Historical Glossary

Hungarian Arrow Cross:

The HAC was a Hungarian fascist organization founded by Ferenc Szalasi that controlled the Hungarian government from October 1944 to April 1945. It was initially known as the Party of National Will in 1935, however it was changed to the Arrow Cross Party in 1939.
Szalasi was in power when Hungary attempted to seek peace with the Allies. He first became prime minister then national leader of Hungary in 1944.
Platform: adopt Hitler’s National Socialism, Country Construction Plan, Turanism, solve the “Jewish Question” (expulsion of Jews from Hungary, similar to the “final solution”). One goal of the HAC was to prevent the Soviet-Romanian invasion of Hungary.
“Star Houses” were created; name for ghettos that that Arrow Cross moved Jews into before being transported to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps
HAC forced about 50,000 Jews to march from Hungary to Germany to dig trenches in preparation for a Soviet invasion.

Hungarian Arrow Cross Members

Bergen Belsen

Bergen Belsen was a German concentration camp established in 1943. It was initially used to be a prisoner of war camp and a place where Jews would be detained before being exchanged for Germans in Allied territory.
Initially estimated to hold for 10,000 people, but they held over 60,000 people. There were awful conditions and lack of shelter for most occupants due to the overflowing capacity. Typhus epidemic entered Bergen Belsen in 1945 and spread rapidly because of the unsanitary conditions.
Bergen Belsen was liberated in April of 1945 by the British. They first had to bury all the corpses, then contain disease. Temporary hospitals were built in the German army’s former barracks because of the typhus epidemic. Next there was the arranged distribution of food and medical attention was provided.

Raoul Wallenberg

Son of a Swedish diplomat, trained as an architect in the United States.
Worked in Palestine and met Jews who had escaped the Holocaust. He was moved by their stories.
After what was happening in Auschwitz and other death camps came to light in 1944, he began to come up with plans to save Jews in Hungary as a Swedish diplomat.
Wallenberg’s mission was to give protective passes from the Swedish government to Jews who were being targeted by the Germans.
Although the exact number is unknown, it is estimated that Wallenberg was able to give out over 10,000 protective passes and saved even more, potentially 100,000 people.
He created “Swedish Houses” where Jewish refugees in dangerous cities could be safe.
Wallenberg was taken by the Russians and never confirmed to be alive again. According to Russian documents he passed away in prison in 1947, although other Russian prisoners have said he was alive much longer. There is no confirmed answer about the fate of Raoul Wallenberg.

Raoul Wallenberg

Background on Palestine

As early as 1929, Jews and Arabs in Palestine openly fought and as a means to appease the Arabs, the British restricted Jewish immigration (it was a British colony until 1948).
As violence and aggression worsened, Jewish immigration to Palestine continued to steadily increase (61,854 in 1935).
British forces were brought into Palestine to hold up law and order, but instead themselves into a conflict between the Jews and Arabs.
British backed out of the region when the United Nations proposed a space for Jews (Israel) and Arabs (Palestine) on May 14 1948. War broke out almost immediately after and lasted for 9 months.

People Involved in Otto's life:

Mother- As Otto’s father was taken away during the war, she always provided for Otto even when times were especially tough. She found ways to feed Otto or have him taken care of and when there wasn’t enough food to go around, she would feed him first.
Priest- forged baptismal papers for Otto. He helped Otto’s mom get Otto out of internment camp
Families who helped feed him: Otto would go to a different family each day of the week and eat with them. These families also struggled to get enough food, so the fact that they went out of their way to help Otto shows how selfless and caring they were.
Rose Kemeny: Arranged for Otto to eat at her house one day a week and eat with six other families the rest of the week. Took care of him and always made sure that he had enough to eat, since his mother was unable to provide much food.
Mrs. Kubitschek: She was the landlady who was very kind to Otto and his family. She lended Otto’s Mother a cross to help her get him out of the internment camp.
Hungarian soldiers- They took Otto’s Father and thousands of other jewish men to a forced labor camp.
Joseph Meir- Created fake identification cards for Otto and his family that stated that they were Christians. This helped save their lives when they were stopped and examined by Arrow Cross soldiers.
Russian soldiers- They liberated Otto and his family and all of the Hungarian Jews.