Selected text
One day Jewish men were taken to the field to work. And they shouted aloud: ‘In front the Gypsies, Jews only after them!’ And well, there were tradesmen [among those Jews], and even if he was a craftsman, he was a better one, the Jewry of Sepsiszentgyorgy was quite wealthy.
Next to me was staying the first-degree cousin of Jeno, and a well-known farmer. The husband of Jeno’s cousin was a very good upholsterer, they were well-off, they were reformed, but they had many Jewish clients too.
He knew well these Jewish men who were taken, and he saw how they carried their food, and he felt sorry for them, and he said there, staying in the back: ‘Poor Jews!’ Oh, hearing this was enough for that 180 cm tall farmer: ‘What did you say! Watch out, I don’t want to hear that once again, ‘cause you might get there as well!’ There were such times. They changed so fast, before this fascist era it didn’t occur to them to be anti-Semitic.
Everybody changed, lop and top! There were very few exceptions. There were, but just a few. A great education was needed for that. But they could convince people even with a great education. But what could they use to convince people, so that they wanted to kill every Jew, until the last one!?
Next to me was staying the first-degree cousin of Jeno, and a well-known farmer. The husband of Jeno’s cousin was a very good upholsterer, they were well-off, they were reformed, but they had many Jewish clients too.
He knew well these Jewish men who were taken, and he saw how they carried their food, and he felt sorry for them, and he said there, staying in the back: ‘Poor Jews!’ Oh, hearing this was enough for that 180 cm tall farmer: ‘What did you say! Watch out, I don’t want to hear that once again, ‘cause you might get there as well!’ There were such times. They changed so fast, before this fascist era it didn’t occur to them to be anti-Semitic.
Everybody changed, lop and top! There were very few exceptions. There were, but just a few. A great education was needed for that. But they could convince people even with a great education. But what could they use to convince people, so that they wanted to kill every Jew, until the last one!?
Period
Location
Sepsiszentgyorgy
Romania
Interview
Alice Kosa