This is my first wife, Iren Klein.
In 1941 I got acquainted with a very cute little Jewish girl who was seventeen then.
Her name was Irenke Klein and she was an only child. Her father sold pots at the Ujpest market.
Her mother was very observant, her father less so. Their house kept kashruth.
My wife was deported, but she never had chazer (pork) in her mouth. Our wedding was in 1941 in Ujpest, in the synagogue on Beniczky street.
I was considered an indispensable war-factory worker while working at the Wolfner factory, which is why I was not deported. We lived on the premises of the factory.
There was a sort of bunker there and the workers were taken from there. They were all workers for the war-factory.
The soldiers used to come with their bayonets on and take them to work. I cooked for them, for about 300 people.
The factory provided the ingredients and we had a very good company commander, who oversaw the cooking.
We celebrated Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah in the bunker under his surveillance. He ordered the Torah to be brought for us to be able to celebrate our festivals as prescribed by our religion.
My pregnant wife was taken to Auschwitz with my mother-in-law in July 1944 and both were sent to the gas chamber. My father-in-law told me this when we met in 1945.
When I found out that the ones from Ujpest were being taken away, I wanted to go with the family, so I jumped over the fence. I was caught and tried by military tribunal.
One member was very kind; when I told him that my wife was pregnant and I wanted to join her, he was lenient.
