Történelmünk [3]

Escapees testify - Deposition #2

"I lived in Péterrév when the Hungarians gave up and the guerillas moved into our town. This happened on the 8th or 10th of October in 1944. I remember that when the guerrillas moved in, they gathered up right away those who served under the Hungarian regime, the policemen, our parson..."

Excerpts from the book “Berkes and the Monk” (pp. 156-165) by Ferenc Fiala, Published as “Berkes és a szerzetes” in Munich (München), Germany, 1979

Recorded on October 25, 1952 in the Klagenfurt, Austria office of the MHBK

Present are the undersigned.

István Nagy, who was born on July 29, 1929 in Kevevára, escaped from Yugoslavia on October 5, 1952, currently lives in the Quarantine Lager of Klagenfurt, describes the following:

I lived in Péterrév when the Hungarians gave up and the guerillas moved into our town. This happened on the 8th or 10th of October in 1944. I remember that when the guerrillas moved in, they gathered up right away those who served under the Hungarian regime, the policemen, our parson representative, Ferenc Takács, the past military notary, István Telecki, Janos Fütös and his wife, Kalman Kristof police chief-officer, Dezsõ Kelemen, teacher and youth-movement instructor, a butcher named Henyel and his wife, who was about 7-8 months pregnant, a farmer, named Buzogány, another called Tuske was executed right on the street, a man named Becsei with his son were arrested. I don’t remember more names, but I know that about 400-500 Hungarians were taken away.

These people were gathered in the basement of the former ranger-building, from there they disappeared and to this day nobody knows anything of them. I was a young man and a reliable Hungarian, so in July-August we were taken to dig entrenchments on the bank of the Tisza by the forest. Later, when Tito’s guerrillas gathered up the above-mentioned Hungarians, they took them here during the night, shot them and buried them in these trenches. Later, it could have been in the month of November, the Tisza fishermen found a corpse on the bank of the Tisza, in which they definitely recognized Dezsõ Kelemen teacher and youth movement instructor. They recognized him by his clothes and face. I heard from András Deli, who lives by the Tisza, that he saw the guerrillas leading Kalman Kristof to the bank of the river and wanting to drown him. He was on his knees and begged them not to execute him by drowning. One of the guerrillas “took mercy”, made him stand on the end of a boat, then shot him in the head. He fell in the Tisza River. I was also present when the Roman Catholic priest was executed. Thus I, too, saw what my friend, Lajos Molnar said in his deposition, and confirm it.

I am willing to swear to the truth of what I presented here in this deposition.

The deposition represents correctly what I said.

Deposition was accepted and signed after being read aloud. Dated as above.

Signature

Signature

Deposition notary

Note: Translation to English by Laszlo G. Fulop.