Translation of George Byfield wartime diary and album ("Oroszfront, 1942/43")
Extent and Medium
folder
1
1 CD-ROM,
Creator(s)
- George Byfield
Biographical History
Gyorgy Beifeld (born Gyorgy Beamter, later George Byfield, 1902-1982) was born in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 1902 to Wilhelm and Hermine Hacker Beamter. His father was killed in 1917 while serving in the army during World War I. Gyorgy attended university and was trained as a lawyer, but earned his living as a stockbroker in Budapest. He was also an accomplished artist and was fluent in Hungarian, English, French, and German. On April 1, 1942, Gyorgy was conscripted into the Hungarian Labor Service (Munkaszolgalat) and sent to a camp in Pomac, Hungary. Gyorgy began painting immediately after his induction, creating watercolors of the base camp in Hungary where the company was initially stationed. On April 20, 1942, Gyorgy's company departed by train for the Russian front in Orel. Their duties included building fortifications, transporting ammunition, constructing bridges and roads, laying mines, burying the dead, and carrying away the wounded. During this time, he made a visual record of his experiences, creating over 400 drawings and watercolors. He was wounded on August 28, 1943 at Prilutskiy. At the end of 1943, Gyorgy was sent home to Budapest. On May 12, 1944, Gyorgy was arrested and held in a camp in Velence near Budapest for six months. He was assigned prisoner number 27990. On December 25, he was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany and worked as a draughtsman. In January 1945, he was transferred to Offenburg. In April, he was sent on a death march to Dachau concentration camp. The camp was liberated by the United States 7th Army on April 29, 1945. Gyorgy returned to Budapest then immigrated to Australia in 1948. Following his move to Australia, he changed his name to George Byfield and opened a tobacconist shop with his wife. He later ran a successful interior design studio.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of George Somorjai
The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Museum by George Somorjai in 2017.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of an English translation of the wartime diary and album created by György Beifeld (later George Byfield), titled “Oroszfront 1942-1943: Munkaszolgálat Oroszországban” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2001.156). George Somorjai, the donor and translator, included his translations, annotations, and additional explanatory texts to each page of the album. Also included are essays on the historical background and context of the album, which describe, among other things, the participation of the Somorjai’s father, Dr. Lajos Somorjai, in the same labor battalion documented by Beifeld, who was acquainted with Lajos Somorjai.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Mr. George Somorjai
People
- Byfield, George, 1902-1982.
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Hungary.
- World War, 1939‐1945‐‐Personal narratives.
- Concentration camp inmates as artists--Germany--Dachau.
Genre
- Document
- Art.
- Diaries.