Selected text
I received one more card in Budapest from my family, but it had been sent by the management of the camp. My family wrote, ‘We are fine, and so on...’, and they wrote Waldsee on it to mislead people, so they would think they were well off there.
[Editor’s note: From the end of summer 1944 the women were left alive in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp and were allowed to send a card to Hungary. The pre-written text was the same: I arrived in good health. I’m fine. With love… They were only allowed to sign and write the address.
The Nazis then wrote on it as sender location ‘Waldsee’, which sounded like a nice resort, and under it they wrote the following in Hungarian and German: Reply only on the card (max. 30 words) in German, via the Association of Hungarian Jews, Budapest, VII., Sip Str. 12. The name and birth date of the prisoner were also written on the card.]
Unfortunately, I don’t have this letter anymore. Then, on 2nd October 1944, Olga wrote me another letter, ‘Klarika, I received a dateless card from you.’ I didn’t write the date on it. ‘I don’t know when you wrote it. I already wrote to you why I’m not writing. I wrote you a long letter, though, and received no answer.
I still don’t know anything about Manyi and the others, no matter how badly I wish I did.’ Well, you’ll never find people like this anymore! They were true Catholics, their belief in God was very strong. ‘My husband is a soldier, but I don’t know where.
[Editor’s note: From the end of summer 1944 the women were left alive in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp and were allowed to send a card to Hungary. The pre-written text was the same: I arrived in good health. I’m fine. With love… They were only allowed to sign and write the address.
The Nazis then wrote on it as sender location ‘Waldsee’, which sounded like a nice resort, and under it they wrote the following in Hungarian and German: Reply only on the card (max. 30 words) in German, via the Association of Hungarian Jews, Budapest, VII., Sip Str. 12. The name and birth date of the prisoner were also written on the card.]
Unfortunately, I don’t have this letter anymore. Then, on 2nd October 1944, Olga wrote me another letter, ‘Klarika, I received a dateless card from you.’ I didn’t write the date on it. ‘I don’t know when you wrote it. I already wrote to you why I’m not writing. I wrote you a long letter, though, and received no answer.
I still don’t know anything about Manyi and the others, no matter how badly I wish I did.’ Well, you’ll never find people like this anymore! They were true Catholics, their belief in God was very strong. ‘My husband is a soldier, but I don’t know where.
Period
Interview
Klara Markus
Tag(s)