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Miriam Neuburger (Rubb) – surviving the Holocaust
I was born on 3/15/1930 in Romania, Transylvania, in the city Oradea-Mare to a Hasidic family of the Viznitz sect. We were six children (four sisters and two brothers).
In the beginning of the year 1940 my city became part of Hungary.
In the beginning of the year 1944 we were forced to wear yellow stars.
In April of 1944 we were lead to a ghetto in Nagyvarad (the name Oradea-Mare was changed to a Hungarian name and called Nagyvarad), the ghetto was situated in the Jewish quarters, in the center of the city (testimony included)
In the same month my father, one of my sisters (who was pregnant) and her husband were taken in a transport to Auschwitz, none of them survived.
My mother, younger brother, two sisters and I hide in an underground bunker, I was 14 years old at the time.
My elder brother was taken to a labor camp.
After two and a half weeks we were found by uniformed men and were taken to a ghetto outside of town which used to be a brick factory in where the Jews of the area were concentrate d .
Shortly after, the ghetto was emptied and all the Jews were transport ed to Auschwitz . My mother and one of my sisters were taken in one of those transports and were exterminated.
One of my sisters, my younger brother and I hide while the ghetto was emptied. We found for ourselves a small and cramped hiding place, there we sat folded up for a day. In the night we went out , walked until we reach to a high fence and jumped over it. My brother managed to cross the border to Romania and saved his life. My sister and I returned to the town to get some money and to join our brother soon after, but a policeman recognized us as Jew s and brought us to the local detention house.
After a number of days we were moved to the concentration camp in Sarvar, in face of the last transport ation of the Jews from Sarvar to Auschwitz, the Jews were concentrated into a shack close to the camp's gate. Before the transport I hid under a low bench, crawled to the furthest corner, and could n't found.
My sister was taken to Auschwitz in this transport but survived.
Now I was left by myself.
The next day, when they found me I was taken to the camp's commander, the commander was very angry with me and beat me until he drew blood.
After a few days I was brought to Budapest and was jailed in a prison for dangerous criminals. One day, during roll call when my name was called, I was very scared and from such fear I fainted. When I awoke I found myself in an orphanage in Budapest (see testimony), I don't know how or who brought me there, I was fourteen and a half at the time.
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After a certain time we were given christian IDs and were told to forget our old names, my new name was Halas Agnes, we were told to take the trolley and ride to the train station (I don't remember why) . O ne evening, at dark, I left the orphanage with two other girls heading to the train station, at the middle of the way they decided to go back but I continued.
From the train station a woman took me to work as a housekeeper for her widower uncle. I worked in his home until after the end of the war.
At the same time I worked also in the Philips factory because all the refugees in Budapest we forced to contribute to the "war efforts".
When the Russians got closer to Budapest the factory began preparing to move to Germany. One day we were told that tomorrow we are to appear at work and from there we will move with the factory to Germany.
I decided that I don't want to go to Germany , so I did not show at work the next day. During the following days I would go out and walk around the streets , and at night I would return to the widower's house as if I just finished my work at the factory. I lived like that until the cannon blasts and the aerial bombings intensified so much that it was too danger to leave the house. Later in March 1945 a sudden silence fell. We were told that the Russians had conquered the city. I was fifteen years old by then.
I was very confused so I remained at the widower's home after the war was over until I had gathered enough courage to leave the place and try to reconnect with the Jews.
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