Page 10 - Issue 24

"They were given fake certificates and a cover story was
prepared and rehearsed so they would know how to act
in front of the inspectors,” Alpen said.

"When someone was caught, they were sent to
one place: Auschwitz"

The leaders of the underground youth movements took
care of preparing the fugitives. They provided
appropriate clothing, certificates, and money on the
train, at the border and in Romania. But the highlight of
the operation was the intensive instruction for escapees
on their new identities.

Why did the underground choose smuggling, rather
than armed resistance, like they did in Warsaw?

"Members of the youth movements in Hungary came
from the same values and Zionist origins as their
comrades in Poland and Lithuania. In Warsaw, they
decided that the Jews must fight. The Hungarian's
decision to save lives came out of lengthy discussions.
They could have all escaped. Their choice to stay was
conscious. They wanted as many Jews as possible to
survive. They fought for the sanctification of life.”

The conditions and options in Poland and in Hungary
were very different. In Hungary the Jews were
forewarned and escape was a possibility.

"There was a huge debate between the refugees from
Poland who wanted to seize weapons, and the refugees