In the spring and early summer of 1944, the Jews of the Hungarian countryside (vidék, i.e. all those in Hungary outside the capital city of Budapest) were ghettoized and deported at a breakneck speed. All preparations were conducted in a mere fifty-six days and another fifty-six days proved sufficient for the deportation of approximately 437 000 Jewish individuals from Hungary, the very large majority of whom were sent directly to Auschwitz-Birkenau. This means that the ghettos of Hungary existed for a very short time that can be counted in days and weeks rather than months and years. They were in place for much shorter than most ghettos in other parts of Europe. There is a collection related to these countryside ghettos at the Hungarian Jewish Archive that includes documents from a host other localities across Hungary. The largest dossier in the collection is the one from Debrecen and contains information on the city of Debrecen as well as on Gendarmerie District VI. There are documents on the plundering and ghettoization of the Jews of Gendarmerie District VI, originals as well as copied ones, miscellaneous news clippings, a list of names of Jewish and Christian individuals who were hiding Jewish valuables, a photocopy of the notice issued by the Jewish Council of Debrecen calling for the submission of apartment keys as well as other documentary items.