Chapter 4: I Remember His Eyes

Lyrics: Ervin Birnbaum Music: Nitzan Birnbaum Here you are 14-15-year-old youngster. Miki was altogether 3 years older, and we are headed for a place that was on the other side of town. Our hiding place: the theater Tivoli.
We were in the attic for about 2 weeks. 12 people, 13 people. A woman took care of us by the name of Lebanovich. One day the woman came up to us and she brought a letter which said that we know there are Jews hiding in the building. If you will not deposit 50,000 Peni โ€” a large sum of money in those days โ€” then we will hand you over to the Gestapo.
The young people decided they will not take a chance. Shloimi, Miki and I decided we are going to leave that evening and we will go by train to Budapest. But Shloimi said โ€œno, I can't use a set of false papers, I look so Jewish, look at my Jewish nose, they will all see that I'm a Jewโ€. But, no, he didnโ€™t want to stay there. So we went to the train station together. We were just about 1 hour away from Budapest, a place called Hotvan. The police entered, they asked for his papers and they told him "you will come off with usโ€. I remember his eyes. He was full of despair because he knew thatโ€™s his end. And it was his end.