Abstract
In this article, I investigate early restitution efforts in Hungary based on two case studies: Ócsa and Újpest. Both towns are located in Pest County; however, Ócsa had a small Jewish population, while in Újpest, more than 10,000 Jews had lived before the Holocaust and at least 2000 survived. Most Hungarian survivors faced a similar situation at the end of the war: they had lost their relatives, their health was damaged, and upon their return, they realised that non-Jews had looted or claimed their property or even their apartments. In the post-war economic disaster, both Jews and non-Jews needed basic necessities such as furniture, clothes, bed linen, and so on—the former to restart their lives. Based on the two cases, I analyse whether early restitution for Holocaust survivors took a different course in a small town than in a big city, how the local leadership organised the restitution process, whether the survivors were involved in it, and what the outcomes were.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.