us-005578-irn48140
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Steven Fenves (Fenyves, Fenjves, 1931- ) was born on June 6, 1931 in Subotica, Yugoslavia, a town of 100,000 inhabitants with a Jewish population of nearly 6,000. His father, Lajos (Louis, 1890-1946), managed a publishing house and his mother, Klári (Klara, 1897-1944), was a graphic artist. Although they studied Serbian in school, Steven and his elder sister, Estera Fenyves (later Votaw, 1929-2012), spoke Hungarian and German at home. The Axis invaded Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 and five days later Subotica fell under Hungarian occupation. On the first day of the occupation Steven’s father was forced from his office at gunpoint and his business was handed over to a non-Jew, a process referred to as “Araynization.” Klári knitted shawls and the family had to sell all of their possessions, including Steven’s stamp collection, just to earn enough money to survive. Until May 1944 the Fenyveses lived in one corner of their apartment while Hungarian officers took over the rest of the family’s home. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary and thus Hungarian-occupied Yugoslavia as well. In April Lajos was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp. Steven, his sister, mother and maternal grandmother were forced into the ghetto in Subotica in May 1944. On June 16, 1944 the Subotica Jews were rounded up and sent to the nearby transit camp of Bácsalmás. They remained for ten days before being deported to Auschwitz. After days locked in cattle cars with no food or water, they arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Steven, Estera, and Klári were selected for work but Steven’s grandmother was sent to the gas chambers; Klári perished few weeks later. The barracks were supervised by German Kapos, or overseers, and because he spoke fluent German, Steven was chosen to be an interpreter. Eventually Polish political prisoners took over the supervision of the barracks. One of them made Steven his interpreter and, with his knowledge of Serbian, Steven quickly became fluent in Pol…
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: hun
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn48140
record resource extent: oversize box 1
record resource structure: The Fenyves family recipe book is a single item.
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: The Fenyves family recipe book was prepared by Klári (Klara) Fenyves and is written in Hungarian. After the Fenyves family was forced to leave their apartment before deportation in May 1944, the family’s cook, Maris, entered the apartment and saved this cookbook and some of Klári Fenyves’ artwork. The cook returned the artwork and the recipe book to the surviving family members after the war.
title: Fenyves family recipe book