Eugen Kohn in the yard of the gendarmerie in Ginta

This photo was taken in Ginta in 1941. My father, Eugen Kohn, is standing in the center, wearing a cap. We had been evacuated to the yard of the gendarmerie because of an unexpected census. I remember the gendarme shouting out the registry of Jews, and we had to present ourselves one family at a time. We worried about whether they would ever let us go home.

We were evacuated in 1940. A gendarme came and told us that according to the order of Marshal Antonescu, the leader of the state, we only had the right to take 20 or 30 kilograms of belongings with us. They gathered us and took us by cart to the forced residence. We were taken to Beius, as the Jews of Beliu belonged to Bihor County. Between 1940 and 1944 we lived in Beius, Tinca and Ginta at different periods.

From Beius they took us to Tinca, where the same story reoccurred. We all had to find a host, and then the local authorities accused us of raising prices. After that they moved us to Ginta, where we lived until the war ended in 1944. Grandfather Schillinger joined us in Ginta. I have a photo taken in Ginta in 1941. One specific memory I have of this period is of being assembled in the yard of the gendarmerie because of an unexpected census. I remember them calling us – the gendarme was shouting out the names of Jews – and we had to present ourselves with our families. We worried about whether they would ever let us go home.

My father was better off, so my grandfather came to join us in Ginta in 1941. He had to be provided for due to his advanced age, and my mother’s sister and brother didn’t have the means to take care of him. My grandfather was very deeply affected by the fact that his land was taken and that he no longer had anything to live on. Eventually he went mad. He would leave home and say all kinds of dangerous things about the leadership on the street. He died in Ginta in 1942.