Holocaust Survivor Finds Answers in the Archives

1. October 2025

Accompanied by his sister and her husband, Dr. Peter Kenedi visited the Arolsen Archives in early September 2025 to conduct research. Now 87 years old, he was born in 1938 as Peter Klein into a liberal Jewish family. Both he and his parents survived the ghetto in Budapest.

In an interview with German TV broadcaster ZDF Dr. Peter Kenedi reflects on life under Hungary’s “Jewish laws” and his experience of Nazi persecution: He remembers the yellow star his mother and grandmother sewed onto his clothes, the curfews and air raid alarms that forced them to spend hours in the cellar, and the cramped four-room apartment they had to share with 40 people.

Watch the whole interview here

Peter Kenedi has a remarkable memory, a talent he proudly mentions and one that quickly became apparent during our conversations in Bad Arolsen. One event in particular remains deeply etched in his mind: On October 23, 1944, all Jewish women between the ages of 16 and 60 were ordered to gather at the sports field. Peter was just a boy and still at primary school, so his mother took him with her. But her best friend Erzsébet left her young daughter at home. Peter and his mother were told to return home – along with like all the other women who had small children with them. Erzsébet, however, was arrested by the Nazis. Not until 80 years later, when Peter Kenedi visited the reading room of the Arolsen Archives, did he find out where she was taken and what happened to her.

Prisoner registration form for Erzsébet in the Dachau concentration camp.

Erzsébet Kemeny was born Erzsébet Gombos on March 3, 1912, in the Hungarian town of Kisújszállás. She later lived in Budapest with her husband, Dr. József Kemeny. The couple had one daughter. On October 23, 1944, the Nazis arrested Erzsébet. A month later, they imprisoned her in Dachau concentration camp. On December 17, 1944, they deported her to Bergen-Belsen, where she probably died. Her husband József did not survive the Holocaust either. Their daughter survived the war, but tragically died in a car accident in the 1960s.

Registry office card from Dachau showing the date of Erzsébet’s incarceration (November 24, 1944) and the date of her transfer to Bergen-Belsen.

Dr. Peter Kenedi, his sister, and his brother-in-law came to Bad Arolsen to research a total of ten names. We were able to find information in the archive about six of the people they were interested in – documents that contain the names of Peter Kenedi’s friends and acquaintances and provide information about their fate. Seeing this information – which was new to him – in black and white held a very special significance for him.

Dr. Peter Kenedi now hopes to create a written record of his memories for his grandchildren, preserving a piece of history for future generations.

Are you interested in doing some research yourself?

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