I Didn’t Know I Was a Jew

friday, march 10, 2023

Theresa Dulgov was born in Hungary in June, 1944, just prior to the German invasion of Hungary with its intent to deport all of the Jews. The Nazi Germans had already taken Theresa’s father to “work” for them, to use them as human shields and slave labor.

Theresa’s father was a farmer and land owner; the Germans wreaked havoc on the farm and their home. What they didn’t take, they destroyed. Theresa’s mother chose to go to Budapest where her mother was. Sheer determination and tenacity, pretending, to be in labor, saved her and Theresa’s life and provided them passage to Budapest. Jews were not allowed medication and Theresa’s birth, an eventual C-Section was brutal. With her family members being taken away or forced into ghettos, Theresa’s mother took her newborn and went into hiding. With no guarantee of safety, no food for her or her baby, Theresa’s mother sought help from the nuns in a Catholic convent.

Theresa was baptized in order for the nuns to let them stay. Potato peels or beans soaked in a cloth diaper for Theresa to suck on was her sustenance. By the time the war was over Theresa had lost weight and had a huge belly from malnutrition. Post-war Hungary did not improve the lives of those who remained; bread lines, restrictions, trauma remained a part of Theresa’s early life. Being Jewish continued to mean, for Theresa’s mother, a death sentence and Theresa was not told of her Jewish roots until much later. Theresa is a retired teacher who continues to share her story with thousands of teachers and students.