Wilde Ferenc (WF): III. 19. Sunday
The radio was silent because of a potential air raid. After lunch, Ilonka [1] came over and announced, horrified: Germans occupied Budapest. Then she told us that in front of her apartment, on Kossuth Lajos Street, whole German regiments had marched in. We went down to look around: in front of the Astoria and the Savoy [hotels], we saw a large number of German military automobiles. Theater and cinema performances were banned in the evening.

WF: III. 20
…the wildest news is spreading of prominent people being arrested or even killed…Their truth could not be verified. …There is no newspaper, not a word about the events.

Wilde Margit (WM): III. 20. Monday
At 8 pm, the English radio announced the German occupation of Hungary. The Hungarian radio (under German supervision) still hasn’t said anything, neither have the newspapers. … German cars, a great many soldiers in the streets, all theater, cinema, and gatherings are forbidden for an uncertain period. … Bözsi brought us Evi’s jewelry for safekeeping in case she goes to the country with her daughter.
On the same day, WF mentioned airplane overflights and air hazard notifications.

WM: III. 21
Only the good God can now save us so that the persecution of the Jews does not fall upon them as it did after the occupation of other countries.

WF: III.22.
There was no news all day. It is snowing, and it was a very cold day. At 9 pm, the radio announced the formation of the new Sztójay government.

WF: III.26.
From 10 am until noon, all residents are required to participate in the firefighting test in the courtyard.

WF: III.27.
Large snowfall

WF: III.29
Snow and rain, a cold day, spring doesn’t want to come.

WF: III.30
Snowing. A set of anti-Jewish legislations are announced.

WM: III. 30
Most of the foreign news talk about the Russians closing in on our borders.

WF: III. 31
Now we have certain news that the Jews must wear a yellow badge as of April 5.

WF: IV. 1
Listening to foreign news is now forbidden. LV came by and brought her fur coat, winter coat, and other items for safekeeping.

WF: IV. 3
Air raid siren: from 11 am until 1 pm, the long-expected air raid against Budapest by American planes. From 10 pm until 2 am, English planes attacked. Among other places, the St. László hospital was hit, killing 120 doctors, nurses, and children. [WF indicates later that these were the first two occasions for air raid sirens.]

WF: IV.8
Air raid sirens [ARS] #3 started at 10 pm and lasted until 1 am. We spent 3 hours in the cellar.

WF: IV.9 Easter Sunday
10 pm ARS#4. We spent only 1 hour in the cellar.

WM: IV. 10 Easter Monday
A new regulation was announced that the families identified as Jews should move in together, and the empty apartments were to be distributed among those affected by the bombing. The Jews are not to take anything from their apartments.

WF: IV. 12.
Today there were 3 (5, 6, 7) ARS. By now, we have seriously organized two bags with the most important and most valuable items. [details of ARS p 30]

WF: IV.14.
A new law regarding the confiscation of Jewish property. Newspapers are being shut down.

WF: IV.20
I heard on the radio that as of tomorrow, all the stores owned by Jews must be closed until further notice.

WF: IV.4.
Air battle over Budapest.

WF: V.2.
The 20th ARS from 8:30 am until noon. 750 large American bombers attacked the whole country. They were aiming at railway network points.

WM: VI 2
We are both well; we are not missing anything, we can still get everything, so we have everything in every way the same as before the war. But finding everything and the housework is more — much more.

WF: VI.4.
Russian planes are flying over Budapest, from east to west.

WM: VI. 9
Men identified as Jews between the ages of 18 and 47 must report for “national protection… Announcements of the events of the week kept me by the radio: the Italian then Roman events, the beginnings of the invasion, the first announcements, Eisenhower’s declarations…”

WF: VI.13
A friend came by. “I gave him bread coupons, some food, and 200 pengõ.”

WM: VI. 13
I look at the map and listen to the horrors of this hell on earth of the bombings that announce the invasion. Everything is together now, the Italian front and the Russian front; only the final disaster that will reach our country remains. … This cruel and constant persecution is heartbreaking, much worse than what we have heard of the German situation 5 years ago.

WF: VI. 14.
Heatwave. There was a large attack against the southern section of Budapest, 4-500 aircraft. … There is lots of word-of-mouth news that there were a lot of casualties in Budapest; we saw fires all over with sky-high flames …”

WM: VI. 14
The smoke above the city was so dense that it blocked the sunshine.

WF: VI. 16

Posters announced the list of buildings where Jews could reside, the so-called “yellow star buildings. " A half-meter-long yellow star must be placed on the gate of each building, and moving in must be accomplished within five days.

WM: VI. 21
[Listening to English radio] “… half of London is in flames, the evacuation of London has begun, there are a great many casualties….

WF: VI. 25
Another regulation came out today that Jews can be on the street only between 2 - 5 pm. A third regulation: Jewish physicians can only attend to Jewish patients. At about 10 pm came the 24th ARS announcing English bombers flying from the south. We felt the heavy bombing and the air pressure in the cellar and knew that bombs fell somewhere near us. Our building lost a few windows. This was the largest attack until now.
[Later M ] began to fry fish [for our lunch]

WF: VI.27.
[A water main ruptured from bombing the previous night] …there is still no water; we have to carry some from the main floor to the third floor. Bread cannot be had either…; during the night, the gendarmes wake up a building and go from one apartment to another to verify that no Jews are being hidden. We have heard about three such night-time raids from three direct sources.

WF: VI. 28.
The regulations regarding the movement of Jews were changed, and now, they can be on the street between 11 am and 5 pm. To this effect, they brought a large number of gendarmes to Pest; we almost tripped over them….

WF: VI. 29.
We still don’t have water and have to bring it upstairs from the cellar. In the afternoon, we went to look at the bombing damages in Józsefváros and Belváros (downtown). There is greater damage in the upper-floor apartments than on the ground floor. Usually, the fires also start on the roof and in the upper-floor apartments.

WF: VI. 30.
The 27th ARS began at 9 am. … Three waves of American bombers came from the south, there was a long air battle toward Balaton. A smaller number came against greater Budapest scattering bombs. … In the afternoon, I summarized our monthly expenses, and given the price increases, our total went up to 600 pengõ.

WF: VII. 2. Sunday
During a break in a morning air raid (#30), we went up to the courtyard, and glancing out to the street, we saw smoke from the fires and smoke clouds from explosions everywhere. A special edition of the newspapers indicated that this had been the largest attack against Budapest.

WF: VII. 3.
The gates of the yellow star buildings are locked, the superintendent is not allowed to speak to strangers… [listing some of the damaged buildings] …the most deplorable damages were along Andrássy road: from the Liget inward to Rózsa street the rows of palaces on both sides of the road were completely bombed out, without exception. They must have been able to see their targets very well because the Sunday attack occurred on a clear, sunny morning. Apparently, the baptized Jews might not have to wear the yellow badge.

WM:
On June 24th, a Sunday morning, posters announced that those identified as Jews that were crowded into designated buildings, 2-3 families in each apartment, are only allowed in the street from 2-5 pm, only for shopping. They cannot visit anyone, no-one can visit them, they can’t even talk to each other from their windows. There are always terrible threats that disregarding these laws will result in immediate internment. This was so terrible that it had to be changed within 3 days so that they could go out from 11 am. … There are new posters that lists are being made of all the Jews who were baptized before 1941 August 1… This might improve the situation a bit since there are rumors that the pope intervened…. Since 10 days ago, we live in constant readiness for when we must go to the cellar. …

WF: VII. 5.
Late afternoon M and I went to take a look at the bombed-out areas. It is very difficult to walk in the streets; there are 10-meter-deep craters from the bombs. There is neither water nor electricity in the area.

WF: VII. 7.
The 31st ARS began in the morning, ut Pest was not the target, the planes went over  [Dunántúl] to East Germany.

WF: VII. 12.
The government decided to evacuate all children ages 1-14 from Pest.

WF: VII. 14.
The 32nd ARS began at 10 am until noon. 600 planes came in three waves. 12 planes were shot down over Budapest, 25 over the country.

WF: VII. 15.
I visited friends to bring them some consolation and cottage cheese. There are no markets or stores in their neighborhood, and they are starving.

WF: VII. 16. Sunday
A friend visited and told us that after the mass in the University church, the priest announced that [cardinal] Serédi did everything possible for the baptized Jews and discussions continued to lighten their burden.

WM: VII. 18
Roosevelt and the threats from the English government, the requests from the pope and the Swedish king, the strong expression of Switzerland and world opinion, although late arrivals, might protect the residents of the capital from deportation. … Since last week, there is such a crowd applying for baptism that there is a long, four-person-wide lineup in each parish.

WF: VII. 20
The whole city is full of horror news: the capital is surrounded by German troops, Horthy is forced to abdicate, and a new government is being organized. In the evening, the radio announced the attempt made against Hitler….

WM: VII. 20
One after the other: the battlefield of Normandy with the horrible bombing, the huge Russian offensive to the Russian border, then until Lemberg, the fall of Livorno and Ancona, the continuous bombing of Munich and Berlin, the flying bombs above southern England and London and we listen with great concern about the destruction they cause.
… After the ARS it might be possible to buy something until the stores close — this is the way I spend most of my mornings while I think of the battlegrounds to the west, the east, the south, and in the air.

WF: VII.26.
The parish offices of Budapest are not yet willing to give baptism permits. But some pastors offer “need-baptisms” to those requesting it.

WF: VII. 27.
About 700-800 planes attacked the southern sector of greater Budapest, with at least 80 dead. The whole city is covered by smoke and there are large fires toward Csepel.

WF: VII. 28.
The morning paper announced a new law: baptized Jews are not allowed to remove the yellow badge. The German army had a dark day on the eastern front with the fall of Lemberg, Lublin, Breszt-Litovszk, and Bialostok.

WF: VII. 29.
All of Pest is full of crisis news, and it is possible that the residents of the Yellow Star buildings are trembling: will the movement be to the left or the right? I must note that we receive the best and fastest news only from the Jews.

WF: VII. 30. Sunday
The 37th ARS started at 10:20 am. Even in the cellar, we heard dense cannon fire. At 1 pm the radio announced that 300 bombers dropped bombs on Budapest and the furthest section of Dunántul. At 10:30 pm, the overflights and the air raid notifications began until morning. Nowadays, this happens most nights.

WF: VII. 31.
The posters on the walls and the newspapers announce a new regulation: they will make a list of the non-Jewish residents of the Yellow Star buildings. This is viewed as a sign of preparations for deportation or of its imminent occurrence.

WF: VIII. 1.
This morning, a new regulation was announced: baptized Jews can search for an apartment from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. In the evening, the regulation was withdrawn.

WF: VIII. 2.
The Turks broke diplomatic ties with Germany. Churchill, in his speech, admitted that the flying bombs destroyed 17,000 houses [buildings] in England.

WF: VIII. 7.
At 2 am, the 39th ARS woke us up. The next day we found out that the Szombathely airport was the target.

WF: VIII. 16.
We bought a cubic meter (métermázsa) of coal for 100 pengõ.

WF: VIII. 17.
The English are near Paris.

WF: VIII. 20 - 22
Daily 2 ARS

WF: VIII. 23.
According to personal news, Paris was re-captured by the French, and Rumania requested a cease-fire.

WM: VIII 23
There was news from London that the Hungarian government announced to the government of the United States that it didn’t object to the emigration of the Jews. America and England replied and indicated that they would assist and request the assistance of the neutral countries, and the process would be under the …. of the Red Cross.

WF: VIII. 24.
All the political parties are disbanded. At noon, the Hungarian radio announced the withdrawal [from the Axis] of the Rumanians and said that they had turned against us.

WF: VIII. 25.
There is no news from Rumania: no mail, no telegraph, no telephone communication.

VIII. 29.
The Sztójay government abdicated. The new government is announced, and its leader is Géza Lakatos.

VIII.31.
Another hellish, hot day. The mayor announced that in the first half of the year, Budapest was targeted by bombers eleven times. In (Erdély) Russian paratroopers were dropped, and there were serious battles.

IX. 1.
Posters announced a further concentration due to the “endangered” situation: 4 persons for each room. … Jews are allowed in the street only from noon to 5 pm. Some Jews [names indicated] received permission to remove the yellow badge.

IX. 3. Sunday
English, Russian, and Rumanian planes also come from the east. The evening news indicates that Finland has also left the Axis.

WM: IX. 4
The new gov’t is making lists of 50-100 writers and painters, exempting them from the anti-Jewish regulations. [She mentions 2-week long heatwave]

WF: IX. 5
61st ARS. Bombing of Budapest. A great many buildings were hit, and an army of bombed-out people with their bundles was looking for new dwellings. In the evening, the radio announced that we could not use gas anymore and the gas meters must be shut down.

WF: IX.6.
Rumanian planes attack the towns on the eastern border. All week long, the English bombers target the bridges and the railway stations.

WF: IX. 7.
This afternoon I went to the opera to renew our usual subscription — even there, they asked for proof of Aryan status. There is a new jewish regulation: men and women from 14 - 70 are needed for military service. Nobody pays any attention.

WM: IX. 7
…Bozsi and family have a Schutzpass from the Swedish embassy…but they don’t want to use it yet….she is preparing the children for a late holiday in Sárvár…

WF: IX.8.
… a relative (whose wife and daughter are Christians) received an exception and was able to remove the yellow badge and move away from his current residence into a Swedish-protected house.

WM: IX. 12
I heard on the London radio at 6:30 am that the Americans crossed the German border. At 9 am they read the Daily Telegraph article about us. At 10 pm the Evening Standard about Austria.

WF: IX. 13
4 ARS today, Pest is being bombed. The Szervita tér church area is bombed.
500 Russian planes are near Budapest. There was intense cannon fire and bombing. When we came up from the cellar at midnight, a great many fires lit up the night.

WF: IX. 14.
In the morning, I walked around the bombed neighborhood. [His list] includes the Astoria corner (where German officers live)… There were a lot of fires that day because the Russian planes dropped incendiary bombs.

WF: IX. 17.
The 71st ARS. We were in the cellar for 4 1/2 hours. This was the longest attack. The American bombers came in 5 waves. I could see a lot of fires from the roof. Also, after each attack, we have to check whether there are any incendiary bombs on the roof. Delay-timed bombs were also dropped, and they eventually exploded all over the city.

WF: IX. 18.

Another large American bombing raid with lots of fires. In the evening, until midnight, another raid with Russian bombers. Lots of cannon fire and explosions.

WF: IX. 19
The cost of everything increases on an hourly basis. Our monthly income is 1400 pengõ is spent on food. In anticipation of the forthcoming siege and despite the authorities’ encouragement to leave Budapest, we plan to stay, and we need to accumulate food. There was another air attack in the evening.

WF: IX. 20.
The seriously damaged buildings are being blown up by the military. The evening papers announce many casualties from the careless handling of unexploded bombs and from the explosion of the timed bombs.

WF: IX.24.
I went shopping this afternoon, but a great many things are not available anymore and the prices have greatly increased. The weather is very cool and wintery, only 10 C. [50 F]

WM: IX. 24, Sunday evening
On the radio, I listened to the reading of an article from the Daily Telegraph about Hungary’s military situation.

WF: IX. 25
We haven’t had an air attack in 24 hours.

WF: IX. 26.
The Russian and Rumanian troops crossed our Trianon borders in several locations. Regulation: during the coming Jewish holy days, Jews can freely go to the temple.

WF: IX. 27.
We received a half-month advance of our pay because of the sudden increase in prices, but we cannot buy anything because the merchandise has disappeared.

WF: IX. 29.
A friend was listed for labor service with [Jewish] men aged 14 -70.

WM: X. 1
… Gathering food is becoming increasingly difficult. We haven’t received meat in three weeks (we still have a lot of canned food), and bread is also difficult to get. Then Ilonka bakes a large loaf.

WF: X. 2.
Despite the strict regulation, the ladies heated our offices. … This afternoon M tried to do some shopping, but there is nothing. There is hardly any bread, potatoes, sugar, or flour cannot be had, even with food stamps. Costs are increasing hourly: today 1 kg of plums is 6 pengõ (instead of 60 fillér), grapes 15 pengõ, 1-liter wine 12 pengõ! (instead of 1 pengõ).

WF: X. 5.
Many refugees are arriving, but many are leaving. According to official announcements, more than 100,000 people left Pest for the South. In today’s newspaper, the government forbids people from going to Sopron or Sopron County: “They are full.”

WF: X. 7.
After lunch, I went to our friendly grocer with a suitcase full of cash and a list of 13 items. I was able to get only one ofa for bread because the bakery had hours-long lineups the 13 items. … In the evening, I went to Ilonk.

WF: X. 9.
It’s useless to try to get something at the grocery store. There are so many refugees in the city that one cannot walk along Rákóczi Road because of the thousands of peasants.

WM: X. 11
… the refugees tell terrible stories, the newspapers write about the cruelty of the occupiers…the Russian radio’s Hungarian news announces the cities that have been occupied…very difficult hours, days.

WF: X. 12.
It's a very wintery day.

WF: X.13. Friday
All day, almost without a break, the sirens … One is afraid to leave for a longer walk, in case they have to run back, not wanting to go into an unknown shelter, in case their air-raid bags burn in their apartment.

WF: X. 14. Saturday
In the newspapers, the government forbade civil servants from leaving the city. … In the afternoon, I tried to do some shopping without getting any results. As of the 1st of the month I have not been able to obtain sugar with our sugar stamps. Apparently, there is none in the warehouses; in truth, the merchants are hiding it.

WF: X. 15.
The SS soldiers shot and arrested Horthy’s son. This finally got the old, drunken Horthy to step up and withdraw from the war — something he wasn’t willing to do when 300,000 Hungarian soldiers died in vain at Voronezh [central Russia].

WF: X. 16. Monday
The Germans are arming the Arrow-cross rabble with rifles, handguns and grenades. On my way to the office, I saw 13-14-year-olds strut in front of public buildings with their rifles. … Horthy abdicated and passed the government to Szálasi … Until further notice, Jews must not leave their apartment, must not receive visitors, and the gates of the Jewish houses must be locked at all times. After dark, no one can be in the streets. Late at night, we heard gunshots.

WF: X. 17.
I went to the grocer this afternoon. The shelves were bare, and I couldn’t buy anything. The gates of the Jewish houses remained locked.

WF: X. 18.
The bread portion has been reduced from 25 deka to 20 deka. Today, we can stay outside until 8 p.m.

WF: X. 19.
The weather has turned cold and we were freezing in the office. The Russians are advancing. We could easily hear cannon fire in Pest.

X.20.
Because there were no potatoes, we had to stand in line for bread. By 6 p.m., it was fully dark outside, but we stumbled to Ilonka’s for bread. In the morning, men were dragged from the Jewishamparts, and they we houses to dig rre allowed to return home in the evening.

WF: X. 22.
We woke to another air raid, I rushed to Ilonka’s for poppy seed cake. More posters in the streets: Jewish men 16-60 and Jewish women 16-40 must enlist for 3 days, starting October 23rd, 8 am. A friend visited, afraid of having to enlist. We gave him a whole loaf of bread and what ready food we had at home.

WF: X. 23.
I could barely walk along Rákoczi road to the office, it was crowded with Jews going to the designated collection points with their bundles: because they had to carry 3 days’ worth of food. The office was so cold that the pen fell from our fingers. We went to Ilonka and took her a bit of milk; once in a while, we got some from our regular milk vendor.

WF: X. 24.
More posters: all ages have to enlist, and they should bring good footwear, a blanket, and 5 days’ worth of food. The designated collection points are in towns around Pest, but neither the railway nor the streetcars are running. I tried to do some shopping after lunch but nothing is available. At 8 pm, the radio announced the withdrawal of all the mobilization orders. Everyone is wondering why. There are no more trains bringing food from Alföld.

WM: X. 24.
We have had nine very sad days since October 15, when Horthy’s request for a ceasefire was read on the radio, and within 3 hours, the Germans took over the radio station and brought in their Arrow-cross people. We know from the threats made in the past that they will begin by persecuting Jews. That is what happened. For 3 days, with the gates locked, no one was allowed to leave [the Jewish buildings]. Christians were not allowed to go into the buildings, and there are constant raids to take men and women for labor.
We listen to the English and Russian radio news in Hungarian and German, and we can see the approaching danger …. The Arrow-cross rabble, with the help of the Germans, is armed, holds power and is capable of anything. With the constant propaganda, the Jewish question has gotten more poisonous. All they can see is that after the ceasefire, they will have to return the apartments, the stores, and the offices. There is talk of the forced evacuation of Budapest.

WF: X. 25 Wednesday
We went to see Ilonka, took her a bit of milk, and received some scones [töpörtyü]. … Posters: every evening and night, there will be raids to find Jews in hiding and military fugitives. Anyone hiding them will be prosecuted, etc.

WF: X. 26.
It is very cold in the office. After lunch, I went to the grocer but got only a few packages of poor-quality coffee substitutes. Ilonka came in the evening with a bit of butter. At 9 pm we heard the 91st ARS: Russian planes coming from the north. There was heavy bombing that lasted over 2 hours, and from the sound of the anti-aircraft guns, the main attack was in the area of the Corvin department store.

WF: X.27.
It appears that the Russian plan is for Budapest to be the bridgehead. German newspapers forecast our fate as another Stalingrad. The Arrow-cross minister of defense announced that they would certainly blow up all the Danube bridges if necessary. All the bridges are already mined, and SS soldiers guard them to prevent the resistance from removing them.

WM: X. 27
Yesterday evening we had 2 1/2 hours of constant bombing from Russian planes. In addition, we are getting a combination of rain and snow.  A great many apartments are without windows, we are not allowed to heat, and many families don’t have any …
In the Jewish buildings, the gates are still locked all day, and no one is allowed in. The superintendents are threatened with deportation. Obtaining groceries is a problem, but we don’t miss anything, and our health is good.

WF: X. 29
4 ARS, and we are bombed even without the siren. All day and until late evening, we go up and down to and from the cellar. Kiliánné [Ilonka] came at about 7 pm and brought us some meat.

WF: X. 30.
Freezing cold and 3 ARS. Good news: a friend [Gyuszi] didn’t have to enlist because he had a Swedish pass. In the evening, with planes over Budapest and the whole city in darkness, we managed to find our way to Ilonka for some food. Before a bombing raid, some of the American planes lay down a smoke cloud over the targeted area, and the planes that followed dropped their bombs in that area. It’s called “carpet bombing.” The next day, they signal that such and such a place received a carpet.

WF: X. 31.
It was announced that Budapest is now in constant air danger because enemy planes can reach it from the front within 4 minutes. We can hear the constant cannon fire. Nevertheless, I went to the Opera house this afternoon. There are rumors that the “government” escaped from Pest and that the city might be forced to evacuate.

WF: XI. 1.
Overflights all day.

WF: WM: XI. 1
Referencing an article in the Times about Hungary

WF: XI. 2 Wednesday
3 ARS today. The day started with a cold rain. The Russian front is rapidly advancing. All through the night, we heard the distant cannons.

WF: XI. 3.
More bombs. More and more refugees arrive in the city from surrounding towns; it is a real human migration. This morning a new regulation: all Jewish property now belongs to the state.

WF: XI. 4. Saturday
We are freezing in the office. At 1:30 pm, during the period of the largest traffic, the Germans blew up the Margit bridge. There were a lot of people on the bridge, a streetcar, and cars - the casualties are estimated at about 1,000.

WF: XI. 5.
Despite the constant overflights and an ARS, I went to Ilonka’s for sweet bread [kalács]. The ARS lasted all day. There was no mention of the bridge being blown up in the newspaper or on the radio. One of our friends [Elemér] has been hired by the Swedish embassy.

WF: XI. 7. Tuesday
It is cold in the office without heat. There are constant overflights and cannon fire. The whole country has been placed on a war footing.

WF: XI. 8.
In the afternoon, I tried to do some shopping, but there was nothing: 1 kilo of apples cost 18-22 P, 1 liter wine 15 P. Cannonfire, and overflights all day. The military and the Germans are rapidly leaving. The Germans are leaving with all kinds of expensive, stolen goods. None of them leave Budapest empty-handed. Until now, they left with their stolen goods at night, but now, they leave without shame day and night, fully loaded with their bounty. New regulation: Jews cannot go into the street for 3 days. Those with exemptions will have their food stamps returned to them.

WF: XI. 9.
Rainy, cold day. The armed Arrow-cross break into the locked Jewish stores, mainly those that sold shoes and clothing fabric; they steal the best and sell the rest to their kind. For the past 3 years, we could not get shoes without stamps; there is a lot of arguments and pushing when there is such a “sale.” There is a further concentration of the Jews, but their safe passes are valid.

WF: XI. 10. Friday
There is freezing rain and terrible cold. I tried to find flour and sugar nearby without luck. However, I did find 1 kg of paprika for 60 P, which the refugees brought from Szeged. Yesterday, I found 1 liter of vinegar.

WF: XI. 11.
Despite the overflights, we were able to take a bath. New regulation: The protected Jews must move in together.

WF: XI. 12. Sunday
This morning I went to Ilonks’s for sweet bread. We were able to get a few things on the black market, even fat [zsir], but everything was very expensive. Two new regulations were in the morning papers: the merging of the daily papers and that all the members of the Arrow-cross must evacuate. (They will leave anyhow at the last minute because they know that the hangman’s noose is waiting for them.)

WF: XI. 13.
We were all bundled up against the cold in the office. After work, I went to a friend’s store and bought six pairs of stockings for M. (We gave away four pairs.)

WF: XI. 14.
Gyuszi will have to move to a Swedish-protected house on Pozsonyi Road on Nov. 15. Elemér has become the apartment allocator for those protected by the Swedish embassy. Another friend lost his sublet and is seeking a Swedish safe pass because he finds the continuous hiding difficult since he is not wearing the yellow badge.

WF: XI. 15. Wednesday
There was no ARS, and from a cloudy sky, 25kg bombs started dropping from invisible planes. New regulations: another call for all men aged 21-32 living on the Pest side must report for “protective work.” The Arrow-cross agents can sell all the goods of Jewish stores. The Swedish embassy’s distribution of safe passes is eliminated.

WM: XI. 15
All day there are overflights; we must be ready at all times to go to the cellar. We have food, but we hardly care what we eat. Whatever is not available against the food coupons is extremely expensive; money has hardly any value. Meanwhile, the weather has also turned bad, with frigid rain pouring all day. The main roads are all full of refugees, with the forced laborers, men and women, and families that were moved out of their apartments, all being taken to the Buda side and from there supposedly to Germany. There are daily raids to find hidden Jews. Heating is a big concern. We are only allowed to heat as of today. The latest news is that everyone with a Swedish safe pass must move to designated buildings in Lipótváros, where they will be under the protection of the embassy. They are moving to Pozsonyi Road 14, where they will be very crowded with 24 people in a 3-room apartment, but if they don’t go, they will lose the protection of the safe pass. The next step is to get a train as soon as the embassy can take them to Sweden. Two train cars went with the Vienna train today. Will the Germans allow them through? Friends who couldn’t get a Swedish safe pass were able to get Swiss safe passes. We don’t know what happened to Irma, who should have applied [?] as a seamstress, but she might have moved in with relatives who had an exemption and moved into a Christian building. The Jewish houses are regularly locked down, and all the residents are taken away.

WF: XI. 17.
After the raids, I ran to the grocer and luckily got 2 l of wine at 16P and 1 k nice apples at 26P. Our Christmas treat. We can hear cannon fire all day.

WF: XI. 18.
Overflights all day but no sirens. We heard terrifying cannon fire until midnight. The Russians are getting closer to Budapest from all sides. Nowadays, they are taking the Jews to the Óbuda brickyard. Large posters announce the penalties for trying to escape.

WF: XI. 19. Sunday
ARS 109 and 110 this morning. After lunch M and I went to get the newspapers and for a walk, but because of the frigid cold weather is close to freezing, and the strong cannon fire, we rushed home.

WF: XI. 21.
A friend received a Vatican safe pass.

WF: XI. 22.
Parents were very upset that the Arrow-cross ordered (radio) high school students to help gather the remaining properties from Jewish apartments and load them on their trucks.

WF: XI. 24
We can only heat until Dec 31. On Jan 1, we already lived in the cellar. When we finally came up on Feb 13, we didn’t have a single window, so we didn’t even try to heat. It is good that we have some wood left over because in the 45-46 winter we couldn’t buy any, but we managed to survive the winter with 12-13C heating. At the beginning of 45 we lived in the kitchen 5-7C.

WF: XI. 26. Sunday
Went to visit Irma. It was a horrific sight: the apt was on the IVth floor, all the way to the top 2-3 men sat on the steps and also crowded the walkways. Where Irma lives is a small 3-room modern apt with a low ceiling; 72 people live in the three rooms. Before noon, only women are in the apt so that they can cook; that’s why the men are sitting in the stairwell. Irma complained about how she had to escape her apartment and couldn’t bring anything, she has no money, and she is cared for ……. I asked what she needed the most.  A towel, drying cloth for the kitchen, soap, any kind of food, but mainly tea and aspirin, because the windows cannot be closed even with 72 people sleeping and everyone has a constant cold. I gave her the 500 P I had on me, and she was delighted that she would now be able to contribute to the common kitchen.
( T. i. If they catch someone taking food to the Jews, they go to their apartment, steal everything from their pantry, and break their furniture, etc.)
New regulations: Greater than 1/2 kg tea or coffee must be handed over to the Arrow-cross. At 8:30 pm, the Hungarian radio stopped broadcasting. The Papal nuncio set up a community kitchen for the victims of the bombing and the refugees.

WF: XI.27.
Overflights and strong cannon fire. Costs are increasing. 1 kg apples 28P, 1 kg butter 70P, there is no sugar either against food stamps or on the black market. A lot of people say that there won’t be any (they were right). The daily bread ration was reduced from 20 dkg to 15 dkg.

WF: XI.28.
We prepared a box of food for Irma: tea, cacao, beans, and lentils.

WF: XI. 29.
M received a handwritten letter through the intermediary of some drunken cleaning woman: send some money, but mainly stockings, shoes, and gloves because they returned from Hegyeshalom after a 14-day walk barefoot, starving and cold. They were transported there accompanied by the Arrow-cross. There, she showed her Swedish safe pass to officers of the Swedish mission (she had it hidden at her breast because had she shown it to the Arrow-cross, they would have simply torn it up.), and they removed her from the transport and allowed her to return home. M gave this woman 200P, all the money we had at home and some of her own clothes.

WF: XI. 30.
Ilonka came by this evening, bringing a few eggs. At 6:30 pm a huge explosion in the coffeehouse of the Metropol Hotel on Rákoczi road. German officers lived there, and over 20 died. It was an attack by the partisans, and there was a huge effort to catch them.

WF: XII. 1 Friday
Posters announce the regulation regarding the establishment of the ghetto.

WM: XII. 1
The terror is increasing, e.g. while in the past we could get some food to the very poorly fed Jews, or at least we could visit (since they are afraid to leave the Yellow-Star houses), we cannot do any of that now. Those with the so-called protection letters from the Swiss, Swedish, or the Vatican, must move into the appropriate protected buildings; these are extremely crowded, but at least there is some protection. The Arrow-cross watch these buildings, watch who goes there, check their papers, and start actions against them or against the person they come to visit. Irma got a Swiss protection letter and moved into a protected building. Her move was so escape-like that she didn’t take anything with her. We try to help each other, but we are constantly afraid that there will be new regulations and they will invent new ways of persecution. The uncertainty of the fate of Pest increases daily. Cannons are set up along the Buda side of the city, tank traps are being dug, the buildings along the pest [Duna-part] are emptied. It looks like they are getting ready for an attack. There is no news from the occupied areas. The Moscow radio announces that there is order and calm everywhere, and daily life continues, but the Hungarian propaganda lists the daily horrors of these places. A friend brought us 3 kg sugar. This is a real treasure. A great famine is forecast because there are no supplies, and the Germans take everything.

WF: XII.2. Saturday
There are large posters announcing the organization of the ghetto. Jews must move by the 7th into a defined area of the VI th [sic VII th] district. Accordingly, the cost of transportation has jumped a thousand-fold. Even the cost of handcarts is fantastic. Otherwise, all day we hear loud cannon fire, there are many overflights and an ARS.

WF: XII. 4. Monday
Constant, strong cannon fire; there is a shortage of bread, of goods, and constant price increases. There is a wall around the ghetto; a regulation states that Christians within the ghetto area must move out. On my way home from the office, I watched whole caravans moving into the ghetto. By 4 pm the city is pitch black, with mud, and mist; the city looks spooky.

WF: XII. 5.
In the afternoon, I went to see Ilonka and received some potatoes. In the city, our papers were scrutinized, and all men were constantly stopped. The cannon fire was so loud at night that we couldn’t sleep.

WF: XII. 6.
The temperature is 0 C, and neither the apartment nor the office is heated; we are shivering. Friends are visiting, and they complain that their current apartment and their store are in the ghetto, and they must move out within three days.

WF: XII. 7.
The road to Vienna is still open, and the city's evacuation is speeding up.

WF: XII. 8. Friday
Around noon, I went to see Ilonka because she promised some biscuits [pogácsa]. On my way, I was caught by ARS #114. From 7 am until midnight, we heard non-stop cannon fire. New regulation: the families of the patriots [honvéd] must evacuate the city, and round-up locations are given. They locked down the ghetto today; Arrow-cross men, policemen, and soldiers guard the entrance points, and it is impossible to get any food in. In the evening, it is announced that Budapest is surrounded.

WF: XII. 9.
Bombing and explosions started around 5 am. Some are close by. The radio announces that the “enemy is shooting the city.” Ilonka rushed in; she was in the city when a cannonball hit the animal market held in the courtyard of city hall: 20 dead. All of the city administration fled Pest. The mother of Bözsi is in the Swedish hospital in good hands; they have to pay 30P daily.

WM: XII. 9
The persecution of the Jews has taken a turn for the worse. They made a ghetto in the VII district, crowded with people from the whole city. Only those with safe passes are in separate buildings. There are constant document verifications, hostages are taken, and they are threatened.

WF: XII. 13.
The bread portion is reduced to 15 dk.

WF: XII. 14.
Overflights and ARS, the bombs from the Russian planes are small, 5kg, cannon balls cause more damage. I went to a market and bought 1 kg apples for 22P. In the afternoon, I went to see Ilonka, who baked crackers for us as well.

WF: XII. 15.
Today we started having constant bombing and gunfire without ARS. Three grenades hit a group of women standing in line for sugar. Eight dead and many wounded. There were more grenades, and in the early afternoon — without ARS — there was continuous bombing. Great snowfall and the trams are not running. The partisans blew up an Arrow-cross bookstore on Kossuth Lajos street, causing several deaths. In the evening, among heavy snowfall and cannon fire, we had a visitor who felt very secure on the Buda side (Buda was under siege for 4 weeks longer than Pest, with many dead). We heard the cannon throughout the night.

WF: XII. 16. Saturday
I found V in my apartment; she had found money to buy a safe pass and was selecting among her clothes to be able to dress appropriately. All newspapers are stopped except the one morning and one evening Arrow-cross paper. The food situation is increasingly more difficult: since Dec 1, not a drop of milk has arrived at Pest because the trains are not running. One by one, the infants are dying. There is no meat, sometimes sheep or horse meat is available. We don’t like either, so we use our canned goods; there is not much left. The bread situation is worse, and people in long lines must wait for hours.

WM: XII. 17.
The food situation is very poor, we haven’t seen a drop of milk in the city since Dec. 14th [note different dates], and the merchants don’t have any apples, vegetables, not even potatoes. I think often and with great sorrow about what might be happening to the locked-down Jews. They receive 10 dk bread daily, we get 15. There has been no meat in the city for several weeks. We still have some canned goods, some fat [zsir], and some flour, I hope this might remain among the many dangers.

WF: XII. 17.
It’s Sunday, and we jumped out of bed from an ARS (#121). Despite the constant overflights, we went for a walk because, for over 4 weeks, M has been afraid to go into the street.

WF: XII. 18.
In the afternoon, we heard cannon fire close by, and it lasted all night.

WF: XII. 19.
We heard from reliable sources that Raul Wallenberg, the Swedish embassy’s secretary, that papal nuncio went to [Dunántul], along the road to Hegyeshalom, to remove from the Germans the Jews with safe passes and return them to Pest.

WF: XII. 20.
In the evening, Ilonka brought a pot of cabbage.

WF: XII. 21.
There are rumors that the bread allocation will be dropped from 15 dkg to 10 when even 15 is not enough. Apparently, the fleeing government took with it several hundred trucks full of the city’s food reserve so that we might have only 2 weeks’ worth in the city. I tried to shop in the afternoon, but couldn’t get anything. 1 kg sugar is 120P, 1 kg flour 50P, fat 70P — the prices are increasing hourly. In the evening, friends came by, brought 1 kg of porc as Christmas present, and asked that we keep their 10,000P safe.

WF: XII. 22.
It is very cold, but fortunately, it is also dry.

WF: XII. 23.
The Germans have again mined the bridges. Apparently, as of tomorrow, the Swiss passes will not be valid, and many friends have only that security. The markets are bare, the merchants have heard that there is only 2 weeks’ worth of food in reserve, they hide everything, and they don’t redeem food coupons anywhere. The black market is exceedingly expensive.

WF: XII. 24.
We hear the “Merry Xmas” greetings in the cellar. Ilonka came by in the evening, bringing bread. Another friend brought me a box (25 pieces) of cigars. We sat down for Xmas dinner, there was no wood for heating, only a small branch, and I received a book as a present.

WF: XII.25. Monday
We went for a walk yesterday afternoon. In front of the Astoria hotel on Kossuth Lajos street — that was the main residence of German officers — a recently installed road sign indicating the way to Esztergom. We now know that what we heard on the foreign radio stations is true: the capital is surrounded, particularly the road toward Vienna. We didn’t sleep all night from cannon fire. We didn’t go out all day. There was a bombing in the evening without ARS; it looks like maybe the German anti-aircraft gunners have also left; that would be a good sign.

WF: XII. 26.
We didn’t sleep all night because of cannon fire. Around 5 am, it felt like the battle was going on under our windows: constant air raids, mines, shooting, the explosion of hand grenades, and machine gun fire from the planes flying over. That is how we waited for the morning. Around noon, I went out to get some news.  At 12:45 pm, there was ARS # 126. As of this day, all trams have been stopped; they are not even leaving their garage. In the evening, they officially announced the siege of Budapest.

WM: XII. 26
An exciting 48 hours — because as of Christmas Eve, there is hardly any break in the cannon fire. We had a good Xmas dinner with poppy seed cake [kalács]. Dudó [her brother] brought me 1 kg of raisins. Ilonka brought the cake [kalács]. Dudó managed to get himself 1 kg of tobacco. We heard on the London radio that we are completely surrounded. This evening, a 5 pm curfew for everyone was announced.

WF: XII. 27. Wednesday
The ARS have stopped because there are constant air raids and there are continuous cannon shots aimed at the city. It is 7C outside. After lunch, Ilonka came by with some bread and rushed home before the curfew. In the evening, the constant bombing and cannon fire started again, then our electricity went out, and the radio went silent. In other places, the gas and water went out. We sat up until 11 pm in candlelight.

WF: XII. 28.
At dawn, we thought the Russians had reached the Baross coffeehouse because of the rumbling of the tanks, machine gun fire, and the explosion of hand grenades (on the other hand, the German Tiger tanks [tigristankok] were escaping from the east on the Horthy bridge to Buda). At 6:10 am, with a great explosion, the Germans brought down the railroad bridge behind them. Despite all this, I checked in at the office and, from there, went to Ilonka for some bread. Despite all the bullets flying around Tisza Kálmán square, it was full of people: with axes and saws, they attacked the trees and the bushes. (This happened all winter in all the parks, the gardens of the castle, the decorative trees of Gellért hill, all to get wood for heating and cooking fires. Naturally, the nearby street parks and private library of many apartments went first.) [There were still German anti-aircraft placements in the city that might have hit our building] We sat up all night, by candlelight, in our armchairs, listening to the approaching human noises.

WF: XII. 29.
Today, the siege became intense. I went by the office. There was a lot of gunfire. The dead lay in the streets. On my way home, I tripped over three bodies. With the constant bombing and gunfire, I hurried everyone’s move into the cellar. This was our first night in the cellar.

WF: XII.30.
As of Friday evening, a terrible air battle is taking place above us. There was no way we could go and sleep in our apartment, but there was no place for us in the shelter that others had already occupied. M and I sat all night on a bench in the hallway to the shelter, listening to the battle, but it was very cold. Around 9:30 pm, we carefully went to our apartment to listen to the English radio and have a little dinner. They announced that on the northern border of Buda, two Russian officers carrying a white flag were gunned down by the Germans to stop the surrender of Budapest.

WF: XII. 31. Sunday
Around 9 am we heard the 127th ARS. We rushed down to the shelter. Later, there were the same battles as before. Despite all this M wanted to cook lunch, and I ran to Ilonka’s, who promised us some biscuits [pogácsa]. On my way, I was stopped by an Arrow-cross man who had a hand grenade asking for a cigarette; then he forced f our 1/4kg cans of Gooseliver into my hands. I threw them away, disgusted, because who knows from which store he stole them. (During the ARS, people are starting to break into and steal from the stores, encouraged by the example shown by the Arrow-cross and the Germans.) We had our dinner — New Year sardines — and knew this was our last dinner in the apartment. Around 10 pm, we moved down to the shelter. Eventually, some of us men took our courage and went upstairs carefully to see which apartment was destroyed. … We went from apartment to apartment, and everywhere, glass crackled under our feet. In our apartment, the remains of a small Beni-head shone white against the carpet. … All our windows on the street side were broken; actually, 64 panes were broken.

WM:
Now, on July 30th, 1946, I think I will finish my report of those difficult days from memory, even though the events of those days are vivid in our memories. I think my report will be accurate.
During Christmas week, the siege came very close to our district. We spent half-days in the shelter. and we packed day and night. We were guarding the valuables of eight families. We worried about where we could hide everything. The terror increased. These pages, if found, would have betrayed us. (We had to be brave to listen to the radio. The radio and the newspapers constantly announced threats of deportation, even execution for listening to foreign news.) But anyway, I would not have been able to continue writing; the sounds of the battle were so close. …. We had no problems during the weeks spent in the shelter. We were crowded, didn’t sleep, sat, and waited for an evacuation order. (This was a general situation. In three streets of the inner city, all of the buildings had to be evacuated within the hour.) In the workshops of the cellar of our building, a military first aid station with a large health section was set up. The large red cross cars were stationed in front of the building. There were also three bandaging stations in the adjacent buildings. Meanwhile, we were constantly afraid for our lives. We were told that there were no problems in the area of the protected buildings. There were rumors of additional suffering for the Jews: the burning down of the ghetto, deportations, and the execution of the Jews in hiding and their protectors. … The civil population was ordered out for military work: move cannons, carry ammunition, and bury the dead. This is how we reached January 16th, 11 am. when all noise stopped in the area — the previous evening, the first aid station was removed — and at 2 pm, the Russian patrol arrived. Dudo and the other men went to talk with him. He returned: it is the occupation.

WF:
… We had our meals in the coal cellar… because M cooked on a small gas stove perched on top of the coal. We could also wash our dishes in the cellar. Only after the siege did we realize how dangerous it was for any of us to sneak upstairs. Only now do we know of the dangers we survived.

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[1] Kiliánné Szõke Ilona, Teacher, taught Latin at Veres Pálné Gymnázium until 1944.