The needs dictated the actions. The underground set up the children’s houses one after the other, but apart from a roof over their heads, the 5,000 children also needed food!
The Economics Department was responsible for this task. The department’s office was set up at 6 Mérleg St. The central warehouse was on Columbus St. The office had 20-25 workers, and was managed by Ephraim (Ephra) Agmon. His secretary was Vera Görög. The department was operated by approximately 20 buyers, who were all experienced wholesale food merchants. The unforgettable Uncle Somló was also a big help.
The Economics Department had to supply all the needs of the residential facilities, the hospitals and the safe houses – from the first loaf of bread, the whole system had to be invented. Even though the ghetto received an official allocation of supplies, needless to say it was not enough, and had to be constantly supplemented. The department had to supply food to all of Budapest’s Jews. In addition, members of the Arrow Cross units and other military units often came to “supplement” their own rations.
The following is the list of goods that were dispatched from the Economics Department warehouse from 28 November to 23 December, 1944:
28.11.44 40 cases canned tomatoes – to the main ghetto warehouse
30.11.44 14,550 kg flour – to the main ghetto warehouse
30.11.44 500 kg ersatz coffee – to the main ghetto warehouse
03.12.44 4,000 kg beans – to the main ghetto warehouse
03.12.44 2,000 kg beans – to the main ghetto warehouse
03.12.44 Various foodstuffs – to the main ghetto warehouse
07.12.44 10,000 kg dried noodles – to the main ghetto warehouse
08.12.44 20,000 kg baking pumpkin – to the main ghetto warehouse
11.12.44 9,000 kg oatmeal – to the main ghetto warehouse
13.12.44 500 kg hard cheese – to the main ghetto warehouse
15.12.44 Various items – to the main ghetto warehouse
15.12.44 200 straw mattresses – to the main ghetto warehouse
15.12.44 5,000 kg canned tomatoes – to the main ghetto warehouse
15.12.44 5,000 kg flour – to the main ghetto warehouse
15.12.44 10,000 kg flour – to the bakery on Holló St.[1]
15.12.44 2,000 high quality coal – to the seniors home on Hungary Blvd.
16.12.44 10,000 kg flour – to the main ghetto warehouse
16.12.44 14,415 kg dried peas – to the main ghetto warehouse
16.12.44 20,000 kg beans – to the main ghetto warehouse
18.12.44 Shipment of tomatoes – to the main ghetto warehouse
19.12.44 10,200 kg flour (204 sacks) – to the ghetto bakery
19.12.44 10,200 kg corn meal (120 sacks) – to the ghetto bakery
20.12.44 1,100 eggs – to the main ghetto warehouse
20.12.44 465 kg hard cheese – to the main ghetto warehouse
20.12.44 10,000 kg white beans – to the main ghetto warehouse
21.12.44 4,500 kg high quality coal – to the main ghetto warehouse
22.12.44 100,000 kg zucchini – to the main ghetto warehouse
22.12.44 Shipment of dried vegetables – to the main ghetto warehouse
22.12.44 20,000 kg peeled dried peas
23.12.44 Shipment of green peas – to the main ghetto warehouse
23.12.44 Shipment of cleaning materials – to the main ghetto warehouse
22.12.44 200 Straw mattresses – to the main ghetto warehouse
23.12.44 10,000 kg salt – to the main ghetto warehouse
That was the most “prosaic” part of the pioneering actions: the tale of the beans, the potatoes and the dried noodles. At the same time, however, as hunger reigned in Budapest and chaos and murder reigned in the city streets, the Jews inside and outside the ghettos did not starve for long. The department succeeded in supplying the quantities that sustained life. The warehouse was still stocked when the Russians entered the city.
About 20 wholesalers did the shopping for us: they were the “big sharks” of the food market in Budapest and dominated it. Due to the danger involved, the transportation and storing of the goods was done by members of the underground. Toward the end of the war, Arrow Cross members and Germans were hired to do this work.
[1] In District VII of the capital. This was the site of one of the ghetto’s bakeries.
