Object numberM2009/066:015
DescriptionLetter from Haun Pál, Seregélyes, undated, (circa 1946), to George Medak, Sydney, in response to his letter to people in the villages of Seregelyes and Sarosd to find out what happened to his family. The author writes: "I don't have enough strength of mind to commit suicide – like a lot of them have done at home/in this country, but I ask the Almighty God to take me away, every day is worse, I thought I can forget everything, but no, this is not a life, we who survived without child and wife, this only punishment from the good God, and not reward, the God should never let you know what it means to bury. In Seregély I am the only Jew, who came back."
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
Subjectvictims, searching, families, final solution
Object nameletters
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 290.00 mm
height: 210.00 mm
Language
- Hungarian There are 8 pages of this letter. Page 5 has not been translated.
Right page
Dear very honourable Mr Medák,
I've got your letter you wrote on 23rd of January and I want to give the most punctual response/answer for it.
Most likely my letter to Dr Földes arrived, but I describe again the tragic events that happened lately.
In April 1944 Erno was ordered/assigned to an unarmed labour battalion (forced labour) in Székelykeresztur (Transylvania) as a doctor, where he was at a safe place until his deportation. In Auschwitz he was with people from Seregély, that's why I know his death: He died of old age weakness, because he was suffering from serious gastric disease, he became very skinny, he was almost unrecognizable, I heard from people who were with him until his last moments. Dr Berger was there too, who were beaten to death because he cut a piece from his blanket to use as a scarf, when his “scarf” was seen from his coat, they took it as a sabotage and violent damaging, and they beat him until he was not dead, unfortunately this is the fact.
Left page
(Translator’s note: I can't figure out, have to check the original)
to feel this pain, to think about this horror, we need enormous strength of mind to endure, in any case will happen in my future life, this can’t be forgotten how these unfortunate people were destroyed/killed.
There were a lot of place in this country where the people did everything for the interest of Jews, to have decent life in the last months until they were taken away, people in Seregélyes did not behave how they should have, there were a couple of families who did not care the threat they supplied them milk and other food, but most of them they were afraid of helping them because the terror. Boriska and unfortunately my wife too were nervous wrecks in Seregély, no doubt maybe when they got there, they were not at their minds ( they were not in the possession of all their senses), I don't have enough strength of mind to commit suicide – like a lot of them have done at home/in this country, but I ask the Almighty God to take me away, every day is worse, I thought I can forget everything, but no, this is not a life, we who survived without child and wife, this only punishment from the good God, and not reward, the God should never let you know what it means to bury. In Seregély I am the only Jew, who came back.
Right page
TRANSLATION MISSING
Left page
Berger's children are alive, Bandi went to Tel-Aviv, Lilli is in Kaunizt yet, she did not come home.
Seregelyesian people who returned from Auschwitz told about the arrival and the selection. When they arrived, they were divided into two, to one side the seemingly capable of work to the other side the sick, old, weak people and children, who were executed immediately. The seemingly able people were sorted many times, and who were not suitable they were taken to the gas-chamber.
Before that in Seregély the Jews were collected in some houses too, and they were interrogated about where they híd their valuable things, although most of them in their fear handed in everything in advance, they were tortured not even the valuables, but the under and upper clothes as well, although I heard about the large quantities of clothes were handed in. The detectives beat Árpád Klein, engineer Weisz (miller), Berger Dr, Miklós Nagy, Kiss brothers, the Kiss brother committed suicide, but they were saved.
M2009.066.051b.jpg
Left page
Dear Madam,
Please be kind to send this enclosed letters to Mr Medák.
I would be very grateful if you could send some pack (gift) to me.
I did not use to accept donation, because I only always gave donations, but I feel good to know there are good hearted people who help us.
They ruined me in the last years, my house is inhabitable, I could not get back one piece of clothes and my other things are perished too.
Thank you for everything, yours faithfully
Pál Haun
Right page
I have precise knowledge about …....
Árpád Klein 25 December 1944, there is no news about his 2 sons. His wife and his daughter are at home.
Two sons returned from the Kiss Siblings' 10 members family, at Szigeti's Lajos and Anti, Lajos's wife and little daughter and his father did not come back, Weisz engineer's brother János (doctor in Pápa) returned. Weisz engineer and his family disappeared too, it is so nerve-racking to write about these.
Some furniture of mine are at dr Medák's, but of course broken and without drawers.
Typical what I could get back, we had 40 pillows, 7 counterpane, 6 goose feather quilt but I did not get back nor even one item, I cover myself with the blanket I took with me to the Don, I could not get back even 1 bed, or 1 pan, in Seregélyes we had two houses, one is a police barrack, in these 2 houses we had 10 stove heaters, 4 stoves, and now in my room there is only 1 stove heater in a very bad conditions, and houses where never been stove heater before, now there are 2, I did not get back one shirt, it would be a long list to detail, I have my trousers made by blanket, I have two soldier's shirt, I am wearing one of them, I left my home on 7 September 1942, I came back on 16 April 1945. On our house there is no door and not even one window.....
M2009.066.051bb.jpg
Left page
[…....]
I did not get back a piece of jewellery, or a handkerchief, one of my houses is standing, the furniture from the shop disappeared, if I would have come home/back a couple of weeks later, the good neighbours and the others would have taken off the roof as well.
I don't know anything about Nándor's, count Esterházy did everything for them not to deport them, but it his effort was not successful. They were collected in Sárbogárd, they were deported from here, supposedly in Sárbogárd Klárika poisoned herself and her little son, but it was noticed in time. Imre Mandl and his wife committed suicide is Sárbogárd, they died, but his children are alive.
His nice Mother lived here in Seregély as well, she was deported from here.
Here the battle-line took from 8th of December 1944 – middle of March, the village changed owner six times, and this was one of the reasons we lost everything. The village mostly burned down during the battles/war.
The good God's mercy was with them who got out of here and with their families together they succeeded to stay alive.
I am greeting Hont Pista with love too.
Right page
I cannot write any interesting things about myself, I am dragging myself on alone. I have a very little turnover in my shop, and there is no merchandise nor money, and every start is so difficult/hard.
I would be very grateful to buy any clothes, especially I don't have upper clothes, all the winter and now as well I am without stocking and winter coat, the prices are so high to pay them it is impossible.
Some people are bold and brave, they have some opportunities to make money, but I am unable to do it. The last years destroyed my nerves system/I had nervous breakdown, I suffered with/from fleck typhus in Russia, it has damaged my heart.
In the near future I will make inquiries about Medák's and I will be writing about them too.
I would like my letter to arrive (to you)/ I would like you to get my letter.
I wish peaceful happy life for all of you.
With respectful hand-kiss and kind regards
Pál Haun
The house in Sárosd is in good condition. Imre Goldner is at home there.
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Dr Veronica Goldrick