Page 9 - Issue 24

movement. Only then did they begin an operation to
rescue other Jews. After much debate, they decided to
initiate an unprecedented rescue operation, which they
called Operation Trip. It consisted of getting 15,000
Jews out of Hungary and compiling forged certificates
for an additional 120,000 Hungary Jews ,” Alpen said.

"Each movement operated separately, whether it was in
recruiting, forging certificates, helping people, or hiding
in the field,” he continued. “The Hungarian Jewish
underground consisted of several thousand people,
rotating constantly. Some of them immigrated to Israel,
some of them fled. Of these, about 400 were members
of the youth movements, who were the hardcore of the
resistance.”

How did they manage?

"This was a very complex logistical operation. I doubt
the Mossad could organize it today. The escape took
place via a train that left Budapest for the mountains of
the border cities with Romania, and from there, with
the help of border smugglers, they reached Romania.
Some Jews managed to keep going and got to Israel,
even during the war."

Crossing the border was complex and dangerous, for
the fugitives and smugglers alike. The escape groups
numbered between eight and ten people and they were
assembled in Budapest. Each fugitive received individual
preparation.