United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Piroska"Per" Berki (1900-1986) lived with her husband Andor Berki on a farm in Hungary, called “Kokut puszta.” She gave birth to her son Sylvester in 1930. In 1942, with the outbreak of World War II, Andor was called to duty with the Hungarian army. Upon arriving, however, he was stripped of his uniform and made a member of a Jewish forced labor camp. He stayed with the labor camp for several months, while Peri maintained the farm. Andor was soon released after a decree stating men over 44 years old could be released. Not long after, the family was evicted from their farm by the government, and were forced to live in an apartment in Budapest. In 1944, the family was forced to move into a ghetto. Andor was forced into another labor camp, but served as interpreter for the German army. Soon after, the family was able to flee to the village of Kiskunlacháza, Hungary, using falsified IDs and pretending to be Catholic. After being discovered, they were forced to move back to the ghettos of Budapest. The family stayed through the rest of the war, before leaving for America in 1946 aboard the S.S. Marine Marlin. Gustave Balog (1905-1995) was born in Vienna, Austria, and was the cousin of Andor Berki, who married Peri Berki. Growing up, he spent summers visiting the Kokut puszta farm. In 1928, Gustave graduated with a Ph.D. equivalent degree in economic sciences, and assisted his father with his business. Gustave was sent to Dachau and Buchenwald, where he stayed 13 months before his brother paid ransom money for his release. Gustave traveled to Italy, France, England, and eventually to the United States in 1940.
Piroska Berki and Gustave Balog family papers
The Piroska Berki and Gustave Balog family papers are arranged as a single series.
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The Piroska Berki and Gustave Balog family papers contains two memoirs, one written by Gustave and the other by Piroska. Both are written to their grandchildren, and explain their family’s history. The memoirs detail life growing up in Hungary prior to the war, and gives details on the family’s background. Piroska’s memoirs go into great detail about life in Jewish ghettos in Budapest, living undercover as Christians in Kiskunlacháza, and the general discrimination she faced as a Jew living in Hungary. Gustave’s memoirs go into great detail about the family’s historical background. Gustave was a cousin of Andor Berki, Piroska’s husband. Gustave describes growing up in pre-war Austria, and how his family paid for his release from Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. Also included in the collection are the marriage certificate of Piroska and Andor from 1929, the birth certificate of Gustave’s grandfather, Nathan Blau (Balog), from 1873, and the embarkation card for Piroska Berki on her voyage to the United States via the S.S. Marine Marlin.