Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Albert Fein - February 19, 2005

So, we are jumping from one thing to the other thing...

Well, let's go back to when the Hungarians occupied. Did the Hungarian army march into Uzhorod?

Yes. They came on horses.

Do you remember seeing them come in?

Oh yeah, oh yeah.

So, what did you think?

I think--everybody was yelling, you know, things. "They are coming in! Hungarians!" We all--most of the people were speaking Hungarian.

So were they glad to see the Hungarians occupying?

We didn't know what is behind this--what is good or bad. This is the same thing, you know, like now we have here the Republicans and Democrats. Uh, can the Democrats be happy when the Republicans win? So that's, that's how--what was happen--approximately what I, I could think. The time was--by this time I was ten years old.

Did, did it affect Jews anyway, that the Hungarians came in?

Not--right away, nothing. This thing, you know, a year later, we already start to feel. First of all we was surrounded. Uzhorod, Uzhorod is, is approximately--you see the Carpathian...

Karpats'ka Rus.

Yeah, the Carpathian Mountains and the forest was--we was cut off from the forest. We had problems with uh, wood--firewood--couldn't get them. People was chopping down from on the streets, you know, trees, and, and, and using them for firewood. This was one thing. The other thing, when the war start over--certain products was limited, like rice, what was coming from other countries. We could feel it, you know? Later on, I guess was '39--no--yeah, in '39 we had already started to feel there was not enough supplying. So in '39, I guess--this was in the fall or in the spring of, of '40--the Hungarian army took by force the rest of it away because the Czech Republic give the Ukrainian, because this was always considered--this is uh, Rus--Carpathian Rus. So they give the, the autonomy to the Rus and leave everything--the, the military equipment for them and you, you want, you fight the Hungarians--whatever you, you want.