Horváth László szerk.: Mátrai Tanulmányok (Gyöngyös, 1999)

But Hungarian Jews, even if humiliated, lived in comparative safety. Their greatest burden, until the German occupation, was forced labour service. 44 000 Jews died on the Eastern front during the winter of 1942-43 out of the 50 000 labour service group ordered there; only 6000 returned. Humiliating decrees appeared in monthly periods, but in spite of all these measures, the Kállay government successfully defied the ever stronger German urge that, already from 17 October, 1942, demanded from the government in a memorandum the marking of Hungarian Jews with the yellow star and the immediate beginning of deportation. As the consequence of serial German defeats, the total physical annihilation of European Jews became the main goal of the Nazis. Hitler, in a personal discussion with Horthy in the April of 1943, demanded the start of deportation in the first instance, which Horthy and the Hungarian government resisted until 19 March, 1944. The German occupation brought a radical turning point in the handling of the Jewish question. The total exploitation of the country's economic wealth was now conducted in the interest of German military goals, and work power was started to be ordered to Germany. The 'final settlement of the Jewish question' was only started by direct German military presence. The decree dated 31 March, 1944 made the wearing of the 'canary-yellow six-pointed star' compulsory also for the Gyöngyös Jews. In April they were prohibited to travel by car, motorcycle, taxi, public or restricted railway or ship. In the middle of April the government initiated other influential economic measures. The registration and closing of Jewish property was ordered on 16 April. Jewish safes were closed, bank accounts and deposits went under closure too. The Minister for Trade closed down Jewish shops on 21 April, an order of serious consequences in Gyöngyös too in the conditions of wartime provisioning. On the basis of this order, the Gyöngyös poüce chief closed down 93 shops of Jewish ownership till 22 April, even the keys of which were confiscated. The order to confine Jews in ghettos appeared on 26 April and concerned 1824 persons in Gyöngyös, another 174 in the area of the Gyöngyös district (in the whole county, the total of persons concerned was 6601. Ghettos were set up at Eger, Gyöngyös, Hatvan and Tiszafüred; another one at the Bagólyuk mining area, belonging to the village Szúcs.). The Gyöngyös ghetto was situated in the so-called Újtelep part of the town, in the area between the railway station and the military barracks. Its borders were Kassai Road, Laktanya Road, Bethlen Road and Újtelepi Road, and the area was enclosed by barbed wire and guarded by the army. The largest buildings of the ghetto were the single- and two-storey miners' houses on the Bányász and Encsi streets. These mainly housed the elderly, approximately 30 families. Confinement progressed expressly slowly in Gyöngyös, and it was completed only by 13 May. By this time every Jew was moved to the ghetto area, with only a maximum weight of belongings. The small area was unspeakably overcrowded with the more than 1800 people; at least 10 lived in every room.