Robert Barta

Robert Barta, born October 20, 1927 in Budapest, Hungary, discusses his childhood; his Jewish and religious activities in Budapest; the Jewish high school in Pest; his father’s status of PF Lieutenant being recognized; his father being in a forced labor camp and returning home after two months in the camp; his father considering immigrating to Australia in 1938; conditions changing as German troops marched into Budapest on March 19, 1944; the Hungarian militia pulling Jewish men off public transportation; his home turning into a “Jewish house” as two more families moved in; his father being taken to jail; being ordered to assemble with valuables in the middle of the night, and their valuables being taken from them; being sent in cattle cars to a camp; him and his brother being chosen for “police work”; the SS taking over the camp, with everyone being sent off in transports after ten days; being in the last transport because of his special duties; realizing he was in real danger; deciding to escape with his mother, brother, sister, and two girls through a corn field behind the camp; his mother returning home to Budapest, since she had Catholic papers, and keeping her three children hidden in her house; the arrival of the Russians in Budapest in early 1945; graduating from university with a degree in physical education; being a prominent sports personality until 1956 when he lost his job and party membership and left Hungary for Austria; settling in Landau, Germany in 1957; returning to Vienna in 1965; moving to Australia in 1968; and his brother and mother committing suicide because they were scarred by their wartime experiences.