‘Uncle Rudi and ‘Uncle Somló’
With the worsening condition of Budapest’s Jews, who were crammed into the ghetto, the Feed the Ghetto operation was established. Its activities included purchasing equipment, beds, mattresses, clothing and medicines needed for the children’s houses, and later also for the ghetto in general. The director of the medical branch of Department A of the International Red Cross (A Nemzetközi Vöröskereszt A Osztálya), Dr. Osterweil Koterba began stockpiling medicines for emergencies. The medicines were purchased in large quantities on the black market.
The economic department was managed by Hansi Brand, Zoltán Weiner and Efra Agmon. Rudolph Weis, who was nicknamed Uncle Rudi (Rudi bácsi) was in charge of transporting the food. The Budapest Rescue Committee (Budapesti Mentőbizottság) had vast sums of money at its disposal, from internal Jewish community sources and from funds that came, until the end of August, via couriers from Istanbul and Geneva.
Obtaining food was a Herculean task. The black market flourished in Budapest, and the underground operatives began making illegal deals to purchase food. To this end they recruited professionals from among Budapest’s Jewish businessmen – some of the largest wholesalers in the country, who knew how to get almost anything, and all under the protection of the Red Cross. These food buyers were headed by Sándor Somló, nicknamed Uncle Somló (Somló bácsi).
Uncle Somló’s warehouses were filled with food, mainly of the type that can be stored for a long time: legumes, flour, noodles, canned goods, hard cheeses, etc. Uncle Rudi managed the recording of the transports. Quite often the food was stolen by the Arrow Cross (nyilasok). In many cases the food truck drivers had to bribe the Arrow Cross men with some of the foodstuffs, in order to save the rest. At the end of December, when the Russian army was nearing the outskirts of Budapest, Arrow Cross men and even S.S. men were willing to help guard the food shipments, in the hope that by doing so they could save their own skins.
A few of Uncle Rudi’s lists were preserved, and indicate the magnitude of the food supply and its regulation:
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. (Hungária körút)
http://www.gal-ed.co.il/zfat-shoa/Info/hi_show.aspx?id=19516
[1] In District VII of the capital. This was the site of one of the ghetto’s bakeries.
