Camhi and Hirtenstein families papers

Veronika Camhi (née Hirtenstein, 1922-2004) was born 1922 in Budapest, Hungary to Deszö (1887-1968) and Gizela (née Kohn, 1891-1979) Hirtenstein. She had one sister, Susan (later Susan Schmiedt, 1917-2005). After the German occupation of Budapest in March 1944, Veronika’s parents were forced into the Jewish ghetto, but she and her sister stayed in a Swiss safe house. Her immediate family survived the war, but her paternal uncle Arnold Hirtenstein’s wife Esther and daughter Judit both perished at Auschwitz. Veronika married Joseph Camhi in June 1944 and their son Janos (John) was born in 1946. In December 1947 the family immigrated to the United States via England. After the war, her sister Susan immigrated to Australia with her husband Andrew and their daughter Judy (later Judy Wolfman) in 1951. Her parents also immigrated there.

Joseph Camhi (1916-1992) was born on 24 June 1916 in Budapest, Hungary to Avram (1881-1976) and Vida (1891-1975, née Behar) Camhi, both of whom were originally from Turkey. He had two siblings: Samuel (b. 1911) and Maurice (b. 1914). Joseph received his law degree in 1940, and worked as an attorney prior to the war. During the first few years of the war, he was conscripted into a forced-labor battalion. After the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, Joseph was evicted from his apartment and his personal belongings were looted by the Gestapo. He likely survived deportation by hiding in a hospital under Swiss protection. Joseph married Veronika Hirtenstein (1922-2004) in June 1944, and their son Janos (John) was born in 1946. In December 1947 the family immigrated to the United States via England.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Judy Wolfman

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019 by Judy Wolfman, daughter of Susan Hirtenstein and niece of Veronika Hirtenstein and Joseph Camhi.