Children of Survival: Jewish Orphanages and the Paths to Aliyah in Post-War Szeged (Hungary)

• In Event: Forced to Move: Remembering Children's Displacement and Migration in WWII and its Aftermath in East-Central Europe

Abstract

The immediate post-Holocaust period, particularly the trajectories of child survivors and their migrations, remains an understudied chapter in Hungarian Holocaust history. This paper explores the orphanages and children’s homes operating in Szeged after the Holocaust, focusing on how these children arrived at these institutions, the processes of their displacement, and how they eventually left – whether relocating within Hungary or making aliyah. Like most Jewish cities in Europe, much of Szeged’s Jewish population was destroyed. As a major regional centre in Southern Hungary, Szeged was the central deportation hub for surrounding villages and parts of the Bačka region. In June 1944, 8,600 people were deported from Szeged in three days. The first train went to Auschwitz, with most victims murdered. The second train was uncoupled, with half going to Auschwitz and half to Strasshof labour camp, while the third train went to Strasshof, with most survivors. The setup of these transports resulted in Szeged’s Jewry having a high survival rate, including children and the elderly. This paper focuses on these child survivors, the institutions that sheltered them and their routes of migration. Among the residents were minors from distant regions, children from Szeged, orphans, half-orphans, and children from surviving families, representing the many stories of the ‘children of the Holocaust.’ The sources include interviews with survivors and published interviews from databases. The remaining documents crucial for this research are from the Szeged Jewish Community’s Archives, the only Jewish archive in Hungary outside Budapest.

Author

• Dora Pataricza, Budapest U of Jewish Studies (Hungary)