Object numberM2009/066:003
DescriptionHandwritten letter from Hant Pista, Seregelyes, Hungary, 22 February 1946, in response to enquiries made by George Medak in an attempt to find out what happen to his family. The sender mentions his brother being sent away and that he was having stomach troubles brought on by stress. He writes about his late wife visiting his family until someone reported them to the authorities under the pretense that they were hiding assets. Both women were interrogated but his wife was also tortured.
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 1946-02-22 - 1946-02-22
Subjectvictims, searching, Righteous Among the Nations, final solution, informers, confiscation of property, torture
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 209.00 mm
height: 245.00 mm
Language
- Hungarian Seregélyes, 22nd February, 1946
Esteemed Mr Medák!
With sadness in my heart I am letting you know, that your Mother, sibling and family, your relatives from Sárosd are not alive. (Is ambiguous if the “sibling” is Mr Medák’s mother’s or Mr Medák’s sibling; also, it could mean either a brother or a sister).
Erno was ordered to Transylvania in April. He went, and since then he never again saw his family. In Transylvania he worked as a GP for a while, then he was taken to Marosvásárhely, to a collecting camp, and taken from there to Germany.
He had very serious stomach troubles, aggravated by the constant stress. According to statement of deported people, he died in Auschwitz due to his illness. His poor mother, Erno’s wife and little daughter were left to fend for themselves. They couldn’t stay for long in their home. The house of Klein Árpád was designated, together with several other families as new domicile. My late wife, who was a sincere friend of your sister in law until the last minute, visited her several times and helped them, until she could do it. Then somebody dobbed us in, that we were hiding Jewish assets. Then we were put through questioning, interrogations and face to face confrontations with witnesses. The luck of poor Mrs. Medák was that she handed over all her possessions. The investigators had a precise list and description of all of her jewellery. Even so, she went through heavy torture. Your mother was not interrogated, she suffered her woes with a strong heart. Even I was surprised, that despite her fragile state, she did cope well all the spiritual sufferings and humiliations.
(end of page No. 1)
She has been on medications for many years. She visited the chemist shop until the last days.
A few days later they all were taken to Fejérvár, and from there to Germany. And there, if until now they didn’t give signs of being alive, must have perished. I am sorry to inform you the hard news, but all those that have returned from deportation, affirm that there is no hope that they would still be alive.
The Medáks and Brauns of Sárosd also disappeared.
Regarding my own destiny, my wife got hurt in March. I took her to the hospital in Veszprém, where after a month of suffering she passed away. By the time I got back home, I lost everything.
We are all losers. Might God give strength to bear the adversity.
With respect
Krinitzky
Kind regards to Hant Pista
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Dr Veronica Goldrick