Diaries: 1944 July 3-1944 August 19; 1944 August 20-1944 September 13; Loose material from diaries

23.

Legate of the Vatican, addressed to all catholic priests of Hungary. Our government forbade to read the letter in public, in the churches. It is beleived, it was something about a veto [strikethrough] in [/strikethrough] regarding the persecution of the Jews.

Allegedly Jaross, the minister for the interior is no more at his post, Wesenmayer, G. minister in Hungary, recalled and a military dictatorship has the power in hand. This would be an unexpected turn of affairs, which would save Jews.

Second [According to] uncontrolable rumours, G. troups are going to leave our country in days. This I do not beleive, or, if it is true, will not be a smooth affair. – 11 45 p.m. Something unusual with the G.s in the next school building. They are singing [strikethrough] loudly [/strikethrough] loud (are they all drunk?), so it will be impossible to sleep. Is it saying good bye? Midnight. The G. chorus still the outstanding feature of our street. I suppose, they were told some splendid news about a new victory.

July 11. Tuesday.

Last night it was 2 30 a.m. and our neighbours

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still singing loudly and one of them making continual attempts on Tannhäuser pilgrims’ choir on accordion. – Today at 5 30 a.m. they are up, exercising on command, very loud too. This exercising I did witness only once before, when, after the [strikethrough] invasion’s [/strikethrough] occupation’s beginning so many troups were taken out of Hungary. Demonstration.

Thinking over various events and rumours, happened in the last days, the picture seems to be about the following: for about a week there must be known before the churches and authorities, that the Pope has the intention to put Hungary under ecclesiastic [strikethrough] malediction [/strikethrough] ban (egyházi átok) because of the Jewish persecution. The moment, to begin Jews’ deportation from Bpest was fixed for July 8th, Saturday. The Ministery for the Interior had the majority of gendarme troups some days ago concentrated to Budapest a certain part of them having been [strikethrough] instructed [/strikethrough] trained before in Germany, how to [strikethrough] go on [/strikethrough] deal with Jews. Gendarmes were needed for the operations as military circles and War office were not [strikethrough] favourable to [/strikethrough] in favor of the plan. Saturday came and second many

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facts, we can gather, it was not the Jews, deported from Bpest but the gendarme troups sent back to the countryside. It must be[strikethrough] to [/strikethrough] the Pope’s intervention too, that during the last week the churches took in many newly converted Jews. Having altered the conditions inside the country (we do not know yet, who the [strikethrough] author [/strikethrough] originator of the changes is) the ecclesiastic veto was taken back, i.e. not [strikethrough] published [/strikethrough] read [strikethrough] publicly [/strikethrough] in public. Wesenmayer’s calling back may be the result of his failure in the country. He seems to have encouraged extremists and misunderstood it for general opinion, which was against them. In these days they seem to be more touchy for such [strikethrough] small [/strikethrough] details.

The afternoon. In town I have seen G. armed soldiers in patrols. At Oti my yellow-starred M.D. colleague was dismissed today, on ‘phone, telling her, she was lucky that no patient objected to her presence, until now, but from today on she [strikethrough] has [/strikethrough] better [strikethrough] to [/strikethrough] stay at home. Coming home I went to church and there met Erzsi and her mother. They love the quietness of these churches, they feel the

26 [[Clipping]][Hungarian] A sziklapicék és barlangok Látogatásának korlátozása

peace, it means to be there. Today I am exceptionally tired, [strikethrough] can’t regenerate. [/strikethrough] - These cuttings I put here just to show you how our everyday life is featured. [strikethrough] So funny, is it not, that [/strikethrough] people [strikethrough] should accumulate [/strikethrough] do gather and even fight before caves and tunnels.* Very difficult though, to forbid them and will cause a lot of bitter feeling.

*1969. I learned only later that these caves and tunnels were luxuriously outfitted shelters for those in power.

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I. [[Clipping]][Hungarian] II. [[Clipping]][Hungarian] III. [[Clipping]][Hungarian] Minden eddigi munkásszervezetet beolvasztanak egy új, kötelezö tagságú szervezetbe IV. [[Clipping]][Hungarian]

Cuttings from Imrédy’s speech, Pest, 1944, July 11.

The first: I do not understand, just nonsense. The second: You see, in connection with the Jewish question only “small difficulties arose”. We want independent organizations, therefore.. The third: all labour [strikethrough] organizations [/strikethrough] unions will be united in a compulsory organization. The fourth: If many people will be able to pay high taxes, we shall be able to spend much on people’s welfare...