I was born in Vienna, Austria, my mother’s homeland. In 1938 my father moved us to his place of birth, Hungary – trying to escape from ardent Anti Semitism in Austria.
Fast forward to 1945, I was nine and a half years old and jubilant to read of the end of the war in Europe. We celebrated in Budapest, Hungary, in the streets and at home. Crowds were dancing and hugging each other, including the Russian soldiers.
Yet despite the happiness, for my mother and I there was a lot of sadness and uncertainty. The Russians had occupied Hungary and most people didn’t know what would happen next. We had no news of my father, who was taken away as a forced worker with the Hungarian army. We had also not heard from any family member in either Hungary or Austria.
We heard later that most of them perished for no other reason than being Jewish. Every time there was a knock on the door we were hoping that some of them would turn up – unfortunately it didn’t happen.
There was a lot of anger against the Germans and the Hungarian Nazis. In my case I had a different picture. I had a wonderful memory of a German soldier. This soldier risked his life letting my mother and me escape from deportation during the war.
We were out doing some shopping when getting arrested. We were kept in a unit with probably 100 others. The next morning we were taken into a school yard filled with at least another 200 people. The guards threw some bread at us and then marched us all into the unknown.
We were guarded by German soldiers and Hungarian Nazis (the Arrow Cross) known to be worse than the Germans. As we were walking, my mother spoke to me in German as her Hungarian was very poor. One of the German soldiers started talking to my mother, stating that he didn’t like what he was ordered to do, but was under orders. We kept on walking for over five hours, some people just collapsed – they were placed on a truck – I don’t know what happened to them.
It started to get dark when the German soldier approached my mother again – quietly talking to her. I didn’t hear what he said to her.
Shortly afterwards we came to a bend in the road which had a downward slope. My mother asked me to fix her shoe laces – as I bent down, she put her hand on my mouth and dragged me down the slope. My mother did exactly what the German soldier advised her to do.
Then we waited until everyone passed – luckily we were not noticed. We took off our yellow star and slowly made the long journey home.
We found out later that the railway stations in Budapest were bombed out by the Allies and we were to be deported. Two weeks later we were taken to a Ghetto (a confined place for Jews) where we stayed for seven weeks until being liberated by the Russians in mid January 1945.
The German soldier’s act of humanity taught me at a very early age not to discriminate and consider people on their merit regardless of colour, race, religion or nationality.
My good fortune continued
I eventually came to settle in Australia. I managed to overcome the grief and loss of my childhood and apply a positive attitude.
I found a wonderful wife, Lea, and we have three healthy children and seven grandchildren.
When I retired from work I wanted to address prejudices and discriminations. In 2006 I established the Harmony Day Poster Song Writing competitions for schools in NSW and the ACT. In 2012 the Harmony Walk, was adopted by the NRL for their “League in Harmony” in 2016.
I am incredibly grateful to Australia for giving me the opportunity to find purpose in this country - being able to move on and put the terrible memories of my childhood behind.
The world today
As a child during WW2 I had to live in various dreadful conditions. We had little food, lived in air raid shelters and ghettos.
The current lockdown we are experiencing due to the coronavirus is not easy. On one hand I see the comparisons to wartime and it’s easier for me to cope seeing empty shelves in some food stores. But being forced to stay indoors has triggered some bad memories. The worst part for my wife and I is not being able to see our children and grandchildren however we fully realise that the Government has acted responsibly and with wisdom having these restrictions.
Looking ahead
In the last five months we have gone through a wild ride – many sacrifices had to be made. But as uncertainty lingers around what will happen next with the coronavirus I believe we need to have a positive attitude and appreciate what we have, especially when compared to how other countries have fared.
This year we may have to face further challenges but with concerted efforts we may become even stronger.
Each one of us can make a difference showing empathy and cooperation as well as the willingness to make the best of the challenges we face.
