90 Letter thrown from train

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Jenő Reich

Kistarcsa, Hidasnémeti, July, 1944

paper, indelible pencil, handwriting

present of Mrs. Andrásné Demeter, March 26, 1998

Jenő Reich was deported to Auschwitz on July 19, 1944, Wednesday afternoon, from the internment camp in Kistarcsa. Trying the impossible, Jenő Reich wrote a letter to his family, and threw it from a freight car, hoping his note would reach his family. Miraculously, his wife received the letter, that had fallen into a puddle on the train station in Karácsond. Jenő Reich was last seen in Auschwitz, he did not survive deportation. On the 53rd day of the Eichman trial, on May 25, 1961, the widow of Jenő Reich, Margó also gave witness testimony, and showed this letter. The letter proved the fact that due to Eichman’s tautness, trains left even after Horthy had ordered deportations to be stopped. This letter, that played an important role in the Eichmann trial, was a treasured relic of the family. Finally, Jenő Reich’s daughter, Mrs. András Demeter, donated it to the Jewish Archive in 1998.

90 Letter thrown from train