Hidden archives

In 1944, almost 700 Jewish communities existed in the territory of today’s Hungary. Today, there are a mere 30. Hundreds of communities were destroyed. Their members were killed or expelled; community buildings and synagogues were destroyed or lost. Most of the archives documenting the history and the daily life of Jewish communities outside Budapest also perished. At a few dozen places, remaining documents can still be recovered, from cabinets, basements, from under the stairways or attics of synagogues. We have recovered them and in the below chapter, we will show, through a few examples, some of the treasures hiding in secret archives.