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Emerich Grinbaum - October 3, 2000

Y...your family didn't know about...

No, no. That was in Budapest, there was nothing to...

It was like another world, yeah.

Mostly people who, Budapest people or somebody managed to getinto this group. Some with money, some with, with, with connections. I don'tknow how they organized.

Well, tell, tell me about the Judenrat in Munkacs.

Judenrat you know, we didn't have much contact with them. Theycame-you know, like Judenrat, whether they knew what expecting or not. Probablysome of them, they knew. But they were taught uh, the whole idea was to, toorganize kitchens there. We had-we didn't have much to eat in the ghettosalready. So there soup kitchens or something like that. And they came sometimesand they told-they tried to, to, to uh, calm us down so tell that...

They hos...did they set up a hospital as well?

I don't know. I don't know about the hospitals. I don't know.But I know that one of the head of the Judenrat-later on I learn that hisname was Segelstein. He was a-he had a, a, a guy, a very, very prominent guy-wealthyguy who had at, at that time a store, I don't know. He-that time has a smallerbecause he was-but he still-and he was one of the member of the Jud...Judenrat.I was told at that time that he was the head of the Judenrat.

What's his name?

Segelstein. But in this book, in book of Brahm uh, somebody elsewas the Reb, but he was the member of the uh, Judenrat. And when we came backfrom the camp, people told us that he managed to escape the Gestapo, smuggledout from the ghetto to Hungary some place and he survived. And they, theydidn't take him out. So probably he had some, some, some uh, uh, the Gestapoappreciated his, his, his service because you know, he told us, "Listen probablynothing's going to happen," or something like that.

Do you think there was uh, resentment or anger about the membersof the Judenrat?

No, no.

No?

No. I don't think so. Not at-you know what, our Judenrat wasshort lived. It was less than two months. So, nothing like in Poland where,for years. It was very short lived so it was not, not, it was not a prominentuh, event.

When the Germans came in, what did you or your family thinkwould happen next? What was your reaction to that?

We don't know. I really. We sensed something wrong.

Did ??? ?

But you know, especially my father. My father was a incurableoptimist. Optimist. Always. He was always an optimist. And he you know, andwe were under influence of him you know, the optimist. Okay, we are restrictions,so we are going to survive. The war is almost over or something like that.

And the Hungarians are civilized, right?

Yeah. They thought.