Page 39 of The Righteous

THE NIGHT OF Anya’s family dinner was approaching.

Julia and Theresa were looking forward to connecting with Sammy, and through him, Joel Brand.

At first, Sammy had declined his dinner invitation.

He was very busy. Officials at the telephone company had been summoned to Acting Regent Dome Sztójay’s office.

Sztójay and two Nazi officers wanted to know how quickly telephone communications could be shut off, especially to designated sectors of society.

They didn’t say Jewish households, but that was well understood.

After they were told that it would be very difficult and take a long time, one of the officers pulled out his handgun.

He stood there fingering it and then said, “That would be very disappointing. Let me ask you this: What if a person doesn’t pay his bill?

How long does it take the telephone company to turn off his telephone? ”

The response was obvious. “The phone could be confiscated and service shut off, but if you are talking about large numbers of people, that would take many months.”

“Really? And what if nine hundred thousand people don’t pay their bills?” the German asked of Sammy. “Are you going to let them use the phone for free? Couldn’t you turn off all of their phones if you had to?”

Sammy said that, in theory, it could be done, but it would take time.

The German shook his head. “It had better not,” he replied.

After that meeting, Sammy didn’t feel like accepting an invitation to a big family dinner at his parents’ house.

It would be a joyful gathering, and he was sick to his stomach.

After all, he could be called back to the company at any time.

But Anya practically begged him to come, and she could be persuasive.

Especially when she told him she was preparing his favorite: Hungarian brisket with honey and smoked paprika. He couldn’t say no to that.

Julia and Theresa had taken Anya shopping the day before, and they had spent the entire day cooking and setting up for the dinner.

Benjamin, Becca, Sammy, his girlfriend, Alana, Anya’s sister Aunt Pearl, Julia, and Theresa were all seated around the extended dining room table.

Sammy brought the wine, Pearl an appetizer.

The plan was to keep the conversation light, at least until after the dinner was cleared.

Anya said, “Unless you have knowledge of something really important that you have to tell everyone right away, let’s avoid talking about the war, or the Germans, or any of their rules during the dinner.

After dinner, my husband, my daughter, and her American friend Julia have something they want to talk about.

” Everyone agreed to be bound by Anya’s rules.

During the dinner, the table talk was irrelevant and light, such as Pearl’s ordeal with the dentist and Anya’s recent triumph at the group’s canasta game, but it was obvious that everyone was waiting for the second shoe to fall.

It was as though they were growing tired of the charade and wanted to say, “Okay, tell us what’s going on.

” But they all played along and abided by the rules.

Finally, the dinner plates were cleared, and it became very quiet.

Who would speak first? Surprisingly, it was Becca.

“I know something I think is new and important,” she said modestly. “I heard it at the hospital. It’s not pleasant, but it is important.”

“Is this something we need to know at this time?” Benjamin asked.

Becca nodded sadly. “I think we do. Especially Aunt Pearl. She lives outside of the city.”

“Okay,” Benjamin said. “What is the news?”

“I met a girl at the hospital yesterday, a young woman named Marta Gross. She was visiting her father, who was recovering from serious injuries he received from a beating by a Nazi soldier. Marta and her family live out in the country on a farm. The other day, Nazis drove by in Wehrmacht armored vehicles, posting signs that read, ‘For your safety! All citizens in this area must immediately move into shelters in the city of Csongrád.’ They drove these vehicles through the neighborhood, blasting that same message on loudspeakers. A German soldier stopped and told Marta’s family to move into the city right away!

Marta was dumbfounded. Her family didn’t know what this was all about; they and had no intention of moving.

Besides, where would they go? What about the animals on her farm?

What about her pets? The man gave Marta the location of an area in Csongrád where the Jews would all be staying.

He told them if they didn’t move, they would be forcibly taken there anyway.

He repeated that it was for their safety.

Marta said that two neighboring families were told the same thing.

Her father, Vasyl Gross, came out and told the soldier they were not going to move, they didn’t have to move, it was their house and they owned it.

He argued with the soldier, who then struck him down with a club and beat him.

Then the soldier said to Marta, ‘Don’t let me see you here again or you will be next. ’ And he drove away.”

“You know what this is about, don’t you?” Julia said. “They’re marshaling Jewish families into collective areas.”

“I thank Becca for sharing what the young lady told you,” said Benjamin.

“It is indeed important information. The question is whether or not this was a singular occurrence, or was it a precursor to a broader operation? I haven’t seen anything like that happening in our neighborhood or anywhere in Budapest, and I haven’t heard of it occurring in the neighboring areas, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening in Hungary.

Do we know if it is happening anywhere else, or is it only in Marta’s area?

It could be that the Nazis wanted that specific rural area for some reason, maybe to construct a storage facility or a base. ”

Julia and Theresa looked at each other, groaned, and shook their heads.

“You are denying reality, Apa,” Julia said.

“Moving Jews from the countryside into the city is step one. There is no doubt that Operation Reinhard has now commenced in Hungary. Look out on the streets. What do you see? I see Nazi soldiers everywhere I look. There are more and more of them every day. We can no longer consider ourselves safe.”

Theresa pushed back her chair, stood, and addressed the group.

“If you want to know the real reason why I came to Budapest from Michigan, it wasn’t just to pay a nice, friendly visit to Anya and Apa.

It was because I feared that which is occurring right now.

I wanted to see for myself whether my family was safe and secure.

If you were not, then it was my plan to help you leave.

I hadn’t heard from Anya or Apa in a long time, and I knew something was up.

Previously, I was able to talk to you on the telephone.

I was aware that the situation was deteriorating in all of the countries surrounding Hungary.

We read reports of the Russian army advancing on Hungary’s eastern border.

We heard that Germany was overthrowing the governments of the European countries that border Hungary.

There was no doubt in my mind that Hungary could be the next to fall, like in a row of dominoes.

I talked to Julia, and through her contacts in the US government, she helped me travel here.

If the Jewish population was in trouble, I wanted to come help you immigrate to someplace safe. ”

“Terri,” Anya said, “we appreciate—”

“Wait, Anya, please. Let me finish. I know that no one wants to move, especially under these circumstances, but good sense tells us not to wait. We must take advantage of any opportunity still open to us. We all need to go to a place of safety. Julia and I have connections with the US and the Swiss government officials. They are monitoring the situation. They have their sources, some high up in Germany’s government, and they have concluded that Hungary is no longer a safe country for Jews.

You know that Hungary is the last Jewish community left in Central Europe.

Germany has succeeded in removing all the Jews from the countries they have conquered, and they have sent them away to be tortured or killed.

I won’t go into the details on how or where the people were taken; it is too tragic.

Julia has seen it, she is a witness. We need to face facts.

We are in imminent danger here. I beg you to believe me, please. ”

“I believe you,” Alana said, holding her hand on her abdomen. “I want my baby to be born and grow up in a safe, free country. Can you help us?”

Anya’s eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth with her right hand. “Oh my God, Alana, you’re pregnant! God bless you. When is the baby due?”

“September,” she said demurely.

“Congratulations,” Benjamin said.

Julia smiled and whispered to Theresa, “I told you.”

“Alana,” Theresa said, “first of all, mazel tov. Secondly, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that your baby’s health and safety are protected.

Your baby and all the other little babies are the reason Julia and I have come here.

We want to protect you and your baby, and we have help.

We’ve been in constant contact with the Swiss consulate and the War Refugee Board in Washington.

Julia talks to them almost every day, and we get information and advice. ”

“What advice did they give you?” Becca asked.

“Their advice at this time is to leave Hungary before it’s too late.”

“Where will the people go?” Alana asked.

“There are settlements in Palestine and Turkey and other countries,” said Theresa. “It’s the passageways that are difficult to traverse. Many of them are closed.”