Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Lila Denes - May 19, 1989

Hiding the Children

Are there other things that you remember that, that you haven't told it before that uh, that stand out in your memory?

Oh, well...

Every day must have been something but, uh...

Yes, every day, like one day when we were hiding at Maria's and she was thinking about it, what can we do, she said she knew the housekeeper of a very famous Hungarian writer um, who lives in next apartment building. And um, he's in hiding somewhere. He was a Jewish man, but he was a famous, like here let's say Miller, somebody, something like that. And she stayed in the apartment and Maria said if she could hide the two children and I can hide some way, it would be easy for me. So, we tried. We took Judy and George over to her, was a very nice apartment, living alone, you know. But the next morning she came, she said, "No, I can't do it." They were screaming and crying, you know, after their mother. She said, "I can't because the neighbors would ask what kind of uh, kids do you have here, where did you get them?" So, she couldn't do it. So, they came back. You know, after all, everything worked out. It was difficult and everything but we stayed together.

Would you, would you have let them go to this woman's house?

Pardon?

Do you think you would have been able to let them stay with her?

I don't know, I don't know. I can't tell you now but they were there for a night and I was very happy when they came back, myself. Whatever happened, happened, we will be together, so that's it.


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