‘Nicht vor dem Kind!’

19 March [1944] was a Sunday, which is why we would have gone for a walk. The next day, my mother took me over to see Dr Halmi at the Hungarian-Italian Bank, where my father also worked. . . . I don’t remember exactly what they discussed, but they did talk about the danger facing us. As a result of this conversation, it wasn’t initially the feeling of humiliation that implanted itself in my conscience, but just the opposite: this conversation put an end to the humiliating feeling that my parents didn’t take me seriously or discuss the most important issues with me. Until that point I knew, and had to know, that we were facing certain dangers. If from nowhere else, then from the arguments between my mother and Aunt Jolán. And there were lots of other signs earlier on too, except I don’t remember them. It seems that all too often, I heard: ...