THE COMMANDANT
THE TRAGEDY
Beregszasz district
ASZTELY
Situated on the road to Beregsurany and at the border crossing, this village
contained in 1944, 573 souls. According to a list of the local authorities,
dated July 3, 1945, during the indicated period,106 people (born hetween 1896
and 1926) were in various POW camps. Of these, 70 men were deported to Szolyva,
the rest were drafted into the military and became prisoners. The activists of
the base organization of KMKSZ (President: Olasz Miklos ))together with the
survivors, compiled the lists: 61 men were carried off, 23 survived and
returned, 43 perished, and 5 died in action in World War II.
On October 27, 1991, the inhabitants of the village erected a wooden memorial
and tombstone in their cemetery to the memory of the victims.
BADALO
From this settlement, which lies along the (river) Tisza and had 1248
inhabitants in 1944, 200 people were carried off. Of these, more than 89 became
victims of Stalinist terror.
The deportees were taken to concentration camps in Belorussia and the
Ukraine.
Only 11 people lost their lives in action during WWII.
The lists of the deportees were compiled by the organization of the KMKSZ and
the Local Council;. They erected a wooden memorial in the cemetery and, in
1992, a monument in the village center as a memorial to the victims.
BALAZSER
In 1944, there were 785 inhabitants in this hamlet which was joined to the
village of Makkosjanosi. We can tell exactly how many were deported under
duress thanks to the lists of August 3, 1945 compiled by the local authority
(president: Medvigy Ivan; the secretary's name is illegible): According to
list No. 1, of the 88 deported men, 42 were civilians (born between 1896 and
1926) carried off to the Szolyva concentration camps purely on the basis of
their nationality. The 2nd lists the names of those 46 men born between 1904
and 1923 who were inducted in the army and wore its uniform. Their whereabouts
was unknown in August 1945.
Balogh Istvan and Hapak Janos, leaders of the KMKSZ in this hamlet, together
with some of the survivors compiled a list of the victims of Stalinism. They
were unable to determine the final resting place of 23 men from Balazser.
Upon the initiative of the KMKSZ, on August 10, 1991, a monument was erected
jointly by Balazser and Makkosjanosi to the victims of Stalinism. The
dedication ceremony was attended by Geza Jeszenszky, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Hungarian Republic.
BATYU
In 1944, this town, which was a trade and railroad centre, counted 1898
inhabitants. W.W.II took a great toll: 18 people died in action. According
to Bagu Balazs, President of the local base organisation of the KMKSZ, in
November-December 1944, the district's collection centre was located in the
Lonyay manor-house in Batyu. The men of Batyu, Botragy, Szernye, Haranglab,
Beregsom, Eszeny, Szaloka, Lonya, and Hetyen were transported from there to the
deathcamps. The first group left the Lonyay manor on November 18, 1944 for
Szolyva; from there, they were dispersed among the concentration camps of
Szambor, Orsa, Nevianszk, Boriszov, and Stalino. According to the archives,
the number of men between the ages of 18 and 50 amounted to 396.
Bagu Balazs and Beres Klara, with the help of survivors, wrote up the material
on 271 men. 140 ended up in Stalinist labour camps and 81 were recorded as
military personnel, far from home. Of the deportees, 38 never returned.
Unfortunately, no list is available for the research: some families died out,
others moved away and many others are still reluctant to give out information.
The families brought home the bodies of three men who died in Szolyva and
buried them in the town cemetery. According to the testimony of some
survivors, there were 5 communists among the deportees. They took their
party-cards with them but they realised they were tricked when they tried to
show them and this did not help any.
Upon the initiative of the local KMKSZ, in 1989 a wooden memorial was planted
in the cemetery and in 1992 a monument was dedicated in the churchyard.
BENE
This village, which has its rightful local council, had 1024 inhabitants in
1944. The local authorities managed to re-establish the complete list of names
of those deported to POW camps. The list, which was presented to the district
authorities in Beregszasz, contained 139 names. Of these, 82 people (born
between 1896 and 1926) were civilians, the remainder were drafted into the army
and ended up as POWs.
At the end of W.W.II the villagers secretly buried, in the local Jewish
cemetery, the remains of 3 soldiers who were tortured to death by soviet
soldiers; they captured, on the outskirts of the village, 75 Hungarian and 2
German soldiers and locked them up in the manor house of the local landowner.
In 1992, a tombstone was erected in their memory.
The activists of the KMKSZ, together with the local authorities, set up the
list of names of those deported to the camps from Bene. Horvatb Laszlo,
President of the local chapter and a survivor of the deathcamp, enlisted the
help of other survivors to check the list. According to their recollections,
141 men were deported from Bene. They were sent in groups from the collection
centre in Szolyva to the various GULAGs (Szambor, Ocsemcsiri, Tbiliszi,
Krasznolucs, Ilistni, Ural, Yerevan, Szanok, Molotov, Petrozavodszk, Boriszov,
Murmansk, Stalinov). The burial place of 32 people is still unknown.
On November 1, 1989, the memory of those who died innocently was immortalised
by the erection in the cemetery of a wooden memorial and, in 1992, of a
monument in the centre of the village.
BEREGARDO
According to the 1944 census, there were 1203 inhabitants in this village. On
July 4, 1945, the commissariat (president: Katona Istvan, secretary: Miklos,
family name illegible) compiled a list of those who did not reside in the
village; it may then be assumed that they were in soviet POW camps. The list
contains the names of 126 men (born between 1896 and 1926). It is not clearly
shown which of the men were deported as civilians.
With the help of the survivors, Szabo Magda, vice-president of the Beregardo
KMKSZ, pinpointed exactly the fate of the men on that list. She determined
that 46 men were drafted from the village; 20 died in action, 7 are still
living. Members of the NKVD deported 74 civilians to Szolyva where 15 of them
perished, 41 died after their return, and 18 of the deportees (born between
1905 and 1925) are still alive according to the statement of June 1, 1991.
The identity of 5 men figuring on the list (Kovacs Andras., . . . . . .
. . . .) has not been determined precisely. It is assumed that these people
returned from the camps and then moved with their families leaving the village
for unknown destination. The survivors could not identify 4 men: Rapka Ivan
(1906), . . . . . . . who were not inhabitants of Beregardo. It is
surmised that they were Ukrainian settlers from the surrounding hamlets. In
total, the burial site of 25 men from Beregardo is still unknown.. On
September 1, 1991, a monument was erected in the local cemetery to their
memory.
BEREGDEDA
In 1944 the village counted 1100 souls. November 18, 1944 remains a day of
infamy for its people. It was the day when strong men in the prime of their
life were escorted by gun-toting soldiers to the camp in Szolyva.
We learn from the notes of Halavacs Janos that the loving father entrusts the
care and education of his children to his kin and brother-in-law when he
succumbs to the epidemic and feels at the end of his life. This kind
brother-in-law, who was fortunate to return from camp, faithfully carried out
his mission. Many widowed mothers had a desperate time trying to raise their
children and many died of the hardships they encountered.
According to the lists compiled by the local authorities on July 4, 1945 159
men (born between 1900 and 1926) were absent from the village due to the above
well-known facts, on the first list appear 8 names who are shown as POWs. The
second list contains the names of 71 men who were drafted earlier but the
data-collectors could not obtain any further information.
With the help of survivors, Halavacs Janos, secretary of the local chapter,
established the list of those who died in the various GULAGs: 40 men from
Beregdeda and Mezohomok passed away innocently in Stalin's camps; 27 lost their
lives in action.. On November 26, 1989, the villagers planted a wooden
memorial in their cemetery and on November 21 1991 erected a monument to honour
the victims from Beregdeda and Mezohomok.
BEREGSOM
The population of this village of 1191 souls in 1944 was equally sorely tried.
In W.W.II, 19 men died in action; their names are immortalised in the
courtyard of the local reformed church. According to a two-part report
dispatched on July 6, 1945, by the local commissariat to the district office in
Beregszasz, there were 115 men in the hands of the Soviets in various POW and
labour camps. One list contained the names of the 66 people who were deported
in November 1944 for "3 days of labour". Kodobocz Lilla, president of the
local KMKSZ, tallied the lists and found that 81 people were sent to
concentration camps; 24 never returned.
As Suto Kalman, folk-poet, put it: "The rounding up of the men was carried
out at night, by soldiers who went from house to house; they even took the
communists". Two party-members were also swept away by the cleansing: Nagy
Lajos, Barkaszi Balint.
On November 2, 1991, a monument was erected in the churchyard in honour of the
martyrs.
BEREGSZASZ
This town, the only one in Transcarpathia where the Hungarian-born inhabitants
were in the majority, the population amounted to 19,373 souls in 1944. On
November 18, 1944, members of the NKVD started rounding up the male population.
As the survivors remember it, they had to report at the Lajos Kossuth school.
Whoever entered the building was not allowed to leave. A slit was cut in the
back fence of the school yard where the men were herded out. This was to
prevent those waiting in front of the school, in Bocskay street, from knowing
where they are taking those who registered for the three-day labour. Those
collected from the surrounding areas were herded into the customs buildings.
Csok Sandor mentions in his recollections that;
"...the most courageous were the luckiest, since they had already fled
Beregszasz. But it took a lot of daring, as those who were caught were shot on
the spot. When, in Makkosjanosi, one of the men from Gat stepped out of line
to ask a woman for a drink of water, the prison-guard was there instantly.
When the man argued, three other soldiers appeared, took him to the woods and
we only heard a shot... no one saw that man again. Many perished in the camps
from the inhumane living conditions and several committed suicide".
We could quote from countless similar testimonies. All speak of the struggle
for survival.
On July 3, 1945, Gergely J.A., social worker attached to the commissariat,
prepared the list of 1547 names of the men subject to military service who,
according to the manifest, resided in unknown places, or in various camps. As
per our analysis, 1020 people were interned as civilians. Evidence of our
assumption lies in the fact that after each name the collecting camp is shown
(Szolyva, Szambor, Szanok, as well as Perecseny); therefore, the whereabouts
of the men was precisely known. From this manifest we can also deduce that 527
men left as Hungarian soldiers bound for the frontlines.
The Beregszasz chapter of the KMKSZ has not yet prepared the final tally.
Many people replied to our request; we received more than 500 letters. The
most detailed information came from Huszti Sandor who enclosed in his letter, a
list of the 36 campmates who died there. The sum total of the collected data
shows that 57 people died in the various camps. Kerenyi Gyula, KMKSZ-activist,
gave us tremendous help in our research; he was also one of the organisers of
the memorial conference held in Beregszasz.
The KMKSZ initiated the erection of a monument in the Roman Catholic cemetery;
this monument, creation of the artist Horvath Anna, depicts a bereaved mother.
They are also planning a huge memorial, the scale model of which can already be
seen (made by Veres Peter).
The list is incomplete.
BEREGUJFALU
In 1944, the population of this settlement was 1755 people. On November 19,
1944 the Stalinists deported 139 civilians. As per the list established on
July 4, 1945 by the local authorities, altogether 222 men (born between 1885
and 1927) were taken from Beregujfalu to POW camps. There were 19 men among
the deportees who were not yet 20 years old and two, Mate Gedeon and Hee Lajos
were under 18. Many lost their lives in the death valley of Szolyva.
The leaders of the local KMKSZ (Hee Bela, Tibor Bela, Tompa Tibor) together
with officials of the Local Council established the roster of those who died in
the Stalinist camps. So far, we have managed to confirm that of 108 deportees,
45 men perished and 20 died in action in W.W.II.
Upon the initiative of the KMKSZ, on December 8, 1991 a monument was erected
in the churchyard to the memory of the victims of Stalinism and the war dead.
BOTRAGY
There were 1421 inhabitants in Botragy in 1944. In the archives under "
Botragy " we found on a list compiled on July 6, 1945, by the then president of
the local commissariat and sent to district headquarters, the names of 215 men
(between the ages of 18 to 50) who were still residing in POW camps. Of these,
62 men from Botragy were drafted and sent either to the front or to POW camps.
In the autumn of 1944, 153 civilians were deported to labour camps; the names
are precisely listed, but no mention is made of which camp they were sent to.
The list of, the, deportees and those who died was established by Biro Laszlo,
president of the local KMKSZ with the help of Izsak Ba1azs and Molnar Balazs,
two survivors, as well as with Hajdu Ferenc, president of the Local Council.
Of those who returned, 21 are alive; but the resting place of 78 men is still
unknown. For the Day of All Souls (November 2nd) 1991 the monument destined to
commemorate the dead of Stalinism was ready, thanks to the efforts of the
activists of the KMKSZ and the director of the local farm. A memorial service
was held in the cemetery where the village symbolically buried its dead.
BULCSU (NAGY-)
Bulcsu used to be an autonomous settlement in the district of Beregszasz; it
had 964 inhabitants in 1944. In 1957 it was officially integrated into the
town on the shores of the Verke. On July 2, 1945 the leaders of the local
commissariat (the names are illegible) also established a list according to
which 154 people were in POW camps or resided in unknown places. Of these, 116
men (born between 1895 and 1926) were civilian deportees. Szolyva or Szanok
are mentioned alongside their names. The remainder were sent to the front or
to POW camps as soldiers.
With the help of survivors and witnesses (Fulop Gyula,. . . . . . .),
Fulop Anna, secretary of the district office of the KMKSZ, established that the
settlement contributed 73 men as deportees, of whom 57 died.
The members of the local KMKSZ (president: Prof. Profusz Jozsef) and the Ilku
Pal high school of Bulcsu jointly started the erection of a monument.
CSETFALVA
Situated on the shores of the (river) Tisza, this little hamlet of 549 also
felt the weight of Stalinist terror. From a list compiled by the local
authorities on July 3, 1945, we can determine that 91 people were at that time
in POW camps. Of these, 58 (born between 1899 and 1926) were deported to
Szolyva as civilians. The activists of the Csetfalva KMKSZ completed the above
mentioned list with further names. 58 deportees died in the camps.
On November 26, 1989, the residents erected a tombstone to their memory in the
local cemetery
CSONKAPAPI
In 1944 this village had 1178 inhabitants. By going through the archives of
the Beregszasz district, under No. 19, in the file of Csonkapapi, we found
concrete proof of the deportations of November 1944. It held a list prepared
on July 2, 1945 by the local commissariat containing the names of 191 people
who were deported from the village or became POWs. By analysing the list, we
determined that the authorities knew exactly that 97 people (born between 1893
and 1926) were in the deathcamp at Szolyva. In 1990, Nagy Zoltan Mihaly,
author, president of the local KMKSZ, went from house to house and established
a definitive list of the deportees of November 1944. By his reckoning, 120
people were taken for 3 days of labour; of these 74 returned and 47 perished.
On November 17, 1991, the activists of the KMKSZ erected a monument in the
churchyard of the Reformed Church to the memory of the victims of Stalinist
terror and those who died in action in W.W.II.
GAT
Spread out along the highway, this village had in 1944, 2240 residents.
W.W.II and the deportation of local Hungarian-born men in November 1944 took a
great toll. Civics Vilmos immortalized the latter event in his novel "Holnap
is elunk"(We shall live tomorrow too).
On July 4, 1945, the local authorities (president: Kancsij Jurko, the
secretary's name is illegible) established a list containing the names of 260
men who were absent from the village. Of these, 157 people (born between 1893
and 1926) were deported as civilians for a stint of 3-days' labour. Earlier,
103 men were drafted into the Hungarian army, but the archives do not disclose
either their fate or their whereabouts. Local KMKSZ (presidents: Kacso
Zoltan, Kovacs Emil) together with Lorinc Bela, president of Gat's Executive
Committee, established the final list of Gat's men who died in the Stalinist
camps: 52 are buried in Szolyva, Szambor, and in the unmarked mass graves of
the GULAGs.
Thanks to the local KMKSZ, a beautifully carved wooden monument, erected in
the Gat cemetery, commemorates the men who were deported for "3-days' labour".
On November 23, 1990, a memorial was dedicated in the same place.
GUT
Nagy-, Kisgut, or Ketgut used to be two separate settlements which now have
been merged and has its own Local Council. In 1944 it had 1039 residents.
This settlement too, was caught by surprise by the deportation of Hungarian
men.
On July 4, 1945, the local authorities (president: Bak Jozsef the secretary's
name is illegible) compiled a list of the menfolk of Nagygut and Kisgut that
were absent from the villages: in total, 142 names appear on the list.
Alongside the names of 42 and 45 men (born between 1895 and 1926) from Nagygut
and Kisgut respectively, appears the name of the Szambor concentration camp;
that is, altogether 87 men were deported as civilians to the deathcamp. The
remaining 55 men from the two villages became Hungarian soldiers and were
either sent to POW camps or died in action on the battlefield. Sin Jozsef,
president of the local KMKSZ and three survivors (Pocsai Vince, Pocsai Samuel,
Toth Lajos) drew up the losses of the village: a total of 140 men were
deported to the labour camps of which 56 died; their burial places are still
not known. 8 men lost their lives on the various battlefields of W.W.II.
As the survivors related, they did not take more because many of the men were
not home; they went into hiding. The youngest deportee was 18 years old, the
oldest just passed 48. In several families, all the menfolk died among them
those of Barkaszi Karoly, Verbias Janos.
These innocent victims are immortalized by a monument erected in the
village.
HALABOR
In 1944 there were 645 inhabitants in this village that stretches along the
shores of the (river) Tisza. The leaders of the hamlet prepared a combined
list of the villagers in work camps and POW camps. This was sent on July 3,
1945 to the district authorities in Beregszasz, and contains the names of 116
people (born between 1895 and 1926). Of these 84 were deported as civilians,
the remainder were sent as soldiers either to the front or to P0W camps.
The activists of the local KMKSZ, (president: Tar Geza) together with some
survivors, established the definitive list of deportation. According to their
data, 112 men were carried away to the deathcamps, 79 returned showing signs of
ill treatment. There were 33 victims of Stalinism from Halabor
A wooden monument was erected to their memory in the local cemetery
HETYEN
In 1941, there were 785 residents in this hamlet. On the list found under
file No. 19 on Hetyen in the archives of the Beregszasz district office appear
the names of 118 people (born between 1896 and 1926). On July 2, 1945 the
compilers of the list- members of the Hetyen commissariat - knew exactly that
73 men were prisoners in the Szolyva and Sztarij Szambor camps. The remaining
men were assumed to have been taken prisoners of war as Hungarian soldiers.
Alongside some names, they even show their army addresses from which they sent
their letters to their loved ones.
With the recollections of some survivors and eyewitnesses, (Baksa Istvan, - .
. .), the leaders of the local KMKSZ - Suto Sandor, Toth Eva - established
that of the 127 deportees 50 lie in unmarked graves in the camps and 21 lost
their lives in W.W.II.
In September 1992 a monument was erected on the village square to the memory
of the victims of Stalinism and W.W.II
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