Peter Veres family papers
Extent and Medium
boxes
oversize boxes
oversize folders
6
4
8
Creator(s)
- Peter J. Veres
Biographical History
Peter Jaos Veres was born on October 23, 1938, in London. His father George, a businessman, was born on September 7, 1906, and his mother, Kati, was born on April 16, 1911, both in Budapest, Hungary. On March 13, 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria and news of Jewish persecution filtered into Hungary. Kati was pregnant at the time. George decided the baby would be born in England so he would have a British passport and not be identified as a Hungarian Jew. On August 24, Kati left for London; George arrived in October. After the child, Peter, was born, he was baptized as an Anglican and the family returned to Budapest on November 11. On March 19, 1944, German forces occupied Hungary and anti-Jewish decrees were put in place; Jews had to wear Star of David armbands, move into designated buildings, and deportations to concentration camps began. Since 1939, George had been in and out of forced labor camps and after the German invasion he was interred at a camp in Budapest. On May 3, 1944, apartments and houses belonging to Jews were registered and labeled with a yellow star. Peter, his mother, and grandmother Lenke moved in with his paternal grandparents on May 11. During bombing raids, the family would hide in the basement. His brother, Paul, was born on June 21, 1944, in Budapest. By June 23, all Jews had to move into yellow star buildings, one family per room. The Veres apartment was not in a yellow star building, and they had to move in with a family friend. Peter, being under six years old, was not required to wear a yellow star. Every morning he walked to the corner to buy milk for his baby brother, and his mother watched him from their apartment balcony to make sure he was safe. Peter, as a British national, was under the protection of the Swiss consulate. George arranged for Peter to live with two Swiss Catholic women, Elizabeth Baeriswyl and her niece, Mimi. Peter left his mother on October 16, 1944, and stayed with them for three months. During that time he posed as a relative, went to church, and attended Sunday school. His father would periodically escape from his labor camp and arrange to see Peter in a public place. They would not speak, just have visual contact. On November 3, 1944, Kati, Lenke, and Peter went into hiding; George escaped from the camp on December 12, 1944, and hid in a Swiss emergency hospital. On January 14, 1945, Pest was liberated by the Soviet army and Peter was reunited with his family. After liberation, the Veres family and Lenke decided to leave Hungary. In January 1949, they left Budapest for Milan, Italy. They sailed on the M/S Sobieski from Genoa, Italy, for the United States. Lenke stayed in Italy and sailed on a later date. On ship, Peter played shuffleboard and watched American movies. They arrived in New York City on March 29, 1949. They spent the night on Ellis Island and officially entered the U.S. on March 30. Due to the Displaced Persons Act passed on June 25, 1948, the family was able to obtain Permanent Residency Cards and remain in the U.S. Peter, as a British national, was considered an alien and did not fall under the protection of the Act. He had to go to Canada and reenter the U.S. under a different visa. On June 8, 1959, he became a U.S. citizen. He moved to California, married, and had 2 children. George died on February 1, 1967, at age 67, Lenke on December 2, 1968, at 81, and Kati on February 20, 1994, at 82, all in Manhattan.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Peter Veres
Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Peter Veres donated his collection of family papers, audio recordings, photographs, film, and memorabilia to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in May 2010. An additional accretion was received in 2013.
Scope and Content
The Peter Veres family papers consist of family records, photographs, genealogical materials, immigration documents, and reparations records documenting the history of a Jewish family in Budapest, their experiences with labor camps, hiding, and deportations during World War II and the Holocaust, and their immigration to New York in 1949. The Kato Krausz Veres materials include birth and marriage certificates, identification papers, an account book, education records, health records, an obituary, and other material documenting Kati’s childhood in Budapest, experiences in Hungary during the 1930s and 1940s, religious conversion, immigration to the United States, and death in 1994. This series also includes letters Kati wrote to her parents in October 1938 while she was in London for Peter’s birth, an identification document for Kati’s son, Peter Veres, and an obituary for her sister in law, Agnes Hardy. The George Veres materials include birth certificates, childhood letters, identification papers, education records, labor camp records, health records, an obituary, and other material documenting George’s childhood in Budapest, his operation of a Goodyear store in Budapest, experiences in forced labor during the war, religious conversion, immigration to the United States, and death in 1974. The Béla Krausz materials include birth and marriage records, school records, military papers, life insurance records, and correspondence documenting Béla’s birth in Eger, legal education and practice, marriage to Lenke Deutsch, military service, and internment before his deportation and death. The Lenke Deutsch Krausz materials include identification papers, an account book, date books, journals, correspondence, education records, Budapest property records, emigration records, a death certificate, and obituaries documenting Lenke’s childhood in Budapest, experiences in Hungary during the 1930s and 1940s, immigration to the United States, and death in 1968. This series also includes obituaries and other materials about her parents Vilmos and Irene Deutsch, brother Laszlo Danos, and relative Emanuel Müller. The Gabor Krausz Carelli materials include birth certificates, identification papers, education and financial records, address and date books, immigration records, news clippings, correspondence, and other material documenting Gabor’s childhood in Budapest, immigration to the United States in 1939, and his family’s efforts to contact him during the war. This series also includes awards, opera posters, programs, publicity records, schedules, and USO correspondence documenting Gabor’s singing career in Italy, the United States, and Hungary. The Ármin and Sári Veres materials include birth certificates, identification papers, love letters, marriage records, death announcements, photographs of Sári’s funeral and the Veres’ tombstones, and other material documenting the Veres’ lives in Hungary. This series also includes records documenting Veres and Hajossy relatives including Albert and Fani Hajossy, Fanni Hegedus Hercz, Salamon Löwy, Samuel and Marton Roth, and Jacob, Markus, and Moricz Schiff, as well as research into Schiff and Hajossy family history. Photographic materials include seven family photo albums, one of which was dismantled at some point, documenting the Vilmos Deutsch and Irene Müller family, Lajos Krausz and Linka Klein family, Ármin Veres and Sári Hajossy family, Béla Krausz and Lenke Deutsch family, and George Veres and Kati Krausz family. The albums primarily include photographs of family members, but some also include additional photographs and documents. For example, the Vilmos Deutsch and Irene Müller family album includes the couple’s 1917 passports, 1986 photographs of a silver menorah, and photographs of the buildings in Budapest that used to be the Deutsch family apartment, Kati’s school, and Goodyear store operated by George Veres. The Lajos Krausz and Linka Klein family album includes family trees and childhood letters from the Krausz children to their parents. The Béla Krausz and Lenke Deutsch family album includes marriage documents and bookplates, and the “Kató and Gabi growing up” album includes documents and photographs related to Beniamino Gigli. Genealogical materials include family trees, family history, and unidentified 19th century Hebrew materials documenting the Deutsch/Müller family, the Krausz family, the Roth/Veres family, and the Schiff/Hajossy family. Immigration documents include letters Peter Veres’ family sent to Sári Veres from Italy after leaving Hungary and preparing to immigrate to the United States and records documenting the family’s immigration and naturalization process in America. These files also include records documenting the family’s registration as refugees in Italy and records documenting alternative plans to emigrate to Canada or Costa Rica. Reparations records include correspondence, forms, affidavits, and payment notifications documenting the Veres family’s efforts to receive reparations for Béla Krausz’s death, George Veres’ forced labor, and the theft of valuables.
System of Arrangement
The Peter Veres family papers are arranged as ten series: I. Kato Krausz Veres materials, 1911-1994, II. George Veres materials, approximately 1914-1977, III. Béla Krausz materials, 1897-1944, IV. Lenke Deutsch Krausz materials, 1844-2013, V. Gabor Krausz Carelli materials, 1918-1997, VI. Ármin and Sári Veres materials, 1848-1964, VII. Photographic materials, 1886-1988 (bulk 1900-1948), VIII. Genealogy, approximately 1850-2010 (bulk 2010), IX. Immigration, 1941-1958, X. Reparations, 1946-1981
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Peter J. Veres
People
- Peter J. Veres
Subjects
- Budapest (Hungary)
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Reparations.
- Forced labor--Hungary.
- Hidden children (Holocaust)
- Holocaust survivors--New York (State)--New York.
- Jews--Hungary--Budapest.
- United States--Emigration and immigration--20th century.
- Holocaust victims--Hungary--Budapest.
- Jewish singers.
Genre
- Compact discs.
- Document
- Photographs.