All of those named above were Jewish. In fact, Ferenc Chorin was the great-grandson of a rabbi. But when, in the early twentieth century, nationalist anti-Semitic Hungarians started restricting admission of Jewish students to universities, many assimilated Hungarian Jews converted. In the generation following Manfred Weiss, the author’s family began converting to Catholicism and marrying non-Jews. In fact, many became more than just nominal Catholics: they attended Mass regularly and went to confession. Conversion, of course, did not save them from the terrors of Hitler’s regime. Nor did being born Christian necessarily protect Hungarian citizens. The author's father, a Christian Hungarian diplomat with a conscience, bravely took an anti-Nazi stand and ended up a political prisoner in Dachau.
The author provides the reader with much of the contemporary politics of Hungary which contextualizes her family’s situation. Many Hungarians did not know which external threat was worse: a takeover by the approaching Soviet Union army or an invasion by the Nazis. Many Hungarians sought to punish Hungarian Jews for either their perceived Communist sympathies or what they saw as their rapacious capitalist behavior. But most of her family members, overly optimistic about the duration of the war, and not wanting to leave their business interests and property behind, decided to wait it out.
How her extended family got out of Hungary (some to Switzerland, most to the United States via Portugal) makes for very interesting reading and raises vexing questions about privilege. Yes, they had to leave some family members behind as hostages - insurance that the Nazis got what they wanted. Yes, their factories, their mining interests, and their property were nationalized. And they lost most of their fortune. But they were lucky that their prominence and their former positions of power worked in their favor: they were able to negotiate a way out.
The author ends with some chapters about their early years in America. Predictably, the generation of the author’s grandparents felt displaced; they yearned to return to Budapest, but, barring that option, they became citizens of the world and traveled constantly. Marianne Szegedy-Maszak lived within a large circle of Hungarian refugees who carried their past lives in Hungary in their hearts.
To read an article about a branch of Manfred Weiss's family's efforts to reclaim art stolen by the Nazis, click here.
To read a current New York Times article about rising anti-Semitism in Hungary click.
People
Author’s mother’s mother's family
Manfred Weiss – married Alice de Wahl
Elsa Weiss – daughter of Manfred and Alice; married Alfred Mauthner
Maria Alice Mauthner – daughter of Elsa and Alfred
Ferenc Mauthner – son of Elsa and Alfred
Annus Mauthner – son of Elsa and Alfred
Christine Mauthner – daughter of Elsa and Alfred
Hansi Mauthner – son of Elsa and Alfred
Istvan Mauthner – son of Elsa and Alfred
Gabriella Mauthner – daughter of Elsa and Alfred
Eugene Weiss – son of Manfred and Alice; married Annie Geitler
Alice Weiss – daughter of Eugen and Annie
Annie Weiss – daughter of Eugen and Annie
Gyorgy Weiss – son of Eugen and Annie
Marianne Weiss – daughter of Manfred and Alice; married to Moric Kornfield
Maria Kornfield – daughter of Marianne and Moric
Hanna Kornfield – daughter of Marianne and Moric; married Aladar Szegedy-Maszak
Aladar Szegedy-Maszak – son of Hanna and Aladar
Andy Szegedy-Maszak – son of Hanna and Aladar
Peter Szegedy-Maszak – son of Hanna and Aladar
Marianne Szegedy-Maszak – daughter of Hanna and Aladar; married to Stephen N. Xanakis; author
Joanna LaRoche – daughter of Marianne Szegedy-Maszak
Thomas de Kornfield – son of Marianne and Moric; married Helen
Thomas and James de Kornfield – sons of Thomas and Helen
Gyorgy (George) Kornfield – son of Marianne and Moric; married Elsie Kavalski
Stevie Kornfield – son of Gyorgy and Elsie
Alfons Weiss – son of Manfred and Alice; married to Erzsebet Herczeg
Gabor Weiss – son of Alfons and Erzsebet
Marta Weiss – daughter of Alfons and Erzsebet
Maria Weiss – daughter of Alfons and Erzsebet
Janos (John) de Csepel – son of Alfons and Erzsebet
Daisy Weiss – daughter of Manfred and Alice; married to Ferenc Chorin
Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Chorin – daughter of Daisy and Ferenc
Daisy Chorin von Strasser – daughter of Daisy and Ferenc
Ferenc (Francis) Chorin – son of Daisy and Ferenc
Edith Weiss – daughter of Manfred and Alice
Author's mother's father's family
Zsigmond Kornfeld – married Betty von Frankfurter
Gyorgy Kornfeld – son of Zsigmond and Betty
Mitzi Kornfeld – daughter of Zsigmond and Betty
Moric Kornfeld – son of Zsigmond and Betty; married Marianne Weiss (see above)
Pal Kornfeld – son of Zsigmond and Betty
Ferenc Kornfeld – son of Zsigmond and Betty
Stefan Mauthner – cousin; relationship not clear
Vera, cousin of author’s grandmother, Marianne – married to Janos Zwack
Peter Zwack – son of Vera and Janos
Friends and Acquaintances
Vilmos Bohm
Miklos Buk
Leo Goldberger
Vilmos Billitz
Pal Fodor
Jolie Gabor
Magda Gabor – daughter of Jolie
Zsa Zsa Gabor – daughter of Jolie
Eva Gabor – daughter of Jolie
Jacques Kanitz – cousin of Farenc Chorin (husband of Daisy Weiss - see above)
Zoltan Friedman (changed to Merszei)
Bela Kuhn
Matyas Rakosi
Places
Budapest, Hungary
Ireg, Hungary
Oberlanzendorf Camp, Austria
Mauthausen Concentration Camp, Austria
Dachau Concentration Camp, Germany
Curia, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Estoril, Portugal
Basel, Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland
Rakovik, Slovakia
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