Trapped in Hungary During the War

In this video, Geoge Lysy explains how, despite his efforts to flee, he was trapped in Hungary during the war. Source: Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, 1988

Transcript:

[00:00-00:06]

Video begins with inter-title in white text on black screen while instrumental music plays and fades into the next frame: In 1939, George Lysy's father tried to arrange for his sons to leave Hungary before the war broke out.

[00:07-02:00]

Cut to Holocaust survivor George Lysy, sitting in front of a grey background, and looking to the left of the camera. The camera shows his face and shoulders as he speaks during an interview conducted in Toronto in 1988.

>> George Lysy: My father planned to escape.

[00:12-00:19]

The name “George Lysy” and the location of the filmed interview, “Toronto”, appear in white text above George's right shoulder.

>> Not to escape but to least send some of his sons to the west. So he sent my oldest brother who got married in France, and he felt he was on the safe side in France. But we couldn't send money to him. So we asked and got an export permit to export from Hungary live cattle to Malta, which was at that time an English colony in the Mediterranean. And when the war broke out, I was on my way to Malta with a small shipload of cattle. I arrived to Malta with a load of cattle, but my problem was I had a Hungarian passport and the immigration officer in Malta said, “We don't allow Hungarians citizens to enter because you are an ally of Hitler and we might be at war with Hitler in a few more days.” So I tried to explain to him that, “I am an officer of the Czechoslovakian army and I am Jew and I am not a friend of Hitler. And I am actually here on business.” Nothing helped. I had to go back with the same boat. I arrived to Hungary and the day before I arrived, they brought in a new law that a Jew can't leave the country, that Jewish passports are not valid, they need a new validation, and practically it was impossible to get a validation. So that's how I got stuck in Hungary.

[02:01-02:10]

Music plays for the remainder of the video. Three credit pages appear in white text on black screen: Interview conducted by Marion Seftel, Archives of the Holocaust Project, Toronto, 1988, Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre

Directing: Helgi Piccinin; Editing and Colorization: Michaël Gravel, Helgi Piccinin; Audio Mix and Original Music: Pierre-Luc Lecours. [Logo for Chaire de recherche du Canada en patrimoine ethnologique]

End of transcript.