Family activities before the Holocaust in Szeged, Hungary
Creator(s)
- Dr. Katalin Pető
- György Pető (Camera Operator)
Biographical History
György Pető (Dec 20, 1906-1971) was a talented violin player, photographer, and class lottery businessman in the southern Hungarian city of Szeged. He began making 8mm films in 1938. Pető was first in a Jewish forced labor company in Kiszombor in 1940. After returning home, Pető married Eva Lengyel (d. 1970) on September 8, 1941. They had a son, András, on October 3, 1943. Pető was again transported to the Ukraine with another forced labor batallion, where he was captured, and imprisoned in a Soviet POW camp near Zaporozje. He escaped somehow and returned to Szeged. The Jews from Szeged, including Eva, baby András, and many Lengyel family members, were deported during the summer of 1944. They were transported to Strasshof and later to Neunkirchen (Austria) where baby András and Eva's mother and father died. Pető’s mother Zseni was killed at Auschwitz. His brother László died. Eva returned to Szeged in 1945; Pető followed one month later. In 1946, Eva and György had a second child, Katalin Pető. When all of Pető’s property was confiscated by the communist regime in Hungary in 1949, he escaped with his family to the city of Budapest where he established himself as viola player in the Budapest Operetta Theater.
Scope and Content
AGFA 8 logo. (color) Man walks through gate into his garden. Fade. Pető and Lengyel family members follow. Fade. Marika and János pose, flowers. He skips, Marika chases him. 01:38. Street scenes in Szeged, woman pushes carriage over cobbled sidewalk. 01:48 Pető walks towards the camera. He takes off his coat and sits on a white bench in Mora Park in Szeged. Man in uniform walks a dog. Pető smokes a cigarette. Boat in river. Smoke from factory across the river. Pető leans against wall, looking out over the river. 03:12 (black and white) CU, grass. Boy with father and farmer walk through crops outdoors. 03:26 Women dining outdoors in Szeged, on left, Zseni Krausz, the mother of Győrgy Pető (who died in Auschwitz) with her daughter Rózsi Pető (sister of Győrgy Pető) in checkered dress. János rides on a tricycle outdoors in a park. CUs, he smiles. Outdoor restaurant in Szeged, groups dine and drink at tables. 05:15 Endre Kardos, a good friend of Pető, in Szeged. Man in uniform at one of the tables. János rides his bicycle. Hunting in fields. Family group. 06:40 Walking along a snowy path, CUs of a group of people. Snow-covered park in Szeged, light-post, deer. 08:09 INTs, Lajos Lengyel, father of Győrgy Pető (died in Sopron when he returned from concentration camp and was shot), smoking. Rózsi talking and laughing, also indoors. VAR CUs, indoors, the group joking around, laughing, eating. 09:11 Table is set, man opens bottle of champagne, and they toast (including Pető standing at 10:15). 10:30 The family enjoys a meal outdoors, includes Zseni, Roszi, and Lajos. Lajos and a woman walk towards the camera in the garden at their home in Szeged. Zseni waters the plants with a hose. At the river, man teaches János how to swim. Woman dives into the water from the pier, some shots in slow-motion. Pető dives into the water. Film ends 13:36
Note(s)
Eva does not appear in this film. It could be dated to summer or late 1941 (or 1942)?
The title: “Csaladi arcképcsarnok“ [Family Portrait Hall] appears very quickly at the tail end of Film ID 4442 and perhaps could have been intended as the title of this reel.
Subjects
- BABY CARRIAGES
- STREETS
- JEWISH LIFE (PRE-WAR)
- EATING
- SUMMER
- RIVERS
- BICYCLES
- CHILDREN (JEWISH)
- FLOWERS
- WOMEN
- HUNGARY
- FAMILIES
- JEWS
- SMOKE
- SNOW
Places
- Szeged, Hungary
Genre
- Film
- Amateur.