Heritage, Remembrance

Orphans of the Shoah

About this project

The Holocaust claimed hundreds of thousands of Jewish victims in Hungary. The children of the deported found shelter in Jewish orphanages, Zionist children's homes, and different religious institutions at best. And if the surviving relatives could not take care of the orphaned children, they ended up in residential institutions after the world war. Until now, academic research and the community's memory have failed to collect and process the stories of these institutions and their young residents. In September 2019, at the initiative of NÜB (National Association of Victims of Nazi Persecution), a reunion for former residents was organized where the project launched. By the end of 2020, the volume was printed, and its materials were made available online.

Why is it important?

The volume includes 45 survivors' recollections who lived in Jewish orphanages or children's homes during and/or after the Second World War. A comprehensive historical study follows them introducing Hungarian Jewish orphan care, the Zionist homes supported by the Joint (JDC) and the National Jewish Relief Committee, and the story of rescuing Jewish children during the Holocaust. A glossary, a list, a map of the institutions, and a rich collection of images help the usage for educational purposes.

Why is it special?

The collection provides many perspectives to understand how people process trauma. We can read beautiful examples of communal existence and experience the feeling of belonging. However, we also can and have to notice the lasting sense of absence, the wounds received after the war, and the long-lasting pain of silence and concealment. The project is the collaboration of researchers from various institutions: the TK Institute for Minority Studies, the Holocaust Memorial Center, Budapest University of Jewish Studies, the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies, and John Wesley Theological College.