Prewar Jewish life in Budapest

The Veres family (excluding Kati's father Bela Krausz) survived the Holocaust by living in hiding. Peter (b. October 23, 1938), the oldest son of Kati and George Veres, was born and baptized as an Anglican in London. As a British citizen, he was protected by the Swiss Embassy. Kati and George arranged for two Swiss women to hide six year old Peter for several weeks during the invasion of Budapest in October 1944. Kati, her mother Lenke, and her younger son Paul (b. June 21, 1944) remained in hiding together in the city, while George found protection in a Swiss emergency hospital after escaping from a forced labor battalion in December 1944. George, Kati, their children, and Lenke immigrated to the United States in 1949. Peter Veres climbs the stairs and plays at an outdoor pool. His mother Kati Krausz Veres, in the dark jacket, drips water on Peter’s head. Father George fetches Peter’s toy from the pool. Armin Veres, George’s father, plays with Peter and his cousin Andrew Jakab (the son of George's sister Agi; he was 5 months older than Peter) on Armin's apartment balcony at 15 Lipot Korut in Pest. Sari (George's mother) joins them and holds Peter and Andrew. Armin, toddler Andrew, mother Agi Jakab (George's sister), and Sari walk towards the camera outdoors on a dirt road. Kati and Peter sit on a balcony. Kati shells vegetables. 01:02:22 Sari, Kati, and the two boys play in a large backyard, likely in Buda, the residential district of Budapest. In 1941, Kati’s parents bought a villa in Buda at 125 Pasareti Street; Kati and George rented the house next door the following year. Peter, in a large patterned hat and gloves, plays outside, possibly at Agi Jakab's home. George carries Peter on his shoulders. 01:03:54 The Veres family and friends visit the zoo in the city park (Varosliget). Chimps perform tricks. Peter and a young girl run around the zoo’s paths and ride in a miniature carriage. Kati is wearing the dark suit. 01:04:41 In summer, Peter and some other children play in small tubs outdoors. Peter attempts to somersault. His mother Kati holds one of the white angora rabbits they raised at her mother’s villa in Buda. Peter attempts to pump the tires of his father’s Fiat Topolino with license plate "AP 854". He plays with a wheelbarrow and a smaller child, likely a cousin or family friend. The younger child and his parents walk towards the camera in front of Kati's parents' villa at 125 Pasareti St in Buda (where they lived during the summer of 1941 and from March 1942 until June 1944). 01:07:00 Peter and two other children walk with their grandparents Sari and Armin by a church, likely the Pasareti Church of St. Anthony, during winter of 1941. Peter plays in the snow with his grandfather Bela Krausz’s cane (Bela is Kati's father) in December 1943. Peter is pulled on a sled. In summer 1940, Peter plays with a wheelbarrow on a balcony. 01:08:01 Kati (wearing the black swimming suit) and Agi Jakab (wearing the cap, sunglasses and patterned swimsuit) play with Andrew and Peter at a public pool (possibly the spa/bath at the Hotel Gellert). 01:08:30 Edith, the Veres’s live-in babysitter, and Peter pick apples in Buda. Kati’s parents, Bela and Lenke, pose with Peter. Andrew and Peter play in the yard with Kati and another woman, likely Andrew's nursemaid. 01:10:03 The boys (older in this scene taken during summer 1943) play with a terrier outside in Buda. In the city streets, Peter sits on a bench with a Hungarian advertisement. The family stands in a street before a butcher shop. 01:10:26 Peter and a younger girl, the daughter of Bela and Lenke's caretaker, play by a large snowman in winter 1943. Kati and Karoly, the caretaker, play with the children. Back on the balcony, Grandpa Armin and baby Peter read a book (August 1940) and Armin talks on a toy telephone. Peter climbs on a chair.