Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Lila Denes - May 19, 1989

First Time in Hiding

Did we cover everything that you had written down?

No. I forgot something. I was just thinking about it. When we were hiding first time in that uh, friend's apartment in Buda. You know, first somebody who used to work also for my husband, said when we couldn't stay anymore because the very cold night in that place, he said, "I will take you up to my place," which was also, also Budapest and uh, that man used to live off in the haus ??? boondock, in a little frame building, one room with his mother and his mother all day long was singing the Nazis song. She was terrible, poor woman. She was a real Nazi. So, and beside that was a one-room place, so we couldn't stay there. So, then came Marischka's father-in-law. He said he will take us to a lady; she's good friend, an older lady. She will take us there, she has a house and, maybe she will put us up. So, we went to her place. We were walking to the airport. We had to--we didn't have transportation and there was an air raid at the airport and we walked through. So we arrived at that lady's house and she said, "No way," she wouldn't have us. Then...

She knew you were Jews?

I don't know what she knew, she wouldn't put us up. She said, "No way." So, we had to walk back to, to Maria. And then, she took us to Budapest, to Pest, to that waiter's apartment.

I see.

No, I'm sorry, then we went out to that Schwab lady's house, off in the outskirt of Budapest called ??? That's a real Schwabisch city, was. I don't know what is it now.


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