Ida's Diary from Bergen Belsen
Object numberM1993/028:001
TitleIda's Diary from Bergen Belsen
Creator Ida Benko
DescriptionThe first of two diaries written by Ida Benko in Hungarian, recording her experiences of discrimination in Budapest, transportation to and experiences in Bergen-Belsen and the tumultuous months that followed the liberation of the camps and her torturous journey back home.
When antisemitism flared in the late 1930s Ida Benko (nee Alter), born 25 February 1919 in Budapest, was employed by a clothing company. Her dress designs were sent abroad for manufacturing. When new laws came into effect which no longer allowed Jews to be employed in well paid jobs, her boss taught her how to work as a cutter. The wearing of yellow armbands and yellow stars became compulsory. Jews were restricted to a few hours in which they could be on the streets, and had to live in ‘Jewish Houses’ set up in Budapest. Ida lost her job. Her brothers Aladar (19) and Erno (18) were conscripted into the Hungarian army as forced labourers and never came home; her father had a stroke shortly after they left Budapest and died; her oldest brother Bertalan was sent home from service due to illness and died shortly afterwards.
Her older sisters Helen, Susi and Rosa hid successfully throughout the war, whilst another sister Shari worked in an SS house. An older brother Oscar managed to avoid the atrocities which were to follow. Together with her mother and sisters Dusy and Rosa, Ida was forced to live in a Jewish House. Dusy's husband, Sandor Klein had already been taken away, never to return. Rosa, pregnant at the time her husband was taken away never to return, had a stillbirth. Ida’s fiancé Gyuri Vaszony was also taken away, never to return.
On 3 December 1944, an armed Arrow Cross recruit “herded” Dusy and Ida to the railway station, “where many of those detained had their belongings confiscated. Some people even lost their shoes and coats.” They were given no food for the entire journey and “only the occasional bucket of snow relieved our incredible thirst. After 14 days of desperation and stench we arrived finally at Bergen-Belsen”. They spent five months in Bergen-Belsen and the rest of the time in various villages until liberated by the Soviet armed forces in Trobitz, Germany. She recalls her mixed experiences with the Russians, on the one hand, some soldiers and officers were decent, on the other they were threatening. Although she never spells it out, it is fairly clear from the context that she was raped.
Her diaries tell of her experiences in Bergen-Belsen and what followed after their transportation from the camp. “I washed and sewed and did anything I could to obtain the paper on which I wrote my thoughts, and did not know at the time that my children and grandchildren would someday read these books … There are now pages missing, but I hope the words contained will be a reminder to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again. After my return to Hungary, I was unable to laugh and any attempt at laughter turned into uncontrollable fits of crying.”
Ida married Charles Benko and they migrated to Australia in 1956. Her husband also had “horrendous experiences during the war”. His father had been shot into the Danube; his sister Magda Oser had been gassed at Auschwitz and her husband Nando killed leaving only their son Robert alive. His mother had taken her own life, thinking all her family were lost.
When antisemitism flared in the late 1930s Ida Benko (nee Alter), born 25 February 1919 in Budapest, was employed by a clothing company. Her dress designs were sent abroad for manufacturing. When new laws came into effect which no longer allowed Jews to be employed in well paid jobs, her boss taught her how to work as a cutter. The wearing of yellow armbands and yellow stars became compulsory. Jews were restricted to a few hours in which they could be on the streets, and had to live in ‘Jewish Houses’ set up in Budapest. Ida lost her job. Her brothers Aladar (19) and Erno (18) were conscripted into the Hungarian army as forced labourers and never came home; her father had a stroke shortly after they left Budapest and died; her oldest brother Bertalan was sent home from service due to illness and died shortly afterwards.
Her older sisters Helen, Susi and Rosa hid successfully throughout the war, whilst another sister Shari worked in an SS house. An older brother Oscar managed to avoid the atrocities which were to follow. Together with her mother and sisters Dusy and Rosa, Ida was forced to live in a Jewish House. Dusy's husband, Sandor Klein had already been taken away, never to return. Rosa, pregnant at the time her husband was taken away never to return, had a stillbirth. Ida’s fiancé Gyuri Vaszony was also taken away, never to return.
On 3 December 1944, an armed Arrow Cross recruit “herded” Dusy and Ida to the railway station, “where many of those detained had their belongings confiscated. Some people even lost their shoes and coats.” They were given no food for the entire journey and “only the occasional bucket of snow relieved our incredible thirst. After 14 days of desperation and stench we arrived finally at Bergen-Belsen”. They spent five months in Bergen-Belsen and the rest of the time in various villages until liberated by the Soviet armed forces in Trobitz, Germany. She recalls her mixed experiences with the Russians, on the one hand, some soldiers and officers were decent, on the other they were threatening. Although she never spells it out, it is fairly clear from the context that she was raped.
Her diaries tell of her experiences in Bergen-Belsen and what followed after their transportation from the camp. “I washed and sewed and did anything I could to obtain the paper on which I wrote my thoughts, and did not know at the time that my children and grandchildren would someday read these books … There are now pages missing, but I hope the words contained will be a reminder to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again. After my return to Hungary, I was unable to laugh and any attempt at laughter turned into uncontrollable fits of crying.”
Ida married Charles Benko and they migrated to Australia in 1956. Her husband also had “horrendous experiences during the war”. His father had been shot into the Danube; his sister Magda Oser had been gassed at Auschwitz and her husband Nando killed leaving only their son Robert alive. His mother had taken her own life, thinking all her family were lost.
Production date circa 1945
Object namejournals
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 100.00 mm
height: 160.00 mm
depth: 10.00 mm
Language
- Hungarian
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs. Ida Benko