Object numberM2018/018:024
DescriptionPostcard from Hungarian forced labourer Feri Reisz, written on 1 November 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 writes that he is happy that his sister Ilona has won a legal case. He states that "in the military, one is even healthier than at home". He requests sugary food, and says he is being kept warm by a Russian cape/coat.
The postcard is standard issue stationary, bearing the slogan "The persistence and sacrifice of Hungary makes our arms victorious!"
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 writes that he is happy that his sister Ilona has won a legal case. He states that "in the military, one is even healthier than at home". He requests sugary food, and says he is being kept warm by a Russian cape/coat.
The postcard is standard issue stationary, bearing the slogan "The persistence and sacrifice of Hungary makes our arms victorious!"
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 1942-11-01 - 1942-11-01
Subjectforced labour, labourers, forced labour camps, separation, loved ones' final contacts, family life
Object namepostcards
Materialpaper
Techniquehandwritten
Dimensions
- length: 148.00 mm
width: 105.00 mm
Language
- Hungarian The persistence and sacrifice of Hungary makes our arms victorious!
Official notes: Checked 11th month of 1942, [day illegible]
From
Name: Ferenc Reisz
Rank: forced labourer
Camp mail number: 223/76
Post stamp dated 8 Nov 1942
To:
Ignacz Reisz
34 Szigony Street, Floor 1, Apartment 3, Budapest
01.11.1942
My dear parents, I received Ilona’s card dated 8th of October today. I can’t express how happy I am about her successful case… I am happy that you both are in good health as you await my return home. I am well here. In the military, one is even healthier than at home. Since you’ve written that you’d be sending parcels, I have received two. Please send one that has something sugary in it. I haven’t yet received the winter parcel but I haven’t really missed it because I have a Russian cape and it hasn’t been cold yet. I hope that I will get a longer letter from home soon. With love to you and to Ilona, the kids, and Joseph. What is the news about [a person - Gyula?]. Feri.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ester Sarkadi-Clarke