Vylok, Ukraine (Tisa-Ujlak, Hungary)

Vylock, Ukraine - Budapest, Hungary - Bucharest, Romania - Falticeni, Romania - Escape from Romania

Goldsteins, Inc. - Goldstein Family Tree

The following was put together by my father's first cousin Sarah with the help of her daughter Daniella. It explains their journey from Romania to Israel in the late 1940's.

THE TRIP FROM ROMANIA TO ISRAEL

In the beginning of 1947 after the war the situation in Romania was very bad and people were starving. No bread was in the shops and people had to buy flour and bake the bread at home.

The Jewish people started thinking about going to Israel . The joint organization helped the Jewish people, but only from Budapest in Hungaria. Nobody could get a passport. To leave the country, we had to smuggle the border.

The people needed money for leaving as they had to pay for somebody for a guide and to pay a bribe for crossing the border to Hungaria. So you could see in the Jewish quarter people selling the property in very cheep price.

We left Romania on June 1947 in a group of 10 people. I was 5 months old and there was another baby the same age.

One woman the cousin of Sarah was reagent.

We arrived to a place called Satu Mare (The big village) and we stayed in a small hotel. When we went to sleep Sarah saw the bad was full with lice so they had to hold me in their arms all night.

After 2 days, the guide came and took us to his place to hide us with about 20 people. We stayed in a stable for 2 days.

After all the people arrived, we left to Hungaria. The women and children were in a wagon with bulls and the men were walking.

In the night at midnight, we started crossing the border. It was very rainy and full of mud and people hardly could take the shows from the mud. My father was caring me and some young boys helped my mother to carry the bags.

We arrived to a peasant house for resting. Most of the people slept on the floor with the mud.

At 5:00 of clock in the morning the farmer came in and told the people that the police knows about the group and they are on their way to arrest all the people. Some of the people escaped and jumped threw the window and ran to the forest near by. So did the brother of my father and his wife. We stayed as my mother refused to run with a baby in the forest and some other people with small children. The police arrested of the people 5 women and 5 men with children.

One of the policemen knew the Romanian language so he talked with them. We are talked to the police, which was very far. For going there we had to cross a river but the bridge was broken so we had to cross on a narrow board over wavy water in a very heavy rain.

My mom refused to cross until she saw my father with me on the other side of the river. After that, she crossed with the bags. And she even can't remember how she made it.

We took again a wagon with bulls that crossed the water by swimming. All the people were full of mud and wet. We arrived to a village and were talked to the had of the village. He was a kind man and talked Romania , He took my mother and me to the office and let her change clothes. He brought a big can of milk with bread and apples. They saw I was a baby so they had mercy for me.

We were taken to the ____. The next day we went on with the wagon. It was very rainy. The policeman told my mother he has a baby the same age. He stopped at his house and let my mum eating and drinking milk as she had to feed me (mumbling).

On the way he stopped again and brought a blanket from a friend of his for me.

In the police station we were put in a stable, which was very stinky. The kind policeman brought an armchair from the office and gave to my mum so she could sleep with me in the office. During the day she stayed with me in the balcony.

We stayed there about 3 days and were told we have to pay some money for being relapsed. Than we were taken to the court to by judged. The guide's wife brought the mother a can of milk with bread, as she was sorry for her when she sow her with a baby in the arms.

Finally we paid for the other guides and went on to the court. They were trailed we we were condemned to be in jail for 8 days. My and mother, her reagent cousin and a girl 17 years old. The men were condemned for 16 days. The first night we were sleeping in a cell. After 8 days the people of the came to take us out and put us in a school for waiting the man and my father. The Joint brought us some food. They spoke Irish and told them not to cry, as they would help us.

After being released from the jail we went to Budapest.

There we stayed in a school, which was very dirty full of lice. They had some money so they hired a small shop and stayed there for 8 days. The owner was very kind and tried to help them and let them to wash me in their bathroom. They were paid but they were very kind to us.

You have to understand that it was after suffering of anti-Semitism in the war they were surprised to get such a treatment from non-Jewish people.

From Budapest we left for Vine but the way was very long and complicated, as we had to hide from the Russian Army. We had to cross the area were the Russian were to the area where the American's were. We drove in big trucks covered with tarpaulin. In the way we stopped, as it was impossible to go in a big group. We were hiding in a place and split in groups. Every 5 hours a bus was coming to pick a group of people. We stayed there 2 days. No water and no food.

First the woman and children were taken and then the men. But before getting to the bus we had to walk a long way.

The Hungarian policemen saw us but the pretended they see nothing. The people could hear them saying poor people and turning the back letting them crossing the board.

In Viene we were taken to Rothschild Hospital to stay there with many other Jewish people that arrived to Viene from all over in the way to Israel.

We stayed there about 10 months.