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OH 0870

About the Interviewee

IntervieweePATAKI, John (b. 1931)
ProfessionsPhysician
Notable infoHolocaust survivor

About this oral history

Interview ID #OH 0870
Date(s) of interview
DescriptionPhysician, Holocaust survivor. His experiences during the Holocaust. Childhood in Budapest; family’s practice of Judaism; anti-Semitism before Nazi invasion; anti-Jewish laws in 1930s; Hungarian declaration of war against Soviet Union and formation of Jewish labor battalions, 1941; German occupation of Hungary, 1944; deportations from countryside and creation of segregated living accommodations; role of Hungarian Nazis; evacuation from Budapest in December, 1944; forced marches; formation of Jewish ghetto; family separations; liberation by Russian troops; life in postwar Hungary; Hungarian Revolution of 1956; emigration to Canada and then to United States; influence of Holocaust and strengthening of his Jewish identity.
Interviewer(s)Keith Rosen
Physical Description51 pp.
Terms of UseOpen