United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Robert Holczer (1929-2017) was born in Budapest to Lajos (1902-1980) and Kornelia (Nelli) Holczer (1901 or 1903-1972). His father came from a working class non-practicing Jewish family, and his mother from a prosperous orthodox Jewish family. In 1943 he was not allowed to attend school anymore, and his mother hired a private tutor for him. Every afternoon, Robert was required to participate in the youth labor battalion digging anti-tank devices on the outskirts of Budapest. His aunt had a bad feeling about the labor battalion one day and told Robert to stay with her. The battalion was deported that day. On March 19, 1944, the family had to leave their home, and in the late summer of 1944, Robert and his mother moved in with Robert's aunt who was passing as non-Jewish. His father was part of a Hungarian labor battalion sent to Bor, Serbia, in July 1944 to repair and improve infrastructure supporting the copper mines there. He was liberated by Yugolav partisans during an evacuation march in early October 1944 and worked for the Yugoslav Army before returning to Budapest. Also in October 1944, a member of the Arrow Cross, Ara Jereczian (György Jeretzian), organized a clinic employing Jewish doctors with forged papers, and Robert’s mother worked as an untrained nurse while Robert worked as a messenger boy. In January 1945 they were liberated by the Soviet Army. In 1948 Robert participated in the Israeli War of Independence and returned to Budapest in 1950. Robert left Hungary in 1956 following the Budapest uprising, and followed his cousin to the United States. He also spent time in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. His parents remained in Budapest. His paternal grandfather and his mother’s family were killed at Auschwitz.
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The Robert Holczer papers are arranged as a single series.
The Robert Holczer papers include Hungarian identification and labor papers and Bor labor camp postcards documenting the experiences of Robert, Nelli, and Lajos Holczer during World War II in Hungary and Yugoslavia. Identification and labor papers include Robert’s labor card, a Swiss protective passport for Robert and Nelli, and identification cards documenting Robert’s and Nelli’s work for a medical clinic in 1944 in Budapest. Lajos Holczer’s postcards from the Bor labor camp to his wife and son document his own health and unease at being separated from them.
Robert Holczer papers