And Peace Never Came

Five Years' Passage

This book has been published with the help of a grant in aid of publi­ cation from the Canada Council. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Raab, Elisabeth M., 1921­ And peace never came (Life writing; v. 3) ISBN 0­88920­281­8 (pbk.) 1. Raab, Elisabeth M., 1921­ . 2. Auschwitz (Poland : Concentration camp). 3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939­1945) ­ Hungary —Personal narratives. 4. Jews —Hungary— Biography. 5. Holocaust survivors —Canada — Biography. I. Title. II. Series. DS135.H93R22 1997 940.53'!8'092 C96­931983­5 Copyright© 1997 WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY PRESS Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L3C5 Cover design by Leslie Macredie and Sandra Woolfrey using photographs by Sandra Woolfrey Cartography by Pam Schaus Printed in Canada All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical—without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping, or reproducing in information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed in writ­ ing to the Canadian Reprography Collective, 214 King Street West, Suite 312, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3S6. Contents Acknowledgments vii Five Years' Passage ix Prologue 1 Our Window 3 Nora 5 Who in Their Right Mind... ? 15 The Narrowing Circle 29 Number 168 43 From the Ashes 59 What Remains 79 The Return 93 Alone 109 In Transit 121 Waiting 133 V ...