I was born in the small town Satu Mare in northern Transylvania, Romania. It was close to the Hungarian border, near the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. It was a quiet town of approximately fifty thousand people of mixed ethnic backgrounds, mainly Hungarians and Romanians. Our family was Hungarian and spoke Hungarian at home, but most of the population spoke some Romanian. In 1940, Hitler ordered the Romanians to give the richest part of Transylvania back to Hungary. Overnight we all became Hungarians. From that point on, conditions for the Jewish population became progressively worse. Laws no longer protected us. Jews were beaten and abused on the streets, in our homes and even in our synagogues. Workplaces were limited to us. Our businesses were taken over by non-Jews. Our bank accounts were confiscated without recourse. Our young men were taken away to do forced labour in the Hungarian army. Only the women, children, old people and the ill remained. We became open prey to everyone. We were completely defenceless.