The Tragedy of the Hungarians of Transcarpathia

Companion village to Nevetlenfalu, Oregakli lies directly on the Ukrainian-Pomanian border (border crossing, customs are located here). It had 823 inhabitants in 1944.

We have not found yet in the archives the list prepared in 1945 Therefore, we accept as authentic the one sent to us by Nagy Laszlo, President of KMKSZ which was checked by the survivors Bocskor Laszlo, Domokos Andras, and Bocskor Pal. On November 10, 1944, 27 men were interned in Szolyva and the interior of the Ukraine. Of these, 19 died in camps and 8 returned. As per the February 1992 report, 4 are still alive. Nine men died in action in W.W.II.

On November 11, 1990, the activists of the KMKSZ dedicated a memorial to the victims of Stalinism and of W.W.II in the churchyard of the Reformed Church.

This settlement started to develop into a village in the period between the two World Wars. Earlier, it was part of Oregakli and was known as Szolohegy. It had 819 inhabitants in 1940.

During W.W.II, 6 men died in action. In the autumn of 1944, 33 men were deported from the village; of these, 16 died in the camps and 17 came back. According to the December 1991 report, 5 are still alive.

In the course of a 1945 show trial, Kekes Janos was judicially condemned to forced labour; Bucs Istvan was shot by the NKVD at the time of the internment. His name also figures on the wooden monument which was erected in the autumn of 1989 to the memory of the victims of Stalinist terror.

This material was collected by Fori Eva, secretary of the local KMKSZ, with the gracious help of Penzes Janos, a survivor.

This settlement was inhabited by 733 people in 1944, most of them belonging to the Uniate Church.

We do not know how many people were deported in the autumn of 1944 from this hamlet. Upon instruction from higher authority, on July 1, 1945 a list was prepared of the POWs but the people of the village still do not know who survived the horrors of W.W.II.

According to the list prepared by Kubinyi Bela, President of the local KMKSZ, the NKVD deported only 3 men on that ominous day but with the tragic result that they all died in camps. This was authenticated by the relatives of the deceased, namely Barna Gyula, son, Konya Istvan, son, and Szilagyi Ilona, wife of the deceased. A further 3 men were convicted during a Stalinist show trial.

In November 1990, the activists of the KMKSZ erected a wooden monument in memory of the victims of Stalinism.

This Ruthenian-Hungarian village had, in 1944, 1270 inhabitants. It had its own village council. Its associated villages, Csomafalva and Tiszaheteny, are inhabited by Ruthenians. Most of the residents belong to the Uniate church; there are about 200 Protestants.

Although on June 8, 1989 the local KMKSZ was established, its president, - Fulop Endre, did not reply to our request for a list of the village's losses, - nor could we find any material in the archives.

This hamlet was inhabited in 1944 by 1325 Ruthenian and Hungarian residents. It had its own village council. Its associated villages are Tiszasasvar and Csonkas.

In November of 1944, the Hungarian men belonging to the Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths were deported from here also. Discovered in the archives, the list prepared on July 1, 1945 contains the names of 81 men subject to military service; alongside 51 names figures the mention that they were taken to an unknown location or rather to the Szolyva concentration camp. It may safely be assumed that 30% of them did not return

The officeholders of the local KMKSZ (Kristof Katalin, Sztaroszta Mihaly), which was established in 1990, did not reply to our request; - hence, we cannot establish the list of he village's losses.

In 1944, there were 2346 inhabitants in this village. The list of those who were interned in the autumn of 1944 is not ready yet; however, we can reconstruct the events as follows: - a list prepared on July 1, 1945 by the local authorities contains the names of 130 men from Feketeardo, both those subject to military service and civilian internees born between 1895 and 1926. Alongside about a dozen names figures the address of the concentration camp of Szolyva. This list was signed by a certain Lovga, local judge or council president. The secretary's name is illegible.

A survivor who wishes to remain anonymous, wrote in 1989 the following recollections of the events: - "In the autumn of 1944 we had a hunch that something is being prepared against the Hungarians. The extremists held a big rally in Munkacs. We never knew what was decided there - did they ask for our deportation or something else? - but from that moment on the young rascals on the streets kept shouting: - Back to Asia, Hungarians! The soviet soldiers were occupied elsewhere rather than make peace in local differences, so they suggested: - Take the Hungarians to work! So it was announced by the town crier that all men between the ages of 20 (in some places, 18) and 50 were to report for work with three days' worth of food. All reported honourably."

During W.W.II, 51 men died in action; of the 24 deportees 19 perished and one man became the victim of a show trial. On November 11, 1990, the local KMKSZ (President: Rezes Geza) dedicated a monument in the local cemetery.

This village, associated to Verboc, had 688 inhabitants in 1944.

On November 18, 1944, the men from Patak marched out to the sound of drums to complete three days' of labour.

Among them was the then 18-year old Nagy Jeno, now a retired teacher living in Ungvar. He had kept a diary of his personal experiences. As he put it: "My nationality was my only crime that justified my deportation." Together with his companions, he was imprisoned in camps in the Ukraine, in the Caucasus and other places. Gradually, from 1946 on, those who survived were slowly released. But most of the deportees did not return to their homeland; their bodies were buried in unmarked mass graves from Szolyva to Ocsemcsiri.

Nagy Jeno's camp diary, which was published in book form at the end of 1992 gives an authentic picture of his experiences, his recollections of the deceased companions and of this most tragic period in the life of Hungarians of Transcarpathia.

A list prepared upon instructions of the authorities and dated July 1, 1945 contains the names of 104 men (born between 1890 and 1926) taken to concentration camps According to Nagy Jeno, 102 men were sent to POW camp; later it turned out that 8 men died in battle and 22 perished as civilians. The remaining 72 returned home, broken in body and spirit.

The villagers placed a plague in honour of the dead on the wall of the Reformed Church.

In 1944 this village had 799 inhabitants. In 1945 it still had its own local council.

Following the deportations by six months, upon instructions from higher authorities, on July 1, 1945, two lists were prepared by the local leaders (the president, a certain Somogyi; the secretary's signature is illegible). They certify that a total of 125 people were absent from the village and their families: 63 men were drafted into the Hungarian army and landed in "unknown places". They are aware that 62 civilian prisoners (born between 1896 and 1925) were languishing in Sztarij Szambor as a result of the call to "three days' of labour"

Biro Irma, the president of he local KMKSZ with the help of survivors, conscientiously collected all the available material on those who were forced by Stalinist tyranny to leave their families and homes. The still incomplete list of losses shows that 23 men died during W.W.II, about 90 people were deported of whom 22 perished and 59 returned. According to the March 3, 1991 report, 27 are still living.

The villagers paid homage to their dead. On November 18, 1989, in the local cemetery, they erected a wooden memorial and on October 14, 1990, they dedicated a monument to their memory in the churchyard of the reformed church.

This village, - associated to Tiszapeterfalva, had 738 inhabitants in 1944. In 1945 it had its own village council.

In the autumn of 1944, 57 men (born between 1902 and 1926) were deported from here for three days' labour. Most of them returned desperately ill and soon died.

We could not find in the district's archives the report prepared by the village commissariat on July 1, 1945. Therefore, we only have the list that Vass Maria, president of the local KMKSZ, has sent to us. With the help of Foris Istvan, a survivor, she checked the available material; this work was finished on March 10, 1990, but they are pursuing further leads. The losses of the village amount to: - 13 men died in action during W.W.II; about 64 men were deported as civilians in the autumn of 1944; of these 23 perished and 41 came back; and 3 residents were put on show trial. According to a February 23, 1991 report, 23 people are still living.

The activists of the local KMKSZ started a collection to commemorate the victims of Stalinism. Construction of the monument is in progress but the villagers have already repeatedly paid homage to their dead.

Situated on the border between the Ukraine and Rumania, this village had 992 inhabitants in 1944. Here also, the Stalinists mercilessly interned the Hungarian-born farmers in the autumn of 1944.

The official list of those in concentration camps, prepared on July 2, 1945, has not been found, yet.

Therefore, Dupka Jozsef, president of the Godenyhaza KMKSZ, had to prepare the list of the village's losses by going from house to house and questioning the survivors. Among all the Hungarian villages of Transcarpathia, this one had the greatest losses in W.W.II: - 39 men died in action. The 30 remaining bread-winning survivors of military service were ruthlessly deported by the NKVD, thus exposing 15 of them to a senseless death by hunger and cold.

Fortunately, 15 returned in 1946 from Stalin's camps and 6 are still among the living according to a report dated January 26, 1992. One of the survivors even brought home the spoon that he used for eating in the camp. He gave it to the local KMKSZ to keep as a relic.

Two local residents were put on show trial.

Immediately after the return of the deportees, the weeping mourners of the deceased placed a commemorative plaque on the side of the church but the overzealous communists promptly tore it down.

It was only on November 26, 1989 that the handful of Hungarians could freely commemorate their dead and dedicate a monument in the local cemetery.

Administratively attached to Tiszakeresztur, this hamlet had, in 1944, 482 inhabitants of mixed Ruthenian and Hungarian origins.

Since 90% of the villagers profess to belong to the Uniate church, the deportations of November 1944 touched only a handful of lives.

We could not discover any report on this hamlet in the district's archives. As no local KMKSZ has been established here, there is no one to list the losses. Toth Janos, resident of Karacsfalva, did tell us in his letter that his father, Toth Karoly (1924) was deported to Szolyva; they have never heard from him again.

This Ruthenian-Hungarian historic village had, in 1944, 5191 residents. Following the deportation of the Hungarian men, a manifest was prepared on July 3, 1945 of those who resided in Soviet POW- or concentration camps. This authenticated list contains the names of 209 men (born between 1896 and 1926) from Kiralyhaza. This report was signed by a certain Hadadi, secretary; the president's or judge's signature is illegible

We know now that of the 209 men residing in unknown places, 70 were deported by the NKVD in November 1944. Based on material collected from survivors, the officeholders of the local KMKSZ (President: ifj. Munkacsi Karoly, secretary: Dornback Katalin) determined that 34 men died of cold and hunger in the StalinistÌs' camps. Fortunately 43 came home; of these 6 are still living according to a March 1991 report.

On October 28, 1990, the Roman Catholic and Protestant Hungarians dedicated, in the Roman Catholic cemetery, an engraved memorial to all those who died in the Stalinist camps.

On this occasion, Tegze Elemer, a survivor, recited from memory the opening lines of a prayer he composed on Christmas in the Szolyva concentration camp. As a matter of fact, at least ten variants or variations of this prayer are circulating in our territory.

Here are those lines:

Someplace far, someplace distant,
On the edge of a town lies a camp,
Many a man was brought there to live or die,
Grief engulfs their homes and families.

In 1944, this hamlet had 945 residents. In November of that year, the Stalinists deported 12 men; fortunately they all came back

According to the January 1992 report, 3 are still among the living. This material was sent to us by the officeholders of the local KMKSZ (Szeklyanik Peter, Aranyos Laszlo, and Magyar Janos). We also found in the archives on Matyfalva a report prepared on July 2, 1945 certifying that about 30 men of military age were absent from the village. We have no information of how many died in action in W.W.II.

In 1944, it had 1744 inhabitants. Together with its associated village, Fertosalmas, it is considered, since 1944, a remote village, far from passable highways.

Upon request, on July 1, 1945, two lists were prepared by Nagy Lajos, the local commissar; the secretary's name is illegible. On one authenticated list figure the names and relevant data - including their military addresses - of 107 men from Nagypalad (born between 1901 and 1926) who did not return from Hungarian military service and were sent to POW camp. The other list contains the names and data of 115 men (born between 1895 and 1926) deported as civilians. The compilers of the list are aware that 86 men were interned in the concentration camp of Sztarij Szambor. Thus, the post-war era swept away 222 men from their homes and families.

With the help of survivors (Sebestyen Jozsef), the tireless vice-president of the local KMKSZ, Juhasz Bela, prepared the list of the village's losses: it turned out that 51 people died in camp. Their final resting place will never be known.

On October 27, 1989, when the district's commissariat still looked askance on commemorative activities, the villagers, - following their hearts and the exhortations of the KMKSZ - were among the first to dedicate a memorial in the cemetery along the main highway. They also symbolically buried the victims of Stalinism. The losses of the village: 20 men lost their lives in W.W.II; 112 people were deported as civilians; of these 51 died and 61 returned.

This erstwhile county seat of Ugocsa County, now the chief town of the Nagyszolos district, shows many relics of its glorious past. In 1944, the inhabitants of this alternately flourishing or declining town counted 13,331 people of mixed origins.

"As soon as the Soviet troops entered, many residents of Nagyszolos immediately started rebuilding the bridge over the Tisza. They had worked several days already when the order came in mid November to report for three days of labour. The men were collected in the county hall whence they were marched in groups of a hundred to Tiszaujlak. The population of the surrounding villages was also ordered to Nagyszolos.

In the town itself, armed civilians went from house to house, ordering people to report with three days' worth of food at the county hall. There, herded into a well-guarded hall, the men could not leave until they were sent out with a group. In Ujlak, most of them had their valuables confiscated, then sent on foot on their way to Szolyva. From there, they were dispersed among various camps in the country where they were imprisoned with Hungarian, Rumanian, Serbian, or German POWs." So does Keresztyen Balazs, in his lecture of November 18, 1989, describe the circumstances leading to the deportation of the Hungarian men of Ugocsa and its initial stages.

There was a total of 444 men subject to military service according to the two-part report dated July 1945 sent to Ungvar by the leaders of the Nagyszolos commissariat and found in the archives.

This report covers Hungarian men drafted into the army or a labour-brigade who disappeared on the battlefield or were taken prisoner by the Soviet army. At the time of the report's preparation, they were considered to be in POW-or labour camps. The compilers of the list do not mention the number of civilian internees. Analysing the list, we noted that alongside only 110 men was their a mention of the camps at Szolyva, Perecseny, or Szambor. We can assume that these men were civilians deported by the NKVD cadres.

We learn from the column headings: "Site of camp" and "Remarks" that, for example, Kovacs Pal (1911) and others were taken to "the Szolyva concentration camp" from Szevljus (Nagyszolos). We also found notes about "who" was sent "when" from Szolyva to other camps in the Ukraine: Kolb Bela (1911) on February 23, 1945; Nagy Janos (1907) from Szambor in December of 1944; Csorba Gyorgy (1906) in February 1945 to an "unknown location". We also learn that at that time dozens of men are imprisoned in Szambor: Kovacs Istvan.(1910) and many others.

The question is why do we analyse so thoroughly the lists found in the archives? Because this is a town, not a village, the activists of the KMKSZ face a hard task in preparing the list of the town's losses. On September 14, 1991, Milovan Jolan, president of the local organisation, has sent us the list containing the material on all the deportees from the town who died: 30 men in the prime of their lives are resting in Soviet camp graves. The research continues. We keep receiving information from relatives; the lists of the losses of Nagyszolos are expanding.

Initially, on November 24, 1989, the KMKSZ erected a wooden monument to the victims of Stalinist terror in the cemetery. They also placed a commemorative plaque on the wall of the county hall, the erstwhile collecting point. Fur Lajos, eminent historian and presently the Defence Minister of Hungary, attended the requiem service. Then, in 1991, the activists of the KMKSZ dedicated a memorial plaque to the deported Jews on the wall of the former ghetto.

In 1944 this border village had 728 inhabitants. Szabo Ferenc and Beres Ferenc, two survivors, prepared a written report of the deportations, giving us many details. "Here also, in November, 1944, the orders of Moszkopf, commander of Nagyszolos, were announced by the town crier. All those who were of Hungarian origin had to report at the county hall in Nagyszolos. There they were asked again whether they were Hungarians or Ruthenians. The Ruthenians were released and sent on their way. The remaining Hungarians were locked in a hall. The next day, they were told to stand to the right if they were of the Uniate faith and to the left if Roman Catholic or Protestant. Some did not know which way to go; the lines got all mixed up. The military commander asked the leaders of the village (Szelesztai Gy(rgy, Szirmai Bertalan, and Suba Pal) if they will take responsibility for these men. All declined.

On November 23 we left Nagyszolos on foot, under armed guard. After a night's rest, we were escorted to Beregszasz, then on to Szolyva. Then we were marched to Novij Szambor. There we were loaded into cattle-cars, arriving in Tuvan on January 8, 1945. In this camp we lost 180 men in two months; they were buried in common graves. We came home on May 9, 1945, our numbers decimated."

Santha Menyhert, a survivor, tells us that he ended up in Krasznauralszk. The prisoners were scattered all over the Gulag. On instructions from the leaders of the Zakarpatszka Ukrajina, here, too, on July 1, 1945, were listed those who had been conscripted into the army or were sent to camps. As shown on this list, 80 breadwinners between the ages of 19 and 44 were swept away by W.W.II.

We received additional material from Kaliska Jeno president of the local KMKSZ, who, together with Illes Jozsef, gathered authentic information from the 15 still remaining survivors. The village's losses amount to: 6 dead in W.W.II; 49 people were deported as civilians in the autumn of 1944. Of these 13 died and 36 returned. As of February 17, 1991, 15 of the deportees are still living.

In November 1989, the local chapter of the KMKSZ organised a commemorative funeral service and placed a memorial marker in the Roman Catholic and Protestant cemetery. In August 1992 they dedicated a monument to the victims in the centre of the village.

This village, which boasts of many sites connected with the history of the Rakoczis, had, in 1944, 2773 inhabitants.

On July 1, 1945, the leaders of the local commissariat (the signatures of the president and secretary are illegible) prepared a combined list of all men (born between 1896 and 1926) subject to military service who were deported as civilians or, serving in the armed forces, were sent to POW camps. The list contains the names of 299 men. On July 2nd and 3rd, 1945, two additional lists were made containing just one name each: that of Ronay Geza (1898) and Lenart Jozsef (1919). Therefore, 301 men were deported to camps, of which 175 were civilians.

The local chapter of the KMKSZ (President: Barta Jozsef, Vice-president: Homoki Arpad) with the co-operation of the local council (President: Gecse Elemer) and the survivors, prepared the list of the village's losses: in the autumn of 1944, 105 men were deported to Szolyva. Of these 59 lost their lives and 46, came back,. In March 1991, 15 were still among the living. Adam Andras was deported as a "kulak" (wealthy peasant farmer); he also lost his life and his burial place is unknown.

On November 26, 1989, a monument containing the names of the victims of Stalinist terror was dedicated on the main square of the village.

The oldest village in Ugocsa County's wine region, it had, in 1944, 1123 inhabitants.

Between November 24 to 26, 1944, 105 men were deported from the village, in some cases whole families (like that of Orosz Istvan) where the father and his four sons were all interned. Some were ill, yet they were deported. Thirty-four native-born men died in the camps. Szabo Arpad lived a single day after he came back. Sebestyen Sandor was the last of the deportees to return on May 23, 1949. According to the list of the community, on June 2, 1945, 155 local men were in the Gulag; they were deported to the camps as POWs or internees. The list was signed by the then President of the council, Mihail Kacsur; the secretary's name is illegible.

The Presidency of the local KMKSZ prepared the list. The activists received considerable help from Sapi Ferenc, .

In November of 1989 a wooden monument was erected, then a marble plaque was unveiled to the memory of the deportees.

Just a few generations ago, this village was inhabited mainly by Hungarians.

In 1944, the Hungarian-Ukrainian residents numbered 1269 people. The local chapter of the KMKSZ (President: Gerus Gabor) initiated the collection of the material concerning the deportations of the autumn of 1944. He received the active co-operation of many survivors. So far, no trace was found in the archives of the official camp-list prepared on July 3, 1945. But the list of the village's losses was compiled by the activists of our association. It shows that 7 men died during W.W.II and that 62 men from Tekehaza were interned in November 1944. Of these, 19 perished and 43 returned, ill and with their spirit broken. The January 19, 1992 report states that 7 are still alive.

The Hungarians of the village first remembered their dead on November 23, 1989 when they were symbolically buried; then they placed a monument in the local Protestant cemetery to the victims of Stalinist tyranny

Sister village to Tiszapeterfalva, it had, in 1944, 1166 residents. The cruel past has, here too, caused wounds that are slow to heal. The village remembers well the local henchmen of the communists; among them one commissar called David, Szverenyak Peter who had similar functions, and Bodo Ferenc They were the ones who blindly obeyed the NKVD's instructions and prepared, without a twinge of conscience, the list of the men who were to go for three days of labour and sent to section D-23614 of the Szolyva concentration camp on November 19, 1944

In the district archives we found the two-part list of names prepared post factum. The documents were signed by Szabo Istvan, president of the commissariat, and Virag Jozsef, acting secretary. On one list figure the names of those who joined the army and since then "reside in unknown locations", although alongside some names, their army address is shown. They assume, therefore, that 51 people (born between 1901 and 1924) were sent to POW camps. The other list of three pages contains the names of 55 civilian men (born between 1900 and 1926) who were sent to the camp in Szolyva. Of these, 8 (Kovesdi Andras,Gorbe Gyorgy, Kormos Vilmos, Virag Istvan, Lazar Istvan, Dankovics Bela, Vincze Andras, Nagy Antal) were barely 18 years old. There are altogether 106 names on the two lists.

Upon request of the KMKSZ, the widow Papp Andrasne (born Toldi Katalin) organized the collection of the internees' names by going from house to house. The following picture emerges from the material she gathered on the now joint villages of Tiszabokeny and Tiszafarkasfalva: - in total, 200 vigorous men were taken to the hellhole of Szolyva.

Survivors tell us that quite a few escaped from the march. An NKVD officer shot one escapee in his own attic. Quite a few, hoping to save their lives, joined the Soviet army in Szolyva; of these, 7 died. Thirteen men lost their lives in action as Hungarian soldiers. and 26 civilian internees perished senselessly. Until 1947, 76 young men from 16 to 18 were carried off to the coal mines in Dunbasz where they were obliged to labour for three years. One young man died. Those who tried to escape were condemned to 5 years of forced labour.

The village has not erected yet a memorial to the victims of Stalinism.

Joined administratively to Tiszapeterfalva, this hamlet had, in 1940, 452 inhabitants belonging mainly to the Uniate faith.

After 1944-45 for a time it was listed as an independent village, then was joined to Tiszabokeny. From this hamlet also, men born between 1901 and 1926 were carried off to the deathcamp at Szolyva. Upon instructions from higher authorities, following the deportation, lists were prepared of those who did not reside in the village. These surveys were compiled by Molnar Laszlo, local head of the communist party, and Ivan Ivanovics Derkacs, president of the commissariat. One of the lists, dated July 1, 1945, contains the names of those men (born between 1907 and 1923) who did not return from the Hungarian army. Alongside all 13 names figure their army addresses. On the second list figure the names of the civilian internees, with 38 of them shown in the Szolyva camp. Few of the survivors are still alive. The work of checking the lists continues.

No monument has as yet been erected to the victims of Stalinism.

In 1944, this hamlet had 566 inhabitants.

Immediately after the Soviet armies marched in, they started to gather up the men. Upon instructions from the authorities in Ungvar, the camp lists were prepared on July 1, 1945 (the president's and the secretary's names are illegible). On one list we find the names of the 36 people (born between 1902 and 1923) who were sent to POW camps as soldiers or were swept away by W.W.II; on the other figure the names of 56 people (born between 1901 and 1926) who were carried off to Szolyva as civilians. Altogether 92 men were separated from their families. Later, the "people's court" of Ungvar declared two men from (Tisza)Keresztur as "people's enemies" and condemned them to forced labour.

The activists of the local KMKSZ (President: Gerendely Bela) prepared new lists according to which 26 men died in W.W.II and 56 were sent to concentration camp of whom 12 perished there. The report of January 1992 states that of the 44 men who came back 18 are still alive.

The villagers erected a tombstone to the victims of Stalinism in November 1989.

This purely Hungarian hamlet had 765 inhabitants in 1944. According to documents, on November 18, 1944 the men of Tiszapeterfalva were interned.

The material prepared upon instructions from higher authorities on July 1 1945 by the leaders of the commissariat (president: Marton Jozsef, secretary Virag J.) consists of two parts. At that time altogether 110 men were absent from the hamlet. Those who were conscripted into the Hungarian army and declared POWs number 47 men (born between 1901 and 1926). On the other equally authenticated document, figure the names and important data of 63 civilians (born between 1897 and 1926) who were marched to drumbeat to the Szolyva concentration camp on November 18, 1944.

Among those carried off to Szanok, there is a ,conspicuous number of youngsters barely 18 years old (Szabo Sandor, Lator Istvan, Simon Gyorgy, Tomori Istvan, Pal Janos, Gajdos Laszlo, Gajdos Janos,Szombati Kalman, Forgo Jozsef). We quote Ary Jozsef, a survivor and representative of this generation: "we were escorted all along like wild beasts, surrounded everywhere by rifles and bayonets. Our destination was Beregszasz - Szolyva. We barely settled in when our first casualty occurred: a 17 year-old student. After that, every day more and more people fell ill; among them Kovacs Bela, Sipos Janos who never recovered... . We were eaten alive by lice."

"We built a bridge in Szkotarszkoje. Then we were sent on; on the way I lost my beloved brother. After all this, we ended up in Lemberg. There, a Jewish captain gave us some rotting fish. After investigation, he was transferred and we never saw him again. From then on, we lived in the camp under normal circumstances."

Instigated by the local KMKSZ (president: Virag Laszlo), its activists, together with some survivors, established the list of the victims of Stalinism. The hamlet counts 23 deaths; only the strongest and most vigorous could withstand the horrors of camplife. Ary Karoly spent 4-5 years behind barbed wire.

On July 8, 1990, one of Transcarpathia's biggest memorials was dedicated in the public square. On this huge marble plaque are engraved the names of 54 martyrs from Tiszapeterfalva and Tivadarfalva, those who lie in unmarked holes. Msgr. Oroszi Pal held a symbolic funeral for them. Hadadi Csaba designed and supervised the realisation of this monument.

There were 1048 residents in this village in 1944.

On the July 1, 1945 officially authenticated list prepared by the local authorities (the names of the president and the secretary are illegible) figure the names of 63 local inhabitants (born between 1895 and 1926) who were in concentration camps. The compilers knew exactly that 42 men were deported as civilians to the NKVD's camps in Szolyva, Szambor and Szanok and that 16 were soldiers and disappeared in W.W.II.

According to the latest material sent to us by the local KMKSZ (president: Mrs. Marian Boldog Edit), 93 men were carried off from the village for three days of labour; of these, 33 died. Of those who returned, 26 are still alive (as per a report of April 1991). The first president of the local KMKSZ, Gyori Miklos, sent us, back in 1989, the incomplete list of the village's dead.

On November 26, 1989, a monument was erected in the churchyard to the memory of those who died in unknown places

Its inhabitants numbered 3429 in 1944. Between November 17-26, 1944, the civilian men were deported. It is well known that the officers of the NKVD assigned a special role to this village: the deportees on their way to Szolyva spent the night here. Their victims were all taken from the various settlements of the Tisza-Tur region.

The camplist prepared on July 1, 1945 upon request from higher authorities (the name of the compilers are illegible) shows that at the time 228 men (born between 1889 and 1926) were absent from the village. Alongside the names of 126 men torn from their families figure the camps at Szolyva, Szanok and Szambor. Aside from the civilian deportees, the names of 102 ex-soldiers are also recorded as POWs. Some carry their last field addresses.

The local KMKSZ (president: Fabian Balazs) prepared the list with the aid of survivors. counting 147 deported men; of these 23 died and 124 returned. There are still 17 men living in the village who survived the camps' hell. (Report of January 11, 1991) About 50 men lost their lives in W.W.II . On November 16, 1989 a memorial plaque was unveiled in the cemetery to the victims of Stalinism.

Note: - after 1944 the overzealous communists and Ukrainian nationalists razed to the ground the memorial to Rakoczi and the St. John's Chapel which was erected in memory of the great flood. It is horrible that they saw fascist symbols in the "turul madar" (Hawk); they savaged it and hid it. They placed its pedestal on the grave of the soviet soldiers in the square in front of the shoe factory. It was at this time also that they carried off and condemned to death the father of Fabian Kazmer, organiser of the Rakoczi festivals. Since then both memorials have been restored and proclaim the Hungarian will to live.

This sister village to Tiszapeterfalva had, in 1940, 555 inhabitants. As late as 1945 it counted as an independent settlement with its own administration.

Upon instructions from higher-ups, the camplists were prepared here also on July 1, 1945. It is interesting to note that here individual data sheets were completed on each person, in Hungarian, but the forms are not initiated by the leaders of the local authorities. One reads as follows: "Narodnij Komitet Fedorovo. Nev (Name): Kocsis Daniel. Szuletett (Born): 1915, VIII, 24, Fedorovo, Ugocsa m. Lakik (Resides): Fedorovo. Anyja neve (Mother's name): Olajos Eszter. Foglalkozasa (Occupation): Foldmuves (farmer) Katonafogoly (POW)." The certifying seal reads: "Ugocsa varmegye (county), Tivadarfalva kozseg (village), 1938, XI.I0."

On the data-sheet of a civilian deportee one can read the following: "Nev (name): Sarkozy Viktor. Szuletett (born): 1920, IX. 18, Fedorovo., Ugocsa m. Lakik: (resides) Fedorovo. Anyja neve (Mother's name): Biky Malvin. Foglalkozasa (occupation): foldmuves (farmer). Civil fogoly (civilian prisoner): Szolyva, Szanok, Szambor...".

Altogether, these data-sheets covered 78 people which, broken down, give the following picture: there were 26 POWs, 52 civilian internees and I voluntary soviet soldier (in the person of Hudacsik Andras). The listing of occupation for each person is also significant: Fary Gabor (1924) student; Gyarmathy Sandor (1919) cobbler; Gajdos Pal (1,922), Nagy Jozsef (1907); Lengyel Mihaly (1904); Gajdos Sandor (1904) and Bozzon Peter (1912) farmhands; Dudics Istvan (1905) dam watchman; Ungi Kalman (1904) and Sarkozy Akos (1903) merchants; Ukrin Laszlo (19I5) clerk; Kutasi Bela (1925) agricultural labourer; and the others were deported as farmers.

The Tivadarfalva activists (Varady Gyula) of the KMKSZ of Tiszapeterfalva prepared the list of the village's losses: of the 78 men 22 never returned, their graveside is unknown. Their names were engraved on the marble plaque on the public square of the two villages and the inhabitants jointly paid tribute to the victims.

This purely Hungarian Protestant village was inhabited by 1168 residents in 1944. Following the November 18, 1944 deportations, and upon instructions from their superiors, leaders of the local commissariat prepared the list of the 233 men (born between 1895 and 1926) from Verboc and Patak who were absent from the villages. We do not know how many were sent to Szolyva as civilian internees; the data on that is missing.

The activists of the local KMKSZ (president: Csato Anna) compiled the list of deportees with the assistance of survivors. According to that list, 69 men were sent to Szolyva; 41 perished there and 28 returned.

A monument was erected in the churchyard of the Reformed Church to the memory of the victims of Stalinist tyranny and W.W.II

The Tragedy of the Hungarians of Transcarpathia