Dr. Károly Vogel (Hódi)

Graduated from Semmelweis University in 1918 (certificate number: 050/1917-18).

Marriage to Erzsébet Seffer: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYN3-WYL?i=105&cc=...

Marriage witnesses: Antal Kendi and Béla Schillinger.

According to "Budapesti Közlöny" (September 27, 1935) Dr. Károly Vogel had a practice in Gyoma, Békés county, Hungary, where he worked as an obstetrician and gynecologyst.

In 1938 the couple Erzsébet and Károly converted to the Catholic faith, whereupon their surname became "Hódi".

Károly was imprisoned in several concentration camps, but survived: http://www.degob.hu/index.php?showjk=428. See the translation below.

The memories of Dr. Károly Vogel

Report no. 428

[Translated from the Hungarian and annotated by F. S. Wechsler.]

Name: dr. K. V.

Gender: male

Birthplace: Hódmezővásárhely

Birthdate: 

Last residence: Budapest

Occupation: physician

The above mentioned gives the following deposition:

From February  until March , , I was sent to Kassa1 to serve as a doctor. When the Germans moved into Hungary2, I did everything to go back home to my family. I did manage to get home. I wore a yellow star, and when the Jews were ordered to live in close quarters I moved to a “télach”3. I became the vice-caretaker of a girl institute on the Sváb Mountain4. At that time final exams were going on, and I helped the girls answer the exam questions. They found it suspicious that “Uncle Jack” was such a cultured caretaker, but I explained I had been a member of the Galilei Circle5 in my youth, where I had learned a lot, and therefore I knew somewhat more than other vice-caretakers. On October  I abandoned the incognito. I went to my apartment, which had already been claimed by someone who had plundered all my possessions. He had simply thrown on the street everything that did not please him. I acquired a safeconduct and moved to a protected labor batallion. On November  even the protected batallions were put in wagons, so we too departed from the Józsefváros6 train station. During the trip no one ever opened the wagon, nor did we receive any food. After a six-day journey we arrived at Bruck an der Leitha7. We were placed in the attics and barns of Bruck houses. On December  the Revier8 was established. It was put in a wooden barrack. Two doctors were assigned to us, and three doctors were indicated as medical officers. I was among the latter. After a week I became directing doctor. We had hardly any remedies or instruments, so we were compelled to invent new healing methods to help the patients. There was a lot of disentery cases. I made charcoal from burned bread, and it worked very well. We had only one stove, so we roasted bread on one day, and heated water on the following day to treat those with frozen legs. Fifteen percent died from cold sores and starvation. There was no disinfectant available, and because of the huge wounds lice literally ate away the pus-covered patients. Nevertheless, starvation was the most terrible cause of death, and it killed Kornél Havasi, the chess world champion, Witner, the skating champion, and István Mihály, the screenwriter. Usually those people died who had no will to live, who gave up. There was this opera singer named Rózsa, a strong lad, handsome as a statue, who fell victim to cold sores, and wept in consternation. I told him that % of his illness was hysteria, and I encouraged him to control himself. He gave up and died one morning. At he end of March we were transported to Mauthausen9. I traveled by train with the Revier. At Mauthausen I used the first chance to report  suspected cases of typhus, and all  of them were shot dead. Thereafter I did not report suspected cases of typhus anymore. Everybody had influenza. Our nourishment was beet soup and mouldy bread, and all symptoms of vitamin deficiency showed up. When I saw that the gums of the young girls were totally blue, clearly from vitamin deficiency, I announced that those with bleeding gums should come to see me. I distributed among them a big flask of paprika as a source of vitamin C. Thereafter I distributed the countless medicines I had brought with me from Budapest. Every day I went through the whole camp and treated the sick. I infused courage into them, I reassured them we would go home, and many can thank their lives to my efforts in waking up their will to live. I accomplished a very rewarding task. I felt as if Fate had driven me there, in order to save so many unfortunate lives. In the middle of April we were transported to Günskirchen10 in groups of ,. I went with the second group. During the trip about  out of the , were shot dead. We received nothing to eat or drink for about  hours. On the third day we received bread and margarin. In Günskirchen , people were put in a barrack for  people, and this number was then raised to  because of a later arrived group. During the night the inmates killed one another for a little space, they screamed, because they could not put down their legs. It was absolutely impossible to take a wash or bath. We did not even get potable water. They were following a plan to murder us. One day, as lunch was being distributed, a platoon-commander named Lebovits stood at one side of the cauldron, and an SS stood at the other side. Suddenly the SS takes his pistol with a smile and shoots Lebovits in the mouth. Lebovits died immediately, whereupon the SS declared with a shrug: “but I didn’t even want to shoot his mouth”. Afterwards they continued to give out the lunch, as if nothing had happened. There was an SS guard who declared “I hardly ever shoot Jews, I beat them dead.” He immediately demonstrated how he could kill his victims with  or  strikes. He did not beat me, but this was just accidental, because there were in fact mass beatings. The Jews dug the graves for the dead. After burying the dead, the grave-diggers were also buried. On the average  people were buried daily, out of ,. According to absolutely reliable information I received, the SS officials were ordered by their commanders to exterminate the whole camp on September . However, they had no chance to carry out the order, because the American troops arrived on May  and liberated us. A serious mistake occurred at liberation. The prisoners were allowed to assault the food depots, and this caused a serious disentery outbreak. Their unaccostumed stomachs could not process the fat- and protein-rich foods they had suddenly ingested. The disentery was so severe that it became paratyphus, caused by the water or some other infectious source. After a few days the Americans disinfected the camp. From then on the lice and typhus epidemics ceased. We received a clean environment. However, our nutrition was still unsatisfactory.

1 Nowadays Košice, Slovakia.

2 On March , .

3 Hiding place.

4 In Budapest (XII District).

5 Frequented by freethinking and atheist students (–).

6 In Budapest (VII District).

7 A city in Austria, close to the Austro-Hungarian border.

8 Sick bay.

9 One of the most notorious concentration camps, located near the Austrian village of Mauthausen.

10 A concentration camp near the city of Wels, Austria.