Object numberM2009/066:001
DescriptionLetter from Szücs József, the Post clerk in Seregélyes, Hungary, 19 February 1946, to George Medak in Australia. He writes: "And I heard another sad news. I don’t know how much of it is true. Seemingly Mrs. Madák Nándor with her little son (Miklós András) intended to commit suicide. The news came to me, by word of mouth, that the little boy died but Mrs. Madák stayed alive. In the summer of 1944 they were deported from Sárbogárd to Auschwitz. About their further destiny I don’t know anything, since then they never gave any signs of life."
Part of a collection of letters related to George and Iren Medák. George was born in Ercsi, Hungary on 26 February 1900. He viewed with alarm the success of Hitler’s territorial expansion as well as the radicalisation of German antisemitism. The Anschluss in 1938 was the catalyst that prompted him to put into action plans that resulted in his family’s successful emigration to Australia. He immigrated with his wife, Iren (nee Revesz) and six-year-old daughter, Veronica. They arrived in 1939. George tried desperately and repeatedly, albeit unsuccessfully, to get permission for his brother Dr Erno Medák, his wife Boriska and their young daughter Magdalene, to join them in Australia.
In December 1941 George was arrested as an ‘enemy alien’. Detectives took him away from his home to Liverpool internment camp, and from there to Tatura. He was released after about five weeks, and in February 1942 he joined the Australian Army. He had nothing but praise for the quality of care whilst in detention. During this time, his wife “walked the streets of Lane Cove” obtaining character references from friends, neighbours, work colleagues and the church ministry in order to petition for her husband’s release.
After the German occupation of Hungary—March 1944— letters from Erno stopped arriving. George’s quest to discover the fate of his family resulted in 22 letters of response from friends, neighbours and officials such as the Post Master in the villages of Sárosd and Seregélyes. They offer rare insight into the experiences of Jews living in rural Hungary, as well as the Nazi-allied Hungarian regime’s anti-Jewish laws, its forced labour service (munkaszolgálat), ghettoization, searching for “hidden Jewish wealth”, despair, suicide, deportation, and the decimation of rural Jewry. Through the letters he learned that his brother Dr Erno Medák and Erno’s wife Boriska, their young daughter Magdalena (Magdi) were murdered in Auschwitz in 1944; George’s mother Gisella Medák was also murdered.
George died June 1955. Veronica’s parents had hidden the knowledge that they were Jewish and she only found out in 1972 when her mother died. The collection includes copies of the letters of reference and a travel permit allowing Iren to travel for her dressmaking business and her daughter’s music lessons.
Part of a collection of letters related to George and Iren Medák. George was born in Ercsi, Hungary on 26 February 1900. He viewed with alarm the success of Hitler’s territorial expansion as well as the radicalisation of German antisemitism. The Anschluss in 1938 was the catalyst that prompted him to put into action plans that resulted in his family’s successful emigration to Australia. He immigrated with his wife, Iren (nee Revesz) and six-year-old daughter, Veronica. They arrived in 1939. George tried desperately and repeatedly, albeit unsuccessfully, to get permission for his brother Dr Erno Medák, his wife Boriska and their young daughter Magdalene, to join them in Australia.
In December 1941 George was arrested as an ‘enemy alien’. Detectives took him away from his home to Liverpool internment camp, and from there to Tatura. He was released after about five weeks, and in February 1942 he joined the Australian Army. He had nothing but praise for the quality of care whilst in detention. During this time, his wife “walked the streets of Lane Cove” obtaining character references from friends, neighbours, work colleagues and the church ministry in order to petition for her husband’s release.
After the German occupation of Hungary—March 1944— letters from Erno stopped arriving. George’s quest to discover the fate of his family resulted in 22 letters of response from friends, neighbours and officials such as the Post Master in the villages of Sárosd and Seregélyes. They offer rare insight into the experiences of Jews living in rural Hungary, as well as the Nazi-allied Hungarian regime’s anti-Jewish laws, its forced labour service (munkaszolgálat), ghettoization, searching for “hidden Jewish wealth”, despair, suicide, deportation, and the decimation of rural Jewry. Through the letters he learned that his brother Dr Erno Medák and Erno’s wife Boriska, their young daughter Magdalena (Magdi) were murdered in Auschwitz in 1944; George’s mother Gisella Medák was also murdered.
George died June 1955. Veronica’s parents had hidden the knowledge that they were Jewish and she only found out in 1972 when her mother died. The collection includes copies of the letters of reference and a travel permit allowing Iren to travel for her dressmaking business and her daughter’s music lessons.
Production placeHungary
Production date circa 1946
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 152.00 mm
height: 209.00 mm
Language
- Hungarian Letters to Mr. Medák (letter No. 1)
In the Spring of 1944, when the persecutions started in Hungary, I worked at the Post Office at Sárosd. My postmaster was (Mr) Medák Nándor. (note: in Hungarian the surname is used first, followed by the given name). At the beginning of summer he was relieved of his post and pensioned off. He received payment for the first month of pension, but later he was moved to Sárbogárd. They sealed his home.
Due to a petition by Count Eszterházi László, Madák N. and several other men and a couple of women were brought back to work. They were there for about 2-3 weeks, I visited him several times in the evenings and helped with what I could (cigarettes). From here they took them back to Sárbogárd. The postmaster from there helped them as much as he could. Despite the strict checks he managed to send them milk every morning with the mail delivery man. I was informed by the Postmaster that Medák Nándor went through the interrogations about his financial situation with luck, because he could show a copy of a document received from the Post that he was indebted.
(End of page one)
And I heard another sad news. I don’t know how much of it is true. Seemingly Mrs. Madák Nándor with her little son (Miklós András) intended to commit suicide. The news came to me, by word of mouth, that the little boy died but Mrs. Madák stayed alive. In the summer of 1944 they were deported from Sárbogárd to Auschwitz. About their further destiny I don’t know anything, since then they never gave any signs of life.
Seregélyes, 19th of February, 1946
Szücs József
Post clerk
(End of letter on page two)
(Bottom part of page two; different handwriting)
This letter was sent by the chemist, Rinitzky, from Seregélyes. According to this letter, the postmaster from Sárbogárd was decent. We made enquiries, he is still there, George. If you wish, I can write to him, but would be better if you sent him 3 reply coupons (that’s how many you need for a certified letter) and you wrote directly to him, asking him to write to Gizike with more details. I don’t think that it will get lost, if the Postmaster himself posts it. But ask it to be certified and put in the envelope a self addressed envelope and mail paper as well.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Dr Veronica Goldrick