On the train, Tibor thought about what a tremendous amount of joy Judy had brought into his life. An inquisitive and sensitive child, Judy had lovely brown eyes and a heartwarming smile. Tibor and Eva learned early in their marriage that if there was a misunderstanding between them, they could never argue in front of Judy. The dear, sweet child would burst into tears at the slightest argument. Tibor thought of his daughter as a gentle soul who needed tender nurturing.
When they were first married, Eva woke night after night to his nightmares. He was yelling at ghosts, screaming, waking up drenched in sweat. Once he was awake, he refused to talk about the images haunting him. Tibor knew he had lingering nightmares from the war, but didn't realize until he was married how frequently they still dominated his dreams. After Judy was born, they agreed to sleep in separate bedrooms. Eventually, they drifted apart. Tibor became completely absorbed with his work as an engineer. Even after he came home from his day job, he retired to the basement after dinner, where he set up a workshop for carpentry projects. Lately, he had begun to work in creating decorative lamps and plant holders out of wrought iron. It calmed him to create objects with his hands. He concentrated on staying busy and focused.
The couple lived disparate lives under one roof, and maintained the guise of marriage for the sake of their much-loved daughter.
The trip passed relatively quickly, thanks to the constant activity of the high-school band. It was entertaining to listen to them teasing each other, telling jokes, and sharing lunches. Tibor concentrated on not closing his eyes; that's when all the loving images of Hedy came drifting back to his mind. How things could have been, should have been ... indeed.
When the train arrived in Montreal, he managed to find rue Wilderton, number 6280, easily enough. It was strange to observe the different building styles in this city - the stairways to the upstairs apartments were outside the two-storey structures. Tibor had never seen anything like that anywhere else in the world.
He stood outside the building where she lived for a while just watching, observing the sounds and sights of the street. It was summertime and the tree-lined thoroughfare was crowded with a group of children playing ball. One line of a poem by Petofi ran through his head - it was one that they had often recited to each other, especially the last line: "and I clung to her lips silently, like fruit on a tree."
The poem was about a young man on a train, pondering about what his first words would be to his mother, who he hadn't seen for years. At the end of the poem, all the rehearsed opening sentences went out the window as he flew to her arms.
Finally, Tibor gathered his courage, walked up to the front door, and knocked gently.
After a few seconds, Hedy opened the door.
They stood silently watching each other for a few seconds. Tibor looked into her eyes - they were as captivating as ever. Neither said a word. There in the doorway, he put out his arms and they melted into each other's embrace.
"Oh, Tibor," he heard her say over and over.
"My lovely Hedy," he whispered. They stood there, locked in each others arms for what must have seemed to the nosy neighbours a very long time.
Hedy was the first to pull back after the long embrace. She turned away to wipe the tears from her face.
"Let me make you some tea," she said. "You must be parched from the long train ride."
Tibor nodded, still choked up with emotion. With that she went into the kitchen.
Tibor collected himself, and wiped his tears with a handkerchief while she put the kettle on to boil. He looked around - the apartment was small and sparsely furnished, with lots of bookcases filled with books. One chaise-longue chair stood in the corner of the room, with a beige-coloured two-seater couch and Swedish style teak coffee table in the centre. He noticed a framed picture of Hedy and what must have been her little girl as a toddler.
Hedy came back with a pot of tea, two cups and saucers, and a plate of almond cookies. She began to set the dishes out on the coffee table in front of them. Noticing that Tibor had been looking at the picture she said, "Her name is Chaviva, now twenty years old. A real blessing in my life."
"I know how wonderful daughters are. I have one as well," Tibor replied. "Her name is Judy - she's ten."
Hedy began to pour the tea. They sat quietly and talked about the joys of children.
Tibor realized there was little they had to explain to each other despite the years of separation. They didn't owe each other explanations or apologies. Life simply happened. They were separated by disastrous historical events and had to continue on with their lives. Tibor would probably never find out what made her marry someone else following the end of the war, but what would it matter today if she did divulge what went through her head and heart in those days, months, and years following the war? How could he now even begin to comprehend what she had been through?
But there were some things Tibor wanted to tell her; things he had to say.
"Hedy, I wanted to tell you about ...," he began, then stopped. A key turned in the door, the door opened, and a confident young woman walked in.
"Hello, my darling," Hedy said.
The young woman smiled and gave her mother a kiss and a hug, then looked at Tibor.
"Do you know who this is, love?" Hedy asked.
The young girl looked at her mother's smile, then at the man sitting on their couch, and replied, "This must be Tibor!"
The two of them smiled at each other, then at Tibor. She leaned over, shook his hand, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Hello, my name is Chaviva."
He was amazed. Chaviva had her mother's big round eyes and thick hair.
"But how did she know? She's never seen me," he queried.
"You know, a mother and daughter share many wonderful secrets," Hedy said, smiling.
They exchanged stories about their new lives in Canada, how interesting it was that they had both ended up here. They reminisced about growing up in Nagyszollos and laughed about the stories of the humorous characters of the town. Tibor asked about Suti and Aliz, Hedy inquired about Bela and Picke. At suppertime, they walked down the street to an Italian pizzeria. The place had a homey, neighbourhood atmosphere to it with checkered tablecloths and candles on each table. Frank Sinatra's "September of My Years" was playing on the record player. Tibor, Hedy, and Chaviva ordered pasta. Tibor sat across from Hedy and kept glancing at her, amazed at how she hadn't changed a bit. They shared a half litre of wine.
Tibor and Hedy ordered espresso, all of them had Italian ice cream - spumoni for dessert. Chaviva regaled them with stories of her school friends. It was obvious that she had inherited her mother's intelligence and quick wit. When they returned, they sat on the wrought-iron steps watching the children play in the streets. The evening was still pleasant, and dusk was long in its shadows. Hedy's face had a special glow in this light. They sat, side by side, arms intertwined. Chaviva was chatting with two friends who had come by to visit.
"You know, Hedy," Tibor whispered, "there is the saying: ‘all is not lost that is delayed.'"
Hedy looked at him with a dreamy smile.
"It's been such a wonderful day."
Tibor stared at her eyes and continued with a very steady voice. "It would just take one word from you my dearest Hedy ... I would be here in a second."
A single tear inadvertently rolled down her cheek.
Tibor grabbed his handkerchief and tenderly wiped the tear.
He took her hand, kissed it, and held it for a very long time.
She never answered.
epilogue
TIBOR SCHROEDER PASSED AWAY in January 1982 in Toronto at the age of sixty-three from cancer. He was married twice in Canada. His only daughter, Judy, converted and married a Jewish man, Martin Chasson, in 1997.
Hedy Weisz lives in New York City. After her husband, Emil Hosek, passed away in 1966, she decided that she didn't want to marry again. Friends persisted, trying to arrange dates for her. It was only after friends informed her that
they had set up a special date with a man called Tibor that she agreed to meet the man. She married Tibor Pivko in 1977.
Hedy's daughter is Chaviva Hosek, who at the time of the publication of this book is the president of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. During the prime ministership of Jean Chretien, she headed the Office of Research for the Canadian government. Chaviva married a Christian man - Alan Pearson - in 1979.
Bela Aykler built a real estate firm in Toronto, specializing in residential development and property management. He still works with his two sons and grandsons in running the business. In 1988 he married his second wife, Susan. Together, in 1994, they initiated the Students Without Boundaries program, which brings together 135 students who live in minority status in east-central Europe with students from Canada. In 2008, the program celebrated its fifteenth year - over two thousand students from five different countries, including Canada, have taken part.
Yitzhak Livnat, together with his brother, Bandi, built a successful transportation, shipping, and logistics business. His sons have branched out to run their own enterprises. Today, he spends his time travelling the world with his wife, Ilana, scouring archives, gathering the pieces of his family's lost past.
Yitzhak Livnat first came to the closing ceremony of the Students Without Boundaries program in 1997 after hearing of the program from his sister, Hedy. Since that time he has become an ardent supporter of the program and sponsors many of the students from Karpatalja. Each year, all of the participants are told what he went through when he was fourteen. He is a member of the board of directors of the Rakoczi Foundation of Canada, which is the sponsoring organization of Students Without Boundaries.
Bela Aykler and Yitzhak Livnat have both been granted the Officer's Cross of Merit from the Republic of Hungary for their outstanding business accomplishments. Neither has been acknowledged for their support of the education of Hungarian youth worldwide.
In addition to the citizenship from their adopted countries, Aykler and Livnat have requested the return of their Hungarian citizenship. Both applications have been denied.
suggested further reading
Applebaum, Anne. Gulag: A History. New York: Anchor Books, 2004.
Bacque, James. Crimes and Mercies. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2007.
____. Other Losses. Toronto: Fenn Publishing Company, 1999.
Bakó, Ágnes, and Éva Szabó and Verõ Gábor, eds. Emlékezések. Budapest: Magyar Auschwitz Alapitvany-Holocaust Dokumentácios Központ, 1995.
Braham, Randolph L. The Politics of Genocide. Vols. 1 and 2. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981.
Carp, Matatias. Holocaust in Rumania 1940-1944. Budapest: Primor Publishing, 1994.
Csernicskó, István, and Ildikó Orosz. The Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Budapest: Tinta Publishers, 1999.
Dupka, György. Kárpátaljai Magyar Gulag Lexikon. Budapest: Intermix Kiadó Ungvar, 1999.
____. Keressétek fel a sirom, Szolyvai Emlékkönyv 1944-1959. Budapest: Intermix Kiado, 2004.
Fedinec, Csilla. A kárpátaljai magyarság törteneti kronologiája 1918-1944. Budapest: Nemzeti Kulturális Örökseg Minisztériuma, 2002.
____. Iratok a kárpátaljai magyarság történetéhez 1918-1944. Budapest: Fórum Kisebbségkutató Intézet, 2004.
Friedrich, Otto. The Kingdom of Auschwitz. New York: HarperCollins, 1982.
Gilbert, Martin. The Jews in the Twentieth Century. London: Endeavour Group, 2001.
Gutman, Israel, and Bella Gutterman, eds. Az Auschwitz Album: Egy transzport története. Tel Aviv, Israel: Yad Vashem and Auschwitz-Birkenau Állami Múzeum, n.d.
Hokky, Charles J. Senator. Ruthenia: Spearhead Toward the West. Gainesville, FL: Danubian Research and Information Center, 1966.
Jan Van Pelt, Robert, and Deborah Dwork. Auschwitz. London: W.W. Norton, 1996.
Jelinek, Yeshayahu A. The Carpathian Diaspora. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
Kertész, Imre. Fateless. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1992.
Kontler, László. A History of Hungary. Budapest: Atlantisz Könyvkiadó, 2002.
Lendvai, Paul. The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.
MacMillan, Margaret. Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World. New York: Random House, 2003.
Magocsi, Paul Robert. Historical Atlas of Central Europe. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993.
____. The People from Nowhere. V. Padiak Publishers, 2006.
Marrus, Michael R. The Holocaust in History. Toronto: Key Porter, 2000.
Megged, Aharon. The Story of the Selvino Children: Journey to the Promised Land. London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2002.
Muller, Filip. Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers. Chicago: Ivan R Dee in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1979.
Nemeskürty, István. Requiem egy hadseregert. Budapest: Magvetõ Kiadó, 1972.
Perenyi, Eleanor. More Was Lost. Boston: Little, Brown, 1946.
Porter, Anna. Kasztner's Train: The True Story of Rezso Kasztner, Unknown Hero of the Holocaust. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2007.
Szakály, Sándor. Hadsereg, Politika, Társadalom. Budapest: Lánchid Kiadó, 1991.
Ungváry, Krisztián. Budapest Ostroma. Budapest: Corvina Kiado Kft., 1998.
SUSAN M. PAPP is a television producer, director, and writer, who, after working for the CBC for fifteen years, founded Postmodern Productions, her own television production company. While at the CBC, she was awarded the prestigious Michener Award for her outstanding investigative work. She has written and published widely on Hungarian immigration to and settlement in North America. She lives in Toronto.
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