Dezsofi family papers
Extent and Medium
folders
10
Creator(s)
- Dezsofi family
Biographical History
Dolly Tiger (born Dorottya Rozsa Dezsofi) and her twin sister Ida Marianne (Mari) Dezsofi were born on January 31, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary to Dezső (d. 1947 in the United States) and Johanna (nee Selinger) Dezsofi. They were raised by their mother and grandfather, Mozes Selinger, a prominent Jewish jeweler in Budapest. In 1938 Johanna married George Paul, a non-Jewish Serbian jeweler, and moved with her daughters to Subotica in northern Serbia. Following the public hanging in Subotica in March 1941, Dolly and Marianne were sent to a convent school in Budapest. The girls remained there until the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, when the nuns were no longer willing to hide Jewish children. The girls then hid for six months at the Hotel Lukacs in Budapest with their mother and stepfather. When Johanna was arrested and sent to a work camp in October 1944, Dolly and Marianne went to hide with the son of a family friend, George Szeutirmay. The family was reunited in January 1945. With the help of Elizabeth Tieberger, Johanna's older sister, Dolly, Marianne, and their cousin, Dorothea (Babi), were smuggled to Subotica by Russian soldiers. Dolly attended school in Subotica for two years before returning to Budapest to await her Hungarian passport. After she received her passport in April 1948, she left immediately for Switzerland where Dolly met Janos Fenjves and married him on May 8, 1948 in Paris. They left for Venezuela one month later. There they had two children, but soon divorced. Dolly later married Yozef Tiger and immigrated to Canada in 1961. Marianne married George Kalman and immigrated to the United States in 1957.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Dolly (Dezsofi) Tiger
Dolly Tiger and Marianne Kalman donated the Dezsofi family papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2001 and 2002. The collections numbered 2001.273.1 and 2002.359.1 have been incorporated into this collection.
Scope and Content
The Dezsofi family papers include biographical material, correspondence, school notebooks, writings, and magazines relating to the pre-war experiences of twin sisters Dolly and Marianne Dezsofi in Budapest, Hungary as well as during the war while in hiding. Biographical material includes a death certificate and union identification card for Imre Tieberger, Dolly and Marianne’s uncle, two pre-war greeting cards with photographs Dolly gave to her mother for mother's day, and a pre-war photograph of Dolly and Marianne in first grade, dated 1937. Correspondence includes letters written by Dolly and Marianne to their mother as well as letters from Karola and letters to "Grandfather." School notebooks include four pre-war notebooks and a portfolio of text and drawings belonging to Marianne. Magazines include "Pesti Naplo" which features Marianne, "Vilaglapja" which pictures the sisters on the cover, and "Szinhazi Elet" which features a photograph of Dolly and Marianne. Writings and drawings include two notebooks kept by Dolly while in Budapest, dated 1945, a spiral notebook with drawings kept while in hiding, an unbound notebook, dated February, and a pocket calendar, dated 1945.
System of Arrangement
The Dezsofi family papers is arranged ten folders: Folder 1 of 10: Biographical material, circa 1936-1944 Folder 2 of 10: Correspondence, circa 1938 Folder 3 of 10: Pesti Napló, 1932 Folders 4-5 of 10: School notebooks, 1936-1937 Folder 6 of 10: Színházi Élet, 1932 Folder 7 of 10: Vilaglapja, April 1931 Folder 8-10 of 10: Writings and drawings, circa 1945
People
- Dezsofi, Marianne.
- Dezsofi, Dolly.
- Dezsofi family
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary--Budapest.
- Jewish children in the Holocaust--Hungary.
- Budapest (Hungary)
Genre
- Document
- Correspondence.
- Periodicals.
- Diaries.