April 4

Yesterday, Monday was April 4. During the Soviet era that was a national holiday in Hungary. That was the day when the soviet army liberated Hungary from the Nazis. Actually, while Budapest was liberated in January, the last of the Germans were kicked out of Hungary by April 4. Once the regime changed this day stopped to be a holiday.

Now, here is my take on April 4. I was in the Budapest ghetto from December 1944 until about the middle of January 1945. The ghetto was surrounded with a wall, no exit, no entrance. The few access openings were guarded by armed Hungarian nazis, the Arrow Cross thugs. On that particular day of January 1945, we awoke to a very quiet day. No noises, no shootings, nothing. Very eerie. Some brave elements went toward the wall and noticed that all the guards were gone. Once we heard that we started to go outside the wall. Scared and careful.

Not a person in sight. Suddenly a truck approached. It was a Russian military truck loaded up with bread. It stopped front of us, and they started to distribute the bread. At that time we were starving and the bread was welcomed wit thanks and tears.

After we went back to our living quarters, packed up and started to go back to our homes. We all had our homes from which we were taken earlier by the nazis. As we were walking on the street we came up a line of Russian soldiers, blocking the street, with knives in their hands. Oyvey, I would have said if I knew Yiddish. Naturally we all got very scared.

What these soldiers did was that they cut the yellow star of David off our outer garments that we were still wearing. They made us understand that this was of no importance anymore, we were free.

I know that the soviets did a lot of bad things in Hungary but as far as I am concerned if they didn't liberate us at that time I would by dead. For me April 4 is still Liberation Day.