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On one occasion, after several weeks of marching, the commander informed us about the route of our retreat. He declared that those who couldn’t keep up and would fall behind could ask for directions at the headquarters of the pioneer company. Then, together with other fellow forced laborers, we decided to flee. In the vicinity of Tecso [today Tyachiv, Ukraine], in Transcarpathia, as we were marching, it grew dark, and we jumped out of the lines and hid in the cornfield beside the road. Tecso was a major railroad center. By then the Hungarian army was so scattered, and it was so disorganized that not only we, the forced laborers fled, but also many of the Hungarian soldiers did, as well. The Russians troops were closing in so fast that the leaders of the Hungarian army couldn’t control the situation anymore.
Because we were so many who fled, on that night the company commander, when they reached Tecso and saw many were missing, ordered the local fire-engine to go and search for us with searchlights. Those who had been found were shot in the head on the spot. I, for instance, felt the boot of Kenez on my cap’s end – Kenez was the orderly leading sergeant. If he stepped on my face, that would have meant the end for me. From then on, every day of my life has been a gift. We waited in the cornfield for a while, and after four or five hours we set off for the village. Four of us fellow forced laborers, who were from the same company, got to an izba [rustic peasant home]. We asked the owner to let us sleep in the hayloft. A widow called Auntie Mari lived there. The next day we put all our money on the table – we received some money from home even while in forced labor – and asked Auntie Mari how many days she could accommodate us for. By then the front was approaching very rapidly and we wanted to wait for our liberation there. It was the third day we were staying there when the Russians came into Tecso. They were very nice to us because they saw our yellow armbands and that we were victims of the fascists. Two days later we set off for Nagybanya, through the woods. The locals warned us that the forest was mined and it was very dangerous. Under normal circumstances the trip should have taken us two or three days, but we weren’t familiar with the area, and so we wandered for several more days through the woods.
Because we were so many who fled, on that night the company commander, when they reached Tecso and saw many were missing, ordered the local fire-engine to go and search for us with searchlights. Those who had been found were shot in the head on the spot. I, for instance, felt the boot of Kenez on my cap’s end – Kenez was the orderly leading sergeant. If he stepped on my face, that would have meant the end for me. From then on, every day of my life has been a gift. We waited in the cornfield for a while, and after four or five hours we set off for the village. Four of us fellow forced laborers, who were from the same company, got to an izba [rustic peasant home]. We asked the owner to let us sleep in the hayloft. A widow called Auntie Mari lived there. The next day we put all our money on the table – we received some money from home even while in forced labor – and asked Auntie Mari how many days she could accommodate us for. By then the front was approaching very rapidly and we wanted to wait for our liberation there. It was the third day we were staying there when the Russians came into Tecso. They were very nice to us because they saw our yellow armbands and that we were victims of the fascists. Two days later we set off for Nagybanya, through the woods. The locals warned us that the forest was mined and it was very dangerous. Under normal circumstances the trip should have taken us two or three days, but we weren’t familiar with the area, and so we wandered for several more days through the woods.
Period
Year
1944
Location
Tyachiv
Zakarpatska oblast
Ukraine
Interview
Bela Muller
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