Conscription lists from the Budapest ghetto
Title
Conscription lists from the Budapest ghetto
Subject
Holocaust
Budapest Ghetto
Budapest Ghetto
Description
Ferenc Szálasi’s Arrow Cross Party government made an announcement on 22 October 1944 which contained that every Jewish man between the ages 16 and 60, and every Jewish woman between 18 and 40 would be conscripted for forced labor. Most of these slave laborers were taken to the western front in death marches.
By the beginning of December 1944, the majority of Jewish men of military age served in military labor battalions, therefore mainly women, children, and the elderly were forced to move into the “large” ghetto of Budapest (another ghetto which consisted of protected houses, was called the “international ghetto” – mostly those stayed there who had Schutzpasse, protective passes from the embassies of neutral states). But even they were threatened by the conscriptions ordered by the Arrow Cross Party.
The lists under the link were preserved among the so-called “ghetto documents” (sources produced by the Central Jewish Council). In reality, they are conscription lists, which is also the reason why in many cases the officials compiling the lists added sections containing whether someone was fit or unfit for labor service (these are marked as “as” in case of being fit, or “an” in case of being unfit). The lists also reflect the Arrow Cross’ unrealistic goals: on the one hand, they extended the age limit to 70 for men and 60 for women; on the other, most of the lists were dated to the beginning of or mid-January when the Red Army was already marching on the streets of the capital.
The lists are important and valuable sources both from a genealogical and microhistorical perspective: they contain personal data as well as the addresses of people and their roles in the ghetto. Apart from the conscription lists, the “ghetto documents” also contain a number of other lists: the staff of institutions and groups, members of ghetto district prefectures, etc. Based on this information, life in the ghetto can also be reconstructed.
By the beginning of December 1944, the majority of Jewish men of military age served in military labor battalions, therefore mainly women, children, and the elderly were forced to move into the “large” ghetto of Budapest (another ghetto which consisted of protected houses, was called the “international ghetto” – mostly those stayed there who had Schutzpasse, protective passes from the embassies of neutral states). But even they were threatened by the conscriptions ordered by the Arrow Cross Party.
The lists under the link were preserved among the so-called “ghetto documents” (sources produced by the Central Jewish Council). In reality, they are conscription lists, which is also the reason why in many cases the officials compiling the lists added sections containing whether someone was fit or unfit for labor service (these are marked as “as” in case of being fit, or “an” in case of being unfit). The lists also reflect the Arrow Cross’ unrealistic goals: on the one hand, they extended the age limit to 70 for men and 60 for women; on the other, most of the lists were dated to the beginning of or mid-January when the Red Army was already marching on the streets of the capital.
The lists are important and valuable sources both from a genealogical and microhistorical perspective: they contain personal data as well as the addresses of people and their roles in the ghetto. Apart from the conscription lists, the “ghetto documents” also contain a number of other lists: the staff of institutions and groups, members of ghetto district prefectures, etc. Based on this information, life in the ghetto can also be reconstructed.
Creator
Central Jewish Council, Budapest Ghetto
Transcribed by: Borbála Klacsmann, 9–31 August 2023.
Transcribed by: Borbála Klacsmann, 9–31 August 2023.
Source
MILEV XXXIII-5-c
https://library.hungaricana.hu/hu/view/ZsidoSzervezetekIratai_1944_D_9_3/?pg=0&layout=s
https://library.hungaricana.hu/hu/view/ZsidoSzervezetekIratai_1944_D_9_3/?pg=0&layout=s
Date
1944
Language
Hungarian
Files
Collection
Citation
Central Jewish Council, Budapest Ghetto
Transcribed by: Borbála Klacsmann, 9–31 August 2023. , “Conscription lists from the Budapest ghetto,” EHRI Documents, accessed September 7, 2024, https://visualisations.ehri-project.eu/items/show/197.
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