Object numberM2018/018:023
DescriptionPostcard from Hungarian forced labourer Feri Reisz, written c. 25 July 1942 from a camp in an unknown location to his father Ignacz Reisz.
Postcard addressed to the apartment in Budapest to which Feri's parents had fled due to the anti-Semitic government harrassment occuring in their home village of Kunszentmiklos.
Feri expresses concern that the letters he sends are delayed or not arriving at all. He enquires about another individual's forced labour identification number. This possibly refers to contacting his brother Emil, which would indicate that the brothers had been separated by this point.
Feri Reisz was born in 1911 to Ignacz and Margit Reisz (nee Herceg). The Reisz family were successful businesspeople and owned farmland in the village of Kunszentmiklos, south of Budapest. They were a prominent and integrated local family. Feri had one brother, Emil (b. 1915), and a sister, Ilona (b. 1916).
In 1930, Feri was barred from entering university due to the Horthy government’s restrictive anti-Jewish quotas, outlined in the ‘Numerous Clausus’ law of 1920. He subsequently travelled to Vienna to study for a few months.
In the years leading up to the war, Feri and Emil were conscripted into the army, like many other young Hungarian men. While home in Kunszentmiklos in the early years of the war, they became the focus of police harassment and were interned.
The brothers were subsequently segregated from other non-Jewish conscripts, drafted into the Jewish Labour Service, and transported to forced labour camps. They may have both spent time in forced labour at Nagykanizsa - a camp which was home to some famous Jewish actors and intellectuals. They are believed to have died in separate camps near the river Don (present-day Russia) at some time in 1943.
Postcard addressed to the apartment in Budapest to which Feri's parents had fled due to the anti-Semitic government harrassment occuring in their home village of Kunszentmiklos.
Feri expresses concern that the letters he sends are delayed or not arriving at all. He enquires about another individual's forced labour identification number. This possibly refers to contacting his brother Emil, which would indicate that the brothers had been separated by this point.
Feri Reisz was born in 1911 to Ignacz and Margit Reisz (nee Herceg). The Reisz family were successful businesspeople and owned farmland in the village of Kunszentmiklos, south of Budapest. They were a prominent and integrated local family. Feri had one brother, Emil (b. 1915), and a sister, Ilona (b. 1916).
In 1930, Feri was barred from entering university due to the Horthy government’s restrictive anti-Jewish quotas, outlined in the ‘Numerous Clausus’ law of 1920. He subsequently travelled to Vienna to study for a few months.
In the years leading up to the war, Feri and Emil were conscripted into the army, like many other young Hungarian men. While home in Kunszentmiklos in the early years of the war, they became the focus of police harassment and were interned.
The brothers were subsequently segregated from other non-Jewish conscripts, drafted into the Jewish Labour Service, and transported to forced labour camps. They may have both spent time in forced labour at Nagykanizsa - a camp which was home to some famous Jewish actors and intellectuals. They are believed to have died in separate camps near the river Don (present-day Russia) at some time in 1943.
Production placeHungary
Production date 1942-07-25 - 1942-07-25
Subjectforced labour, forced labour camps, labourers, loved ones' final contacts, family life, separation
Object namepostcards
Materialpaper
Techniquehandwritten
Dimensions
- length: 148.00 mm
width: 105.00 mm
Language
- Hungarian Official Notes:
Checked III/25
Sender
Name: Ferenc Reisz
Rank: forced labourer
Camp mail number: 223/76
Post stamped 25 July 1942
To:
Ignacz Reisz
34 Szigony Street
Floor 1, apartment 3
25 [?] / VII [July]
My dear Mummy and Daddy, I want to let you know that I have already received two cards from home, but with such early dates that a letter from me could not have been received. I hope that since then my cards have arrived. If he lets you know his forced labour number, please let me know. I am healthy and am looking forward to your cards because I am one of those here who receives very few letters. Kissing your hands, Feri.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ester Sarkadi-Clarke