The Zekelman Holocaust Center Library Archive has in its possession 180 microfilm reels of Hungarian documents relating to Jews in Hungary during World War II. These were donated to our Center by Prof. Randolph Braham, author of the monumental reference work, Politics of Genocide as well as numerous other books and articles on the subject of Jews in Hungary. These reels were created in the 1960s, from numerous Hungarian archives, and the microfilming project was funded by the World Federation of Hungarian Jews. Three copies of the entire set were distributed in the United States to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and The Zekelman Holocaust Center in Michigan.

Hungary, an ally of Germany, cooperated with the German authorities and was eventually occupied by the Nazis on March 19, 1944. With the acquisition of new territories and entire Jewish populations, anti-Jewish legislation intensified with the end result being ghettoization, deportation, expropriation, and death. The materials in this collection document the legal and illegal means by which the Hungarian, German, and local authorities accomplished their goals.

In the following pages you will find an annotated index detailing the genocide of Hungarian Jews during World War II. It is a step-by-step guide documenting how the Nazis implemented and executed the destruction of the Jews of Hungary beginning, March, 1944. When Word War II began in 1939, the Nazis had no formal plan for a “Final Solution” in place. But, by the time they arrived in Hungary in March of 1944, they had perfected their modus operandi with bone chilling precision, legally . They were so confident in their procedures, that they decreed the exact same ordinances, in carefully orchestrated sequence, to every community and municipality where Jews lived. In this Index you will find laws and administrative records that legalized and facilitated this wholesale destruction of the Jews of Greater Hungary. In Hungary, the Nazis used their previous experiences in other countries to perfect their methods, in record time, using minimal German personnel and relying on the services of local Hungarian officials who faithfully executed the orders against their fellow Hungarian citizens.

This guide shows how Jews were identified, excluded from Hungarian society, work and schools, how curfews were imposed and how Jewish property and possessions were seized and how homes were assigned to Aryans. Magnificent art collections were inventoried, looted and sent to Hungarian museums where they are still held to this very day. Jewish bank accounts with numbers, were nationalized and “repossessed.” The vast majority of the Jewish citizens were eventually deported to “other locations,” where they were systematically murdered. The few lucky ones who were selected for slave labor in the Hungarian labor battalions or in concentration camps endured inhumane conditions. They either died from Nazi mistreatment or managed to live long enough until liberation.

The Index we are describing is a finding aid to 184 reels of microfilm that were donated to The Zekelman Holocaust Center by Prof. Randolph Braham in 1992 when the Center was located in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The reels, mostly in Hungarian, were created from archival materials in the National Archive of Hungary and official local repositories. Copies of the reels are found in several locations in Europe and the United States. In the United States, copies of these reels are found in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in Washington, D.C., YIVO in New York City and, here, in The Zekelman Holocaust Center, Farmington Hills, Michigan. The reels had remained an untapped resource for many years until Clara Garbon-Radnoti, a dedicated volunteer, agreed to work on this worthy project.

Clara Garbon-Radnoti, a local Holocaust survivor from Hungary, volunteered to create a finding aid that would make the documentation contained in this massive collection a usable reference. She has the language expertise, historical knowledge and personal experience to present the materials in a professional, succinct manner. In addition to their irrefutable historical importance, the reels contain an incredible amount of genealogical records. There are tens of thousands of names of victims, often with personal data. Clara Garbon-Radnoti has spent 10 years creating this reference guide with purpose, passion and determination to document this very tragic chapter in European and Jewish history.

The Zekelman Holocaust Center is an educational center, whose mission is to teach the lessons of the Holocaust. Our connection to the people who were directly involved in these horrific crimes becomes further removed as time goes on. However, we must not let this information fade away. It is our duty to publicize these mind-boggling records of Hungarian Jews, for those who survived and for those who did not; for the historical record and for historical truth. We dare not do less, or we fail in our stated mission.

The documents are in the original languages with occasional translations. The majority are in Hungarian, Romanian and German. The microfilm is not always clear and is, on occasion, illegible. Hungary was divided into zones for administrative purposes to facilitate the implementation of new laws. At times, the entire country was affected, and so noted, and at other times only regions and/or individual communities.

The Index was compiled and edited by Clara Garbon-Radnoti, herself a Hungarian survivor, fluent in Hungarian, Romanian, and German. The Index is divided into columns of reel number, date, issuing body, document title, location, brief description, and lastly a column noting whether names of individuals are listed. In cases where there are detailed listings of names, the "yes" is bolded. There are numerous instances where entire communities are listed in full, with addresses, and occupations. In instances where proof of citizenship was required, family histories are provided. The entire Index is keyword searchable.

Without this Index, these documents would have remained an area of research not readily available to the public. The easy access allows what was once inaccessible, to become a glaring witness to the fate of Hungarian Jewry. Its genealogical importance cannot be underestimated.

The Zekelman Holocaust Center is indebted to Clara Garbon-Radnoti for undertaking and completing this exceptional reference tool.