Barna Havas
"Barna was so happy to be in America. He always said that it was the best decision of their life to come to America. He was so happy to live in a free country. We always would say that there is only one G-d and that everyone should respect each other’s religion and live in peace. There should be no more war. "
Name at birth
Barna Groszman
Date of birth
08/12/1920
Where did you grow up?
Miskolc, Hungary
Name of father, occupation
Isaac Grossman,
Office Worker for an insurance company (passed away when Barna was 10 years old)
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Julia Macko,
Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and five sons: Thor, Laszlo, Gyula, me and Miklos
Who survived the Holocaust?
Me and all of my brothers except Tibor, both parents died before the Holocaust
Barna’s father passed away when he was 10 years old. As a teenager, he learned to be an electrician.
His brother Tibor was taken to a labor camp in Hungary and later to the Ukraine. After the war, Barna learned that Tibor, with about 30-35 Hungarian Jews, was forced into a barn by Ukrainian and Hungarian Nazis. They poured gasoline onto the barn and everyone inside was burned to death. After the war, when Barna would wake, he would tell his wife that his first thoughts in the morning were about how his older brother died. His brother Laszlo fled to Russia and was in Siberia during the war. Gyula was in hiding in Budapest during the war. Barna survived Mauthausen concentration camp. Miklos also was in hiding in Budapest.
His brother Tibor was taken to a labor camp in Hungary and later to the Ukraine. After the war, Barna learned that Tibor, with about 30-35 Hungarian Jews, was forced into a barn by Ukrainian and Hungarian Nazis. They poured gasoline onto the barn and everyone inside was burned to death. After the war, when Barna would wake, he would tell his wife that his first thoughts in the morning were about how his older brother died. His brother Laszlo fled to Russia and was in Siberia during the war. Gyula was in hiding in Budapest during the war. Barna survived Mauthausen concentration camp. Miklos also was in hiding in Budapest.
In 1942, Barna was taken to a labor camp in Budapest by Hungarian Nazis. In 1944, he was taken to Mauthausen concentration camp. At Mauthausen he worked in the forest cutting down trees. His feet were frozen; one foot almost had to be amputated. He described his experiences as being marked by suffering and starvation.
In 1953, in Hungary after the war, Barna changed his last name from Groszman to Havas because of antisemitism. His business was not doing well because he had a Jewish last name.
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Where did you go after being liberated?
His three brothers and he returned to Miskolc after the war
When did you come to the United States?
In January, 1957, they left Hungary for America. There was an upsurge in anti-Semitism in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution. He saw a Jewish man, a Mr. Grossman, who was hung on a statue of Stalin. He pants were pulled down to reveal that he had been circumcised. A sign was put around him labeling him as a Jew. The word Jew, Zsido in Hungarian was incorrectly spelled, Szido. When Barna and his uncle saw this, they decided to flee Hungary. They had family members in Detroit who helped arrange for them to come to Detroit, Alex and Berta Licht.
Occupation after the war
Electrician for Chrysler Corporation
When and where were you married?
In 1949, he met and married his wife, Ilona Fischer in Miskolc, Hungary.
Spouse
Ilona Fischer
Children
Edith (Rome)
Grandchildren
Rozi and Erika; Great-grandchildren: Four
What do you think helped you to survive?
He said it was luck that he survived
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Barna was so happy to be in America. He always said that it was the best decision of their life to come to America. He was so happy to live in a free country.
We always would say that there is only one G-d and that everyone should respect each other’s religion and live in peace. There should be no more war.
Interviewer:
Interview of Mrs. Ilona Havas, widow of Barna Havas
Interview date:
12/04/2010
Experiences
Survivor's map
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