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I worked at the TRAKISZ until 1983. When we placed Gyuri to an institute my wife also went to work. There was an office nearby at the Üvegipari Co-operative, where one of her earlier colleagues also worked, and they employed her with a very good salary of 1700 forint. But she soon left from there and went to work at the Fotaxi as a system organized, then in a couple years to a company called Organizational Institute of Council Industrial Companies, which did salary organization. I went to work at a gmk in 1983 which I quit very soon, because they cheated very much with the receipts. My wife had already pulled some strings at the Metropolitan Sewerage Installation Company, they needed an architect. I had never worked as an architect in my life, but I said that I would rather be a beginner architect at the age of 55 than to cheat. I retired from there, at the age of 60 exactly. But I knew that my pension was very low, 7444 forint after 40 years of labor relations, but I knew Hebrew and besides that I had been dealing with the Hungarian and Jewish culture, buildings and institutes from Budapest. I took the Hebrew proficiency examination, and as soon as I retired I enrolled to a guide course. After a year I took the exam, and from then on I could work as a guide. When the IBUSZ [Hungarian socialist travel agency] was liquidated, my employment also ceased.
At the end of 1989 they started to let the Jews from the Soviet Union go to Israel. In the time of Gorbacsov they said that those who wanted to leave were free to do it. And 2 million Jews wanted to emigrate from the Soviet Union at once. For a while they went to Vienna through Varsav [today Poland], Bukarest [today Romania] and Budapest, and the majority went to America. 250 thousand Soviet Jews went through Budapest from the end of 1989 until the summer of 1991 when they allowed the Israeli planes land in Moscow and the Soviet planes could also fly to Israel. In the beginning one-two families came, went to the Israeli Embassy and got a place ticket to the next Malev flight to Tel-Aviv. But in a short time many people came, and there was a problem at the embassy, because they didn’t have apparatus for this. There was a consul, doctor Gordon, I don’t remember his full name, he summoned me and asked if I wanted to work for them, just when I had been dismissed from the IBUSZ. I took it on and worked at the embassy until the Soviet Jews started to come by hundreds. Then they established the Jewish Agency, which is called Sochnut in Hungary. And the Szochnut found an office here, and I was one of its first employees, who helped to furnish this, and I worked a lot there, too, I arranged the transportation of the families. By this time they had employed a lot of Russian interprets, mainly non-Jewish, but those who were born in the Soviet Union but whose father, mother lived in Hungary and spoke both Hungarian and Russian. And the Israeli security people also came here. The Hungarian police started to guard these, and because not many policemen speak Hebrew or English, they needed an interpreter, which I became. They took me from behind the desk and sent me to the Soviet barrack near the airport, which was empty at that time. And they equipped it with beds, blankets, kitchen, so at least 100 people worked there. Cleaners, cooks, waiters, and usually about 1000 Jews came there every day from the Soviet Union, which had to be fed and sent so that the next place would take them. After a while we needed charter flights, because on the regular flights there was never enough room for them. There were days when 5000 people transited Budapest in one day. This lasted for 2 and a half years, and my taks was to maintain the verbal communication between the policemen and the Israeli security men.
At the end of 1989 they started to let the Jews from the Soviet Union go to Israel. In the time of Gorbacsov they said that those who wanted to leave were free to do it. And 2 million Jews wanted to emigrate from the Soviet Union at once. For a while they went to Vienna through Varsav [today Poland], Bukarest [today Romania] and Budapest, and the majority went to America. 250 thousand Soviet Jews went through Budapest from the end of 1989 until the summer of 1991 when they allowed the Israeli planes land in Moscow and the Soviet planes could also fly to Israel. In the beginning one-two families came, went to the Israeli Embassy and got a place ticket to the next Malev flight to Tel-Aviv. But in a short time many people came, and there was a problem at the embassy, because they didn’t have apparatus for this. There was a consul, doctor Gordon, I don’t remember his full name, he summoned me and asked if I wanted to work for them, just when I had been dismissed from the IBUSZ. I took it on and worked at the embassy until the Soviet Jews started to come by hundreds. Then they established the Jewish Agency, which is called Sochnut in Hungary. And the Szochnut found an office here, and I was one of its first employees, who helped to furnish this, and I worked a lot there, too, I arranged the transportation of the families. By this time they had employed a lot of Russian interprets, mainly non-Jewish, but those who were born in the Soviet Union but whose father, mother lived in Hungary and spoke both Hungarian and Russian. And the Israeli security people also came here. The Hungarian police started to guard these, and because not many policemen speak Hebrew or English, they needed an interpreter, which I became. They took me from behind the desk and sent me to the Soviet barrack near the airport, which was empty at that time. And they equipped it with beds, blankets, kitchen, so at least 100 people worked there. Cleaners, cooks, waiters, and usually about 1000 Jews came there every day from the Soviet Union, which had to be fed and sent so that the next place would take them. After a while we needed charter flights, because on the regular flights there was never enough room for them. There were days when 5000 people transited Budapest in one day. This lasted for 2 and a half years, and my taks was to maintain the verbal communication between the policemen and the Israeli security men.
Period
Location
Hungary
Interview
Ferenc Leicht