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Names Not Numbers
Joseph Wiesner
Joseph Wiesner
Joseph Wiesner was born on June 6, 1941, in Budapest, Hungary, to Chana and Erno Wiesner. He had two older sisters, Barbara, who was seven years his senior, and Ann, who was six years older. The family was religious, observing Shabbat, and Joseph’s father worked as a peddler before eventually opening a small store, though his job required him to travel frequently.
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In 1939, Joseph’s father was taken to a labor camp, known as "Muszolgalatos." Jews were forced to wear the yellow star, and severe food rationing and strict curfews were imposed, with Jews only allowed outside between 10 AM and 4 PM. The family moved to a house marked with a yellow star, where Joseph lived with his mother, sisters, grandmother, aunt, and two cousins, as the men were all in labor camps.
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Soon after, the women of working age were taken away, leaving Joseph’s grandmother to care for five orphaned children.
The family was later moved from the marked house to the ghetto at Kisdiofa utca 16 (Little Walnut Street). In the ghetto, they shared a single long room with many strangers. To survive, they burned pages from books for heat and boiled snow for water to wash and drink.
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Joseph’s grandmother rationed food, and he vividly remembered kicking her ankles in hunger, pleading for more. His father had been taken to Mauthausen, where he worked as a gravedigger and later as a barber, surviving by shaving German soldiers in exchange for extra bread. Joseph’s mother was sent to Dachau and then to Bergen-Belsen, where she died of disease. Because she was taken when Joseph was so young, he never truly knew her.
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Joseph’s grandmother often risked her life sneaking out of the ghetto to find food for the children. On one occasion, she was caught and beaten, and after that, she no longer attempted to search for food. Joseph’s father’s partner’s wife would sometimes bring food to the ghetto for the family. On January 18, 1945, Joseph, his grandmother, and the children were liberated from the ghetto by Russian forces.
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After the war, the family returned to their original apartment building, but their home was already occupied. They moved to a third-floor apartment, and when Joseph’s father returned, they relocated to a basement apartment. Joseph’s father, having survived the camps, weighed under 100 pounds when he came home and needed time to recover.
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Joseph’s grandmother continued to care for the children, while his older sister Barbara played a major role in raising him. The family waited in Hungary for news of Joseph’s mother, hoping she would return, but by the time they learned of her death, Hungary had turned Communist, and they could no longer leave.
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Joseph grew up under his father’s care, with his older sister Barbara taking on much of the responsibility. He attended school in Hungary, where his father continued to work as a peddler, selling toys. Joseph enjoyed playing soccer and riding his bike but faced antisemitism at school. Despite this, he was a good student and had three close Jewish friends during grammar school, all of whom escaped Hungary with him in 1956.
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Joseph recalled a story from school when he was asked to attend a class on Shabbat that involved drawing. His father spoke to the teacher, and they agreed to let Joseph read instead.
The family remained in Hungary until 1956 when the Hungarian Revolution began. Joseph, his siblings, a cousin, and two other boys literally walked out of Hungary. Their father stayed behind to keep the apartment in case they were turned back at the border.
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They took trains to Gyor and then closer to the Austrian border, paying a gypsy to lead them across. The journey was difficult due to heavy rain and thick mud, but the boys helped the girls with walking. Hundreds of people were also making their way to the border. After crossing, they washed their shoes using a hand pump.
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Joseph remembered hiding on a farm during the journey, where a cow defecated on him as he slept. His sister helped him wash off at a water pump.
Once across the border, they slept in a school gym, and the next morning, HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) assisted them in getting to Vienna. There, they slept in a gym and were fed soup from large kettles cooked in the middle of the street.
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In 1957, they arrived in New York, but soon after, took a train to Chicago, where their sponsor lived.
Joseph attended high school and college in the United States, where he later met his wife, Jackie. They had two children, both of whom made Aliyah to Israel. Eventually, Joseph and his wife followed them, and today they have many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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The End
Joseph Wiesner interview at Fasman Yeshiva High School - 2023-2024
Fasman Yeshiva High School
