio guide not just in English, Hungarian and Hebrew but in the languages of each and every country that had its Jewish population deported; furthermore, QR codes, multimedia and touchscreens, etc. should all be utilised) and there should be sufficient time for individuals to take full advantage of these features. A full 360 degree view virtual tour should be made available online for those who are not able to visit the exhibition. Thus it will be accessible to people from their own homes for free on their phones or computers. This is essential because most Hungarian students and their parents live with financial constraints that make it very difficult for them to visit the exhibition in person. Train and bus tickets or bus rentals and public transport in Budapest all cost a lot of money. Although the Hungarian National Rail Service provides discounts, this doesn’t extend to public transport in Budapest. Furthermore, we shouldn’t forget audiences from other countries who would like to see the exhibition but for one reason or another are unable to visit personally. Most prominent Holocaust exhibitions provide a free 360 degree view virtual tour - including materials displayed by QR codes, multimedia and touchscreen materials as well - all available online. These museums include the Anna Frank House in Amsterdam, NS Dokumentationszentrum in Cologne, Haus des Terrors (Topographie des Terrors) in Berlin and many other museums. These virtual tours are available in many languages, including Hungarian. In my opinion this same practice should be followed by the House of Fates as well. Video blocks, information counters and touchscreens showing contemporary newsreels, photographs and interviews should also present a thorough and well-rounded collection of documents relating to each topic and raise awareness of theatrical productions, films, music, art and literature on these subjects.
Disabled visitors should be facilitated. The physically impaired should be able to move around the exhibition on their own and the blind and visually imparied should also be able to find their way around. For persons with reduced mobility this would require ramps and elevators. And, besides audio guides, the blind and visually impaired will need Braille texts for more important displays and the opportunity to touch a few crucial display artefacts.
Although the exhibition area is very spacious it is contained within a single space so it would be important to limit visitor groups to 10-15 people and there should be sufficient space left between groups. This is crucial if we want to avoid groups disturbing each other and individual visitors. Another point worth mentioning is the need for guides to receive consistent training based on a uniform syllabus. For young visitors it is best to have a guide who is very close to them in age. This “peer” guide system is a tried and tested method, a best practice that is used at the permanent exhibition of the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation. And, especially for the older generations who still like to read traditional, printed
books a printed tour guide in several languages and with appropriate illustrations can be made available.
And finally, I would like to note that in international museum exhibition practice the names of all those who assisted in particular fields are mentioned, not just those on the board of directors.
II. Interior Design and Arrangement
Display boards, installations, graphics and their arrangements are all modern in form and style. In this regard - in terms of externals -, especially the three-way division of display board design (quote, historical text, photograph), the exhibition is completely different from the permanent exhibition of the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation. There is sufficient space to view each display board and installation. This exhibition space is adequate for one group of maximum 10-15 visitors to walk around and view the exhibition together. The display makes good use of the limited, pre-built space inherited from an exhibition built on a different conception. Still, there is a need for making more efficient use of the possibilities provided by the authentic location and better integrate it in the structure of the exhibition. There are two aspects that could be and should be made more prominent. First, a contemporary railway carriage and ramp (or an authentic copy) should be set up in the space in front of the Józsefváros Railway Station and 80 life-size mannequins of men, women and children dressed in appropriate clothing should be placed in the carriage along with bags, a chamber pot and bucket, as well as barbed wire on the vent window. This installation would give a clear idea of the circumstances people were locked up for days, it would show what deportation was actually like. Similarly, numbers on some of the mannequins could give a sense of the numbers of murdered JewsJewish people we all miss - the victims.
There could and should be a separate space in the exhibition where typical Holocaust memorials and memorial plaques could be displayed. This could be in the courtyard or inside the station. These could be memorials from the area of Hungary as it was in 1941, for example the memorial columns of the Kozma Street cemetery, the Bethlen Square Forced Labour Memorial in Budapest, the memorial tree in the courtyard of the Dohány Street Synagogue, the memorials in Balf, the memorial at Berehove, the memorial column for murdered children in Győr, the memorial at Nyíregyháza, the memorial for the deported at Körösmező, the railway station memorial at Pécs, the memorial at Rimavská Sobota, the Holocaust sculptures in Sopron, the memorial at Zalaegerszeg, and the list goes on. Likewise, a presentation of paintings and drawings made during or after the Holocaust (for example the works of Imre Ámos and Imre Holló, a series of pencil drawings of the forced labourers and their guards, etc.) could be displayed in various community spaces at the House of Fates. Such works of art and seeing the memorial sites would give visitors a clear idea that the memory of the Holocaust is not just a memory of the survivors and their descendants but it exists in our midst in the form of tangible objects. It would also be important to draw attention to films, music, literature and drama that deals with the Holocaust. Information counters, touch screens, etc. could facilitate this. In this regard we should consider literary works and written memories that give an authentic picture of everyday life for Jews during the Holocaust, e.g. Miklós Nyiszli dr., Ellie Wiesel, Wladyslaw Szpilman, Curzio Malaparte, Imre Kertész, Ágnes Havas, Tivadar Soros to mention only a few. For drama I would like to highlight one example: Rechnitz (or the Exterminating Angel) by Elfriede Jelinek which deals with the murder of Hungarian Jewish forced labourers at Rechnitz. For music I
recommend The Song of Terezin by Franz Waxman and Wolfgang R. Kubizek’s oratorio, Und alle Toten sterben friedlich?, as well as similar works. As for films, to encourage visitors to watch the entire film, a few scenes could be screened from Fateless, Son of Saul, The Pianist, Schindler’s List and other prominent films.
Visitors should be given an opportunity to see and listen to the memories of Hungarian survivors of the Holocaust which were recorded in the 1990s with the expert help of the Hungarian Auschwitz Foundation - Holocaust Documentation Centre. All these interviews are available at the USC Shoah Visual Archives which contains 1335 interviews in Hungarian from the Holocaust period and thousands of interviews in other languages that touch on the fate of Hungarian Jews. This database is available at the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies and at the library of the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation. After World War II, 3000 reports were drawn up by the National Committee for Deportees, and a digital copy of these (without omitting names) should be made available for visitors to see and to study if they want. Two full collections of these reports (that also complement each other) are available at the Hungarian Jewish Archives and at the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation’s collection.
At certain locations in the exhibition, authentic artefacts relating to the Hungarian Holocaust and everyday Jewish life - like a Menorah, a concentration camp prison uniform, etc.could be and should be displayed for the visitors to see from all sides and angles.
III. Recommendations for giving more emphasis to or skipping certain events within a historical time period
1. Before the opening display of major sections in the timeline, a separate statistical table or tables should be presented on the numbers of Jews in Hungary, their social and economic stratification, demographic changes and proportions of Christian converts from 1867 to the present day. The research of András Kovács and an article in Egység could form the basis of these statistical charts. Overrepresentation of Jews in certain fields (industry, commerce, finance, intelligentsia) and underrepresentation in other fields (public administration, armed forces and bodies, political elite) should be illustrated on the tables showing stratification. Based on the most up-to-date research, Hungarian Jewish population figures between 1941 and 1944 should be corrected taking into consideration demographic processes and forced labourer losses, including those captured or missing.
2. For the Golden and Silver Ages there should be a more detailed presentation on Jewish contributions to the development of Hungary in terms of economy, culture, science and the arts. This could be presented after the opening display boards. Persecuting and deporting Jews destroyed more than half a century of productive and diverse cooperation.
3. There is no mention whatsoever of Anschluss and its consequences. This should be presented before the Évian Conference display board.
4. As an appendix or in some other form there should be a list of the 21 anti-Jewish laws and 367 anti-Jewish decrees enacted by the prime minister or by ministers. This should be displayed at the end of Section 2 or at the beginning of Section 3. These laws and decrees should be grouped into various categories, e.g. depriving Jews of their human rights, citizens’ rights, properties, taking away all their belongings and deportation (ghettoisation). Indication should be given where certain legislations were drawn up based on Nazi laws and decrees.
5. A map should show the locations of forced labourers’ deployments on the Eastern Front and in Hungary and also the locations of cemeteries connected to these places. The same map should also indicate the locations of GULAG and GUPVI camps where Hungarian Jews were incarcerated as forced labourers. Files on Jewish forced labourers, as well as personal and casualty records are kept at the Central Archives of the Defence Ministry’s Military History Institute and Museum. The collection is public and accessible for research (Budapest, VII. 12, Verseny Street)
6. Before moving onto presentations on deportation, a separate section should deal with the creation and structure of the Nazi concentration camp system, the distinct labelling of the various categories of deportees and the location of all the camps, etc. It would be beneficial to expose the contrast between the conditions of Jewish prisoners, how they lived and worked, and how the camp guards lived and had fun in their leisure time. There are numerous photographs available for this purpose at the collection of the Mauthausen Memorial and at the collection of the Washington Holocaust Museum (USHMM) for photos of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps.
7. Using up-to-date research, figures for deportation trains and deportees could be and should be corrected. The figures for Jews selected for work and those selected for the gas chambers could be and should be given, as well as the dates and figures for Hungarian Jews sent from AuschwitzBirkenau to other concentration camps for forced labour. Figures for Hungarian Jews deported from other countries should also be given. A separate mention should be given of Jewish families deported to Ostmark (Austria) via Strasshof an der Nordbahn.
8. After a description of the deportation process, there should be a separate presentation on T4 action which included the murder of Hungarian Jews at Hartheim Castle near Linz in present-day Austria, at one of the T4 points (the victims’ names are known). At this stage, a general description of T4 action could be given; this is missing from the exhibition topics at present. Likewise, there is no presentation on pseudo-medical experiments - selection of twins and dwarves; men, women and children subjected to brutal “medical” procedures, etc. These experiments caused suffering to more than a thousand Hungarian Jewish deportees often resulting in permanent, life-long damage.
9. The plunder of Hungarian Jews deserves its own section that should also include compensations and reparations after World War II up until the 2010s. Separate mention should be made of the plundering and expelling of Jews in Nazi occupied countries and in Slovakia (e.g. Imre Kálmán who wasn’t allowed back into Hungary, Ferenc Molnár, etc.) and how these Jews were often deported. (Here I would like to point out again that the exhibition makes no mention of Anschluss and its consequences). There should be some indication of bilateral negotiations about properties seized from Hungarian Jews in Nazi Germany, in occupied countries and in Slovakia. It is crucial to mention the issue of Jewish properties seized by the Allies as spoils of war and the complete lack of subsequent compensation.
It would be worth mentioning the report of the Hungarian consul general in Vienna. On July 6, 1938, he gave the following account of his negotiations with Nazi secretary of state for national security, Ernst Kaltenbrunner: “The only argument that is necessary to use in similar cases nowadays, namely that when talking about the fleecing (sic) of Hungarian Jews, it falls within the competence of Hungarians themselves and not of foreign states - this was readily accepted by Kaltenbrunner also.”
10. There should be more detailed figures relating to the Pest ghetto when discussing ghettoisation (sectors, makeshift hospitals, soup kitchens, children’s homes, death figures, burials, etc.) and about the international ghetto (list of protected houses, etc.) There should be an indication that after liberation, some Hungarian Jews were also taken for malenki robot to GULAG and GUPVI camps. (Records of Hungarian Jews in GULAG and GUPVI camps are available at the National Archives and at the Historical Archives of State Security Services).
11. The period between January 18, 1945 and May 8, 1945 is missing completely. At this point Hungarian Jews working on the Südostwall fortresses should be mentioned, as well as their deportation towards Nazi Germany along the Danube and through the Alps to Mauthausen and other camps due to Red Army advances. Examples to be mentioned are massacres at Rechnitz, Eisenerz (Präbichl mountain pass), Hofamt Priel and others. The locations of the victims’ graves are known. Objects from victims of the Hofamt Priel massacre are stored in three boxes by the the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation’s collection. This unique and authentic collection has so far never been displayed at a permanent exhibition.
12. I recommend a much more detailed presentation on Jewish life after 1945. Although the exhibition already makes some mention of this subject, a separate section would be advisable. The following list is not intended to be exhaustive, but significant events are Act XXV of 1946, the National Jewish Recovery Foundation, the fate of various synagogues (renovation, demolition, use for other purposes, etc.), restructuring of the Jewish faith communities and their subsequent functioning, Jewish emigration from the late 1940s, Jewish social engagement and participation, etc.
IV. Meticulousness of the historical presentation figures and phrasing
Due to limitations of the exhibition space, figures and phrasing of the historical presentation are naturally concise and succinct, only mentioning the most crucial facts, data, events, figures and characteristics. In general, data and phrasing are precise; the modifications I would recommend are detailed below. However, certain issues arise from the fact that the materials are originally written in English and translating them into Hungarian or other languages can often result in a shift of emphasis. Therefore, besides a proof-reader/editor, a copy editor well-acquainted with historical terms and technical phrasing should also go over the translations. Another issue is that display boards show the names of institutions, places, etc. in English and contain English and Hungarian abbreviations and acronyms. Since most visitors are unlikely to be expert historians, it would be desirable to display names of institutions in their original language and in Hungarian (or the language they are translated into). The RSHA acronym for example, should be shown in its full German form - Reichssicherheitshauptamt - and in Hungarian as Birodalmi Biztonsági Fôhivatal (Reich Security Main Office) or as a translation in a given language. In the case of other acronyms (MAZSŌK, OMZSA, JDC, JCC, DP, PM, etc.), a similar policy should be followed: showing the full name in the original language, in Hungarian and in the language it is translated into. Although I am aware that there is only limited space on the display boards, I am still of the opinion that full names should be included, otherwise abbreviations will be unintelligible for most visitors. Finally, for place names, I recommend using the original language and a Hungarian translation or the translation into any other language used. For example: Warszawa, Varsó. In the case of places where the name changed between the 19th
and the 21th centuries, all versions of their names should be shown. For example: Lwów, Lemberg, Lvov, Lviv.
Recommendations and comments about the historical presentation in timeline order: These recommendations and comments don't include stylistic and phrasing corrections; these should be effected during the final editing stage.
1.3. Magyarization - in my opinion the correct Hungarian translation for this word is not assimilation, although that is certainly implied. By the way, the Hungarian government didn’t wish to Hungarianise Jews - they only intended to Hungarianise minority nationalities -, and most Jews themselves wanted to assimilate.
1.7. It would be worthwhile to use more detailed figures from the book ‘Golden Album of Hungarian Jews Who Fought in the War’. (Originally published in Budapest, 1940, reprint in Budapest, 2013 by Zrínyi Publishers).
2.1. Garbai Sándor, president of the Revolutionary Governing Council, was the highest public officer during the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Béla Kun was the “actual leader”. This should be conveyed more clearly than at present. I definitely suggest changing the photograph. The LeninSzamuely photo doesn’t give any idea of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. I would recommend a picture of May 1st celebrations or of the Convention of Councils (tanácskongresszus).
This section should also answer the following question: why were Jews overrepresented in Hungarian and international Social Democratic and Communist workers’ movements. This could refute the popular accusation that the Hungarian Soviet Republic was “created and led by Jewish elements”. This allegation has clearly anti-Semitic undertones. The answer could be based on György Borsányi’s Jews in Labour Movements and Tibor Erényi’s Jews and Hungarian Left-Wing Movements. (Világosság, 1992, no2, pp 145-158).
Records of Jewish victims of White Terror are available: Máté Kóródi Database about murders committed by officer detachments of the Hungarian National Army and by other armed groups (August 3, 1919 - October 23, 1921), Clio Volumes, Budapest, 2020.
2.2. It would be worth mentioning that in many ways Nazi ideology wasn’t an original “product”, it grew on a breeding ground of earlier ideologies and views. This display board should be placed before 2.7 to follow an accurate chronological and logical sequence.
2.4. The French map should be replaced with a map in Hungarian. It should be indicated that the Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia was never an integral part of the Kingdom of Hungary, they were two independent kingdoms that were joined in a personal union for over 800 years (this was evidenced by the 1868 conciliation agreements with Hungary and with Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia). Yugoslavia was created in 1929 and at the time of the Treaty of Trianon its official name was still Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. And, contemporary public life distinguished between the Kingdom of Hungary and other countries belonging to the Hungarian Crown. The Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia belonged to the latter category.
2.5. It would be worth mentioning that Jewish students travelled to different universities and that universities in the countryside didn’t follow regulations as rigidly as universities in Budapest. It should be mentioned that the legislation’s title or text doesn’t contain the word ‘Jewish’.
2.6. In my opinion the Silver Age of Jews lasted up until 1937-1938. The crucial change happened after the meeting of Miklós Horthy and Jewish leaders in November, 1937. Documents of the
meeting were published by László Szucs: Audience with the Governor Preceding the First antiJewish Legislation (November 11, 1937), Archives Annnouncements, 1993. No1-2, pp 143-164)
2.7. The Great Depression mainly affected Hungary in terms of a drop in industrial and agricultural production and a financial and credit crisis. See Standstill Agreements, moratorium, etc. In Hungary, the Great Depression wasn’t compounded by inflation, the value of Pengo remained stable. Besides, restricting imports brought about a growth of certain branches of industry. This should be indicated in the text.
2.8. Fuhrer should be Führer. The text should mention that Adolf Hitler as Führer (Commander) served as Chancellor, head of state, head of the armed forces, etc., he was the first man of the country as well as the highest public and military figure. The term dictator mainly refers to a modus operandi and not to one person serving in all these leading roles. By the way, it would be worth mentioning here that the dominant political systems of the world (Great Britain, France, the United States of America, the Soviet Union, etc.) de facto and de jure recognised Nazi Germany and the power of Adolf Hitler.
For the year 1938 there is no mention whatsoever of Anschluss and its consequences, the widespread looting of Jews, looting and expelling of Hungarian Jews, as well as Austrian and German Jews fleeing to Hungary through the new common border with Germany, etc.
2.11. The Évian Conference demonstrated that the developed world gave its tacit acceptance and acquiescence to the persecution of Jews. This should be made clear. Austria was called Ostmark at the time of the The Évian Conference. The text should indicate this.
János Békéssy (Hans Habe) wrote a series of articles on the The Évian Conference in contemporary leading newspapers. Hans Habe also wrote a book on the subject that was later turned into a film. This should be indicated.
2.12. During the Kristallnacht the properties of 39 Hungarian Jews were damaged, their names and the value of damage is known. This should be indicated.
2.13. Article II. of 1939 that introduced forced labour for the public interest was not directed specifically against Jews. Left-wing activists (not just Communists), nationalities considered untrustworthy, conscientious objectors, etc. were all called up to the forced labour squadrons. On the other hand, there was no Gypsy forced labour squadron in Hungary. It is true however, that Jewish forced labourers were subjected to the most brutal treatment. This should be clarified.
2.14. It is important to note that Jews living in regions re-annexed to Hungary regained their Hungarian citizenship and thus all anti-Jewish legislation was extended to them as well. Hungarian soldiers entering these areas often blackmailed local Jewish communities to obtain valuables. This should be mentioned.
3.1. Fascist states (Italy, Spain, Portugal) should be distinguished from Nazi Germany. There were crucial differences between their two ideologies. Fascist states like Spain and Portugal took part in rescuing Jews, and in Italy deportations only started after German occupation, etc.
September 21, 1939. Judenraete is correctly Judenrat in German. Two e’s can be dropped. Dates should be displayed in strict chronological order. The photograph on page 84 is not about the invasion of Poland, it shows people celebrating the arrival of Nazi troops.
3.2. Relating to the Blitzkrieg it should be mentioned that starting from May 1940 the Nazis occupied Western Europe and bombed Great Britain. The Japanese attack against the United
States on December 7, 1941 is missing, although this was the crucial event that finally achieved the complete coalition of the Allies.
3.3. The setting up of the first Polish Ghetto should be placed after the attack on Poland, replacing it with the Blitzkrieg.
On page 91 the chronological timeline should be clarified.
3.4. The photograph should have a caption of the conversation.
Vilmos Nagybaczoni Nagy: Which squadron is this?
Forced labourer: With your permission sir, it is the 20th Squadron.”
3.5. An exact record of the numbers and names of the victims of the Novi Sad Raid is available in the publications of the Novi Sad Museum. We acquired a copy in 2012 and placed it in the Library of the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation. The date of the massacre is missing from the text. (January 20-23, 1942)
When writing about the trial, it should be mentioned that the main culprits fled to Germany before sentencing and only returned with the Nazi occupiers.
Tibor Cseres wrote a book about the massacres entitled Cold Days (Hideg Napok) which was later made into a movie. These could be made use of.
3.6. It would be worth mentioning that after Anschluss (March 12-13, 1938) tens of thousands of Jews fled to Hungary from Austria and Germany, then from Poland through the common PolishHungarian border and later from Tiso’s Slovakia, even before the Rescue Committee started operations. Most of these Jews left the country via Yugoslavia before Yugoslavia was attacked. Therefore this display board should be placed before the forced labourers to follow a proper timeline.
3.7. MISSING!
3.8. The exact contemporary Russian name is Kamenyec-Podolskiy, this should be indicated next to the present and contemporary names.
The background of this deportation should be mentioned: from September 1939, Hungary had a common border with the Soviet Union and through this border Jewish families from Carpathian Ruthenia and Northern Transylvania were moved or chased into the Soviet Union. Those who survived the ordeal were captured by Soviet border guards, convicted by Special Soviet Courts and sent to GULAG camps.
3.10. There is no indication of the steps taken by the Kállay government to save Hungarian Jews in Nazi occupied countries and how this government tried to prevent their deportation, unfortunately without success. However, about 400 Hungarian Jews managed to get home from Nazi occupied regions.
3.11. It should be mentioned that on December 6, 1942, the Kállay government refused to follow the Nazi method of solving the Jewish question, although Germany demanded it in an official memorandum. This was followed by the first Klessheim meeting between Hitler and Horthy on April 16-17, 1943 and Horthy’s letter in May. Today, Klessheim is a suburb of Salzburg.
3.12. The timeline should be corrected.
3.13. The display board about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising should be placed earlier, to the Polish block.
Page 113: the timeline is inaccurate. After March 19, 1944 a series of anti-Jewish regulations were published.
Between April 16, 1944 and July 9, 1944 Jews in the countryside were confined to ghettos and deported. According to R. Braham, between July 7-9 a further 13 deportation trains were dispatched. As I have mentioned above, the exact figures of deportees should be given according to the most up-to-date research.
Between July 10 and October 15, 1944 a relative calm prevailed, though occasionally deportations still happened. See, for example July 20, 1944, Rákoscsaba and data from recent research (I made a separate note on this earlier). This relative calm ended during the day on the 15th of October.
Between October 6, 1944 and January 18, 1945 a lot happened to the Jews of Hungary (earlier I made a note on this). We can’t consider the Hungarian Holocaust to be over by January 18 or February 13, 1945.
4.1. This photograph should be replaced as it relates not to German occupation but to later American bomb attacks. There exist photos of the arrival of Adolf Eichmann and Nazi troops, one of these should be selected.
As I have mentioned earlier, Hungarian Jewish population figures should be corrected.
4.3. The Auschwitz Report was originally written in German, therefore the sketch displayed was also in German and not in English. The original German version should be displayed and an explanation should contain the Hungarian (or another language) version.
4.4. These are two photographs of the same tram from different angles.
4.5. As I have mentioned earlier, ghettoisation started on April 16, 1944. The date should be corrected. This display board should be placed earlier to fit with the timeline. I recommend placing it after 4.2.
4.6. Records of Hanna Szenes’s trial are available from the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, and records of her recognition are kept at the Military History Archives. I have used these in my monograph, The Memory of Hanna Szenes (Hungarian Jewish Review (Magyar Zsidó Szemle) 2009-2010, No, 6-7, pp 113-120) This display board should be placed later because Hanna Szenes only arrived in Hungary on June 9, 1944.
4.7. This date should be corrected. According to R. Braham and others, deportations started on May 14, 1944 and not on May 15. This later date is incorrect. Figures for deportees should be corrected as I mentioned earlier.
4.8. The date should be corrected in line with the above.
4.9. This display board on the actions of church leaders should be placed earlier, next to presentations on deportations. This would follow the correct timeline.
4.13. It would be worth mentioning that after the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps the Russian soldiers didn’t set Hungarian Jews free but took them to GUPVI camps. The same happened to Jews of some other nationalities.
4.14. According to the official summary of the Budapest Bulletin (Fôvárosi Közlöny) (July 28, 1944, appendix page 4) after several revisions, 2639 houses were designated as Yellow Star houses for Jews, Jews lived in 21.521 apartments in 47.978 rooms. I recommend correcting the figures accordingly.
In my opinion - and as confirmed by the dates of deportations from around Budapest - assisting with deportations was the reason for transferring 3000 gendarmerie troops to Budapest and surrounding areas.
4.15. Horthy halted deportations on July 6, 1944, not on July 7. The earlier (July 6, 1944) date was correct.
4.17. Death marches began on November 6, 1944 (see picture 4.21.) and not on October 21, 1944.
4.18. The exact number of those awarded the Righteous among the Nations should be given and their names should be listed in some form.
4.19. APPEARS TWICE!
As per my earlier suggestion, there should be more detailed descriptions of the Budapest Ghetto. The names appearing in the reports of the National Committee for Deportees should be listed based on the original reports found in the Hungarian Jewish Archives and the collection of the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation. (See as in the case of 4.20. and 4.21.)
4.21. This display board should be placed before 4.19. display board to follow the proper timeline. There could be and should be a more detailed description of the death marches (as I mentioned earlier) and of the trains leaving from Józsefváros Railway Station. (At least once Raoul Wallenberg was definitely present at the deportations and he saved Jews from deportation. There is photographic evidence of this.) György Somlyó, a former deportee, wrote about the death marches and deportations from Józsefváros in his memoir Ramp (Rámpa). This could be made use of.
4.22. According to most recent studies, the last German soldier left Hungary on April 12, 1945 at Kapuy and Dénes farm in the area of Pinkamindszent. This is also confirmed based on German and Russian operation logs. This date should be used as a turning point. The photo depicts the old Erzsébet Bridge and its Pest bridge-head. It is a posed photograph. It should be mentioned that several liberated Jews were taken for malenki robot by the Red Army.
5.1. It should be mentioned that on their way home several liberated Jews were taken to GUPVI and occasionally to GULAG camps.
5.3. Exact figures of the Hungarian trials should be given: number of trials, death sentences, other sentences, etc.) Data can be found in the works of Tibor Zinner. Áron Máté wrote a book on the Arrow Cross trial of Zugló.
5.5. There is no need for a picture of Stalin. He had nothing to do with Hungarian pogroms. By the way, in the Soviet Union the anti-Semitism of Stalin didn’t fully manifest until the end of the 1940s. In its wake Hungary also had completed show trials and show trials in preparation against Jews. These should be mentioned. (See the works of Éva Standeisky and Tibor Zinner).
5.11. In Hungary the regime change - a complete Communist takeover - took place in 1947-48, during the period called The Year of Change. By 1949 there was a well established Communist system. Modify accordingly.
Page 201. - The following are missing from the next few pages.:
Establishment of the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association (Magyar Zsidó Kulturális Egyesület, MAZSIKE) - November, 1988
1989 - first issue of Szombat, MAZSIKE’s publication.
June 15, 1989 - JOINT’s Budapest office reopens.
July 11, 1989 - the Eastern-European branch office of the World Jewish Congress opens in Budapest.
November, 1990 - establishment of the Hungarian Auschwitz Foundation - Center for Documenting the Holocaust. This organisation was the predecessor of the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation.
Act XXXII of 1991 about restitution of church properties, that affected Jewish communities as well, is missing. Act XXV of 1991 and Act XXIV of 1992 are missing. These acts dealt with the compensation of private persons - including Jews - for their properties.
Page 208. - It is a misunderstanding that the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation was established in 1999. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán signed the Memorandum of Association on March 19, 2002. The Memorial Centre opened in 2004 presenting an Auschwitz Album exhibition and the permanent exhibition opened its doors on February 21, 2006.
In 1999 the Jewish Theological Seminary became the Jewish Theological Seminary - University of Jewish Studies.
April 16, 2001 - first Holocaust Memorial Day in Hungary.
Page 209. - the following are missing:
April 16-18, 2004 an international scientific conference organised in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary. The Auschwitz Album was published in Hungarian for this occasion.
May 24, 2004 - inaugural session of the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Egységes Magyarországi Izraelita Hitközség, EMIH)
April 27, 2007 - the first Stolperstein, “stumbling stones” are installed in Budapest
February 11, 2011 - a government resolution (1024/2011. [II.11]) about government duties relating to the renewal of Jewish community life, the support of Jewish communities, regular coordination with Jewish organisations and the implementation of Act X of 1997.
Page 241. - the translation sounds terrible in Hungarian, therefore for this and for any further translations a literary editor and a copy-editor well-acquainted with the topic should review the text. The editors should speak good English and correct the translations so they adhere to the grammar and syntax of the Hungarian language.
Page 243. - it is not clear whether forced labourer losses include Jews who died after being captured by Russians and taken to GULAG and GUPVI camps.
Page 283. - the map is incorrectly labelled. At the time of the Treaty of Trianon there was no Yugoslavia (which was named as such in 1929), it was called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Page 337. - the map of Yellow Star houses as well as pictures and photographs from the Auschwitz Album may be found in the exhibition of the Holocaust Documentation Centre and Memorial Collection Public Foundation.
August 30, 2020 Budapest
Dr János Botos