Tag #151788 - Interview #84041 (Yacob Hollander)

There was no anti-Semitism at the beginning of the Hungarian rule, but already in 1938 the first anti-Jewish law [7] appeared. According to this law, any enterprise with over 10 employees could employ maximum 20% Jews. [In 1938 the ’First Jewish Law’ was accepted by the Parliament and introduced in Hungary; it restricted the number of Jews in the liberal professions, in the administration, and in commercial and industrial enterprises to 20%.] Next year suppression began. Authorities expropriated Jewish shops, stores and factories. They were either to be transferred to non-Jewish owners or given to the state without compensation. Though my father had a small store and he was the only employee there, he had to give it away. There were rough restrictions for Jews in higher educational institutions. There were work battalions organized: Jews were not recruited to the army. There were also other anti-Jewish laws. In 1939, when anti-Jewish moods grew stronger, my parents decided it would be better for my sister to leave.