Jewish Fate in Transylvania – Mrs. Jenő Nussbaum née Ilona Weinberger
(1902, Torda – 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau)
Ilona Weinberger was born in Torda (today: Turda, Romania) in 1902. Her father, Mór Weinberger, was an accountant, her mother, Franciska Rosenbaum, was a housewife.
Weinberger Ilona's birth entry in the Jewish vital registries of Torda, 30 November 1902 (Source: Romanian National Archives, Cluj County Branch, fonds 42, file 52/236)
She completed her schooling in her hometown and married here Jenő Nussbaum (b. 1899), a businessman. They had two children, László and Sándor. The family was not strictly religious, but they observed the main Jewish holidays and kept kosher dietary rules. Ilona not only managed the three-generation household, but also took part in the work of the local Zionist women's organization.
Ilona and her kids: László (left) and Sándor (right). Kolozsvár (Cluj), 1942 (Source: Centropa, interview with László Nussbaum. https://www.centropa.org/hu/photo/nussbaum-testverek-edesanyjukkal/popup)
When in 1940 a part of Transylvania was reannexed to Hungary, Torda remained under Romanian rule. The family moved to Kolozsvár, in northern Transylvania, which became part of Hungary. During the ghettoisation of Northern Transylvania, which began on 3 May 1944, the Nussbaums were taken by the Hungarian authorities to the Kolozsvár collection camp, where nearly 18,000 people of the county were rounded up. Six transports left Kolozsvár for Auschwitz-Birkenau between the end of May and the beginning of June. Ilona, her husband and children were taken on the first transport. On arrival, the SS doctor found her unfit for work and sent her to the gas chamber.
Jenő and the two boys survived for the time being. The father was soon transferred to Buchenwald. There he died under unclear circumstances on 7 February 1945.
Jenő Nussbaum's prisoner registry card from Buchenwald. His prisoner number (58629) is indicated in the upper right corner. A cross and the date in red pencil ('7.2.45') indicate the fact and date of his death (Arolsen Archives, ITS)
The concentration camp records of László, born in 1929, give his birth year as 1928, not coincidentally. Many adolescents only survived the selections by claiming to be older than they actually were, since children were executed by the Nazis.
The prisoner registry card of László Nussbaum. 1928 is indicated as his year of birth, although he was born in 1929 (Arolsen Archives, ITS)
László thus survived successive selections. His brother, Sándor, on the other hand, was sent to the gas chambers by the notorious SS physician Dr Mengele in September 1944, during a selection deliberately timed to coincide with Yom Kippur, one of the biggest Jewish holidays. László was taken to Buchenwald in November, where he was liberated in the spring of 1945. After the war he returned to his maternal aunt in Torda.
