Helen Farkas, Vera’s aunt

My father´s youngest sister Helen. She was a quiet, thoughtful person.

She remained a spinster. Such people either become bitter or unbearable and spiteful. Helen developed in the latter direction.

She spent her youth in the service of the family and she continued this when she moved to Budapest. She sacrificed all, her tenacity for her siblings and their children. She was ready to live and die for the family.

[from the interviewee´s cousin’s book]: “It was Helen’s task to look after their father and make sure that the candle would not burn his beard when his head tipped over as he fell asleep over his books.

When he fell asleep, the 16-17-year-old girl would put the desk in order, wake up her father, lead him to his bed and put him in bed. Years later ...

Helen was passing marriageable age and she would put him [her father] to bed as one would a little child.

After he died, the boys sold off the house, divided the personal belongings and the boys who had already lived in Budapest packed their mother and Helen, their sister, up and too them to Budapest.”

Helen never married but she almost raised all the kids in the family. She loved kids. Helen lived with us [at the beginning of the 1930s] when we moved to Peterdi street.

She lived in the servant’s room.When the family was taken to the ghetto, Helen took care of the son of my cousin. She also looked after my grandmother when she was ill with cancer.

She died in the 1960s

Photos from this interviewee