Tiara worn by a Jewish woman at her wedding in prewar Budapest

Ella Lichtig was born in Budapest, Hungary, on April 19, 1904. She married Lorand Schichtanz, born February 25, 1900, also in Budapest, on June 18, 1931. Their only child, Judit, was born on April 14, 1935. They were assimilated Jews and had a Christmas tree every year for their daughter. Lorand was an architectural draftsman and Ella was a piano teacher and also taught music at a convent. From 1938-1941, a series of racial laws modeled on the Nuremburg Laws in Nazi Germany were enacted to restrict the rights that Jews had been granted in Hungary since 1867. In 1941, Ella told the Mother Superior of the convent where she worked that she was Jewish. The nun suggested that Ella convert to Catholicism; she did so and had Judit baptized as well. In March 1944, Hungary was occupied by Germany. Jewish owned property was confiscated and thousands of Jews were imprisoned or deported to concentration camps. In May, Lorand received an SAS (Storm Soldat) card in the mail drafting him into a forced labor battalion. In November, he was taken to Zurndorf, Austria, to the Schützen am Gebirge forced labor camp. In June, Elle and Judit moved into her parent’s apartment in the Jewish section of the city. The building was marked with a yellow Star of David and they had to wear Star of David badges visible on their clothing at all times. On October 9, Ella was told to report for forced labor. She managed to avoid registration by pretending that a young child belonging to a Roma woman in line was hers. She told the SS officer that she could not be taken for forced labor because she had a child under ten. She was wearing her Star of David badge identifying her as a Jew, and there was no such rule, but the guard let her leave. Upon her return home, she rushed past her surprised parents to grab the baby clothes that she had promised the woman, who was waiting downstairs, in return for her silence. Her parents were afraid that the concierge would report them because Ella had returned. Ella decided that she and Judit must go into hiding. She acquired false identity papers with the names Jozsef Ballo and Anna Szabo. The Mother Superior found a home where Ella could work as a maid and Judit as a babysitter. This only lasted one month as that family decided to flee Hungary to escape the approaching Soviet Army. Another position was found, but this family suspected that Ella and Judit were Jewish because they knew one of the persons whose name was on the false documents. There was an argument, but when Ella produced photographs of Judit’s first communion, the family let them stay. At the end of December 1944, Ella, Judit, and the family for which they worked moved into a bunker because of the intensive Allied bombing raids on Budapest. They remained below ground until the city was liberated by the Soviet Army on February 13, 1945. In July 1945, two young men came to see Ella with a message from Lorand. The labor camp in Austria where he was imprisoned had been evacuated around April 1945. The inmates were marched to Mauthausen, then Gunskirchen, where they were liberated on May 4 by the US Third Army, 71st Division. Lorand had watched his brother die of starvation during the march to Gunskirchen, and wanted only to be alone. He was not returning to his family or to Hungary. Judit left Hungary in 1956 to continue studying music in Vienna and in 1960, she immigrated to the United States. Ella died in Budapest in 2005, age 99. Judit passed away in New York City on April 18, 2011, age 76.

Judit Schichtanz (1935-2011) was born in Budapest, Hungary, to Lorand (b. 1900), and Ella Lichtig (1904-2005). Lorand, an architectural draftsman, and Ella, a piano teacher, married on June 18, 1931. They were assimilated Jews and had a Christmas tree every year for Judit. Ella also taught music at a convent. In 1941, in response to the anti-Semitic racial laws enacted in Hungary, she told the Mother Superior that she was Jewish. The nun suggested that Ella convert to Catholicism; she did and had Judit confirmed as well. In March 1944, the country was occupied by Germany. Thousands of Jews were imprisoned or deported to concentration camps. In May, Judit’s father received an SAS (Storm Soldat) card in the mail drafting him into a forced labor battalion, and in November he was the Schützen am Gebirge forced labor camp in Austria. In June, Judit and her mother moved into her grandparent’s apartment in the Jewish section of the city. On October 9, Ella was told to report for forced labor. She managed to avoid registration but decided that she and Judit must go into hiding. She acquired false identity cards with the names Anna Szabo and Jozsef Ballo. The Mother Superior found a home where Ella could work as a maid and Judit as a babysitter, but it only lasted one month as that family decided to flee Hungary to escape the approaching Soviet Army. Another position was found, but this family suspected that Ella and Judit were Jewish because they knew one of the persons whose name was on the false documents. There was an argument, but when Ella produced photographs of Judit’s first communion, the family let them stay. Around Christmas in December 1944, Judit, her mother, and the family for which they worked moved to an underground bunker to escape the frequent Allied bombing raids. Judit and her mother remained below ground until the city was liberated by the Soviet Army on February 13, 1945. In July 1945, Judit and her mother were visited by two young men who had a message from Judit’s father. Around April 1945, the labor camp in Austria had been evacuated and the inmates marched to Mauthausen, then Gunskirchen, where they were liberated on May 4 by the US Third Army, 71st Division. Lorand had watched his brother die of starvation during the march to Gunskirchen, and wanted only to be alone. He was not returning to his family in Budapest. In 1956, Judit left Hungary to continue studying music at the Academy in Vienna. After graduating in 1960, she immigrated to the United States with the help of aunts and uncles who lived there.

The tiara was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Judit Schichtanz, the daughter of Ella Schichtanz.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Judit Schichtanz