Budapest, Hungary
November 1943
Dear Mama and Abba,
Once again I am writing this letter to you so that when the war finally ends, you will know what has become of us. Everything is changing so rapidly, and I am preparing for the very worst.
We left the village a few months ago and arrived safely at Uncle Baruch’s home here in the city. He and Aunt Hannah were kind enough to take us into their home, even though they already have taken in three of Aunt Hannah’s relatives. But that’s the way it is here in the Jewish section of Budapest. With food and heating fuel so difficult to come by, many families have been forced to crowd together into one apartment.
Uncle Baruch and I and some of the other men from our building go out every day to forage for food and firewood and to work at whatever jobs we can find to earn money. This is difficult to do since I must also hide from any authorities who may try to conscript me for a labor gang. I know that I speak Hungarian with an accent since it isn’t my first language, so I must be extra cautious not to speak unless I am forced to. In spite of all my precautions, I fear that it is only a matter of time before we are conscripted into a work gang. Age doesn’t matter to the government officials. With so many of the young men fighting in the military, the Hungarian government needs laborers to keep the factories and railroads running and the roads repaired.
What little news that we hear about the war is very bleak. All of Europe is under the shadow of the Nazis. We are told that England is barely hanging on and that the Russians are suffering, as well. I fear that the Americans may have joined this war too late and that they were not fully prepared to fight when they did join. Everyone is worried that the American forces will be spread too thinly as they try to help the allies here in Europe while fighting the Japanese in the Pacific at the same time.
When Sarah and I first arrived in Budapest we felt relatively safe, but now the Nazis have begun making demands on their Hungarian allies. Everyone fears that Jews may soon be persecuted here the way they have been in Germany and Poland. Lately, the rumors have become so frightening that I decided to search for a better way to keep Sarah and Fredeleh safe. I learned that a group of Catholic nuns in a convent here in Budapest are hiding Jewish children in their orphanage. I went to speak with them last week, and they agreed to keep Fredeleh there. They will change her name to a Christian one and hide her and the other Jewish children among the war orphans. They told me to prepare a letter with all of the important information about my family in America and about Sarah’s family here in Hungary. That way, if anything should happen to Sarah and me – Hashem forbid – the Christian nuns will be able to contact Fredeleh’s relatives after this terrible war finally ends.
I told Sarah about this plan, but she can’t bear to let Fredeleh go. Our sad news is that Sarah had been expecting our second child, but with so little food to eat, she miscarried the baby. I didn’t have the heart to take Fredeleh away from her, too. And so we have decided to stay together for now and pray and trust Hashem to tell us when the time is right. If the Germans come to Hungary and force us to wear the yellow stars, we’ll know it is time to ask the Christians for help. I will put this letter with Fredeleh’s identification papers at the convent so they can send it to you in America after the war.
I continue to worship Hashem and ask Him for the meaning in all of this hardship our people are suffering. He has reminded me that our people once suffered as slaves in Egypt and that as part of our deliverance, all of Egypt was destroyed just as Europe is now being destroyed. But deliverance did come at last for us, and the Promised Land of Israel became our home. Perhaps it is too much to believe that all this suffering will bring us to the Promised Land again one day, and that Israel will be our Jewish homeland after nearly two thousand years of exile. But I believe that Hashem is able to perform miracles, and I would gladly give my life so that Fredeleh could be free one day. Imagine it, Mama and Abba, our own land where we would be free from pogroms and persecution, free to serve Hashem.
I love you both,
Avraham