Overview
- Description
- The Dezsofi family papers include biographical material, correspondence, school notebooks, writings, and magazines relating to the pre-war experiences of twin sisters Dolly and Marianne Dezsofi in Budapest, Hungary as well as during the war while in hiding. Biographical material includes a death certificate for Imre Tieberger, Dolly and Marianne’s uncle, a union identification card for Moses Samuel Selinger, two pre-war greeting cards with photographs Dolly gave to her mother for mother's day, and a pre-war photograph of Dolly and Marianne in first grade, dated 1937.
Correspondence includes letters written by Dolly and Marianne to their mother as well as letters from Karola and letters to "Grandfather." School notebooks include four pre-war notebooks and a portfolio of text and drawings belonging to Marianne. Magazines include Pesti Naplo which features Marianne, Vilaglapja which pictures the sisters on the cover, and a journal Szinhazi Elet which features a photograph of Dolly and Marianne. Writings and drawings include two notebooks, dated 1945, kept by Dolly while in Budapest, a spiral notebook with drawings kept while in hiding, an unbound notebook, dated February, and a pocket calendar, dated 1945. - Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1931-1945
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Dolly (Dezsofi) Tiger
- Collection Creator
- Dezsofi family
- Biography
-
Dolly Tiger (born Dorottya Rozsa Dezsofi) and her twin sister Ida Marianne (Mari) Dezsofi were born on January 31, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary to Dezső (d. 1947 in the United States) and Johanna (nee Selinger) Dezsofi. They were raised by their mother and grandfather, Mozes Selinger, a prominent Jewish jeweler in Budapest. In 1938 Johanna married George Paul, a non-Jewish Serbian jeweler, and moved with her daughters to Subotica in northern Serbia. Following the public hanging in Subotica in March 1941, Dolly and Marianne were sent to a convent school in Budapest. The girls remained there until the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, when the nuns were no longer willing to hide Jewish children. The girls then hid for six months at the Hotel Lukacs in Budapest with their mother and stepfather. When Johanna was arrested and sent to a work camp in October 1944, Dolly and Marianne went to hide with the son of a family friend, George Szeutirmay.
The family was reunited in January 1945. With the help of Elizabeth Tieberger, Johanna's older sister, Dolly, Marianne, and their cousin, Dorothea (Babi), were smuggled to Subotica by Russian soldiers. Dolly attended school in Subotica for two years before returning to Budapest to await her Hungarian passport. After she received her passport in April 1948, she left immediately for Switzerland where Dolly met Janos Fenjves and married him on May 8, 1948 in Paris. They left for Venezuela one month later. There they had two children, but soon divorced. Dolly later married Yozef Tiger and immigrated to Canada in 1961. Marianne married George Kalman and immigrated to the United States in 1957.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Correspondence. Periodicals. Diaries.
- Extent
-
10 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The Dezsofi family papers is arranged ten folders:
Folder 1 of 10: Biographical material, circa 1936-1944
Folder 2 of 10: Correspondence, circa 1938
Folder 3 of 10: Pesti Napló, 1932
Folders 4-5 of 10: School notebooks, 1936-1937
Folder 6 of 10: Színházi Élet, 1932
Folder 7 of 10: Vilaglapja, April 1931
Folder 8-10 of 10: Writings and drawings, circa 1945
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jewish children in the Holocaust--Hungary. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary--Budapest.
- Geographic Name
- Budapest (Hungary)
- Personal Name
- Dezsofi, Dolly. Dezsofi, Marianne.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Dolly Tiger and Marianne Kalman donated the Dezsofi family papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2001 and 2002. The collections numbered 2001.273.1 and 2002.359.1 have been incorporated into this collection.
- Primary Number
- 2001.273.6
- Record last modified:
- 2024-01-05 14:07:03
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn715063
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Also in Dezsofi family collection
The Dezsofi family collection includes biographical material, correspondence, school notebooks, writings, and magazines relating to the pre-war experiences of twin sisters Dolly and Marianne Dezsofi in Budapest, Hungary as well as during the war while in hiding. Biographical material includes a death certificate and union identification card for Imre Tieberger, Dolly and Marianne’s uncle, two pre-war greeting cards with photographs Dolly gave to her mother for mother's day, and a pre-war photograph of Dolly and Marianne in first grade, dated 1937. Correspondence includes letters written by Dolly and Marianne to their mother as well as letters from Karola and letters to "Grandfather." School notebooks include four pre-war notebooks and a portfolio of text and drawings belonging to Marianne. Magazines include "Pesti Naplo" which features Marianne, "Vilaglapja" which pictures the sisters on the cover, and "Szinhazi Elet" which features a photograph of Dolly and Marianne. Writings and drawings include two notebooks kept by Dolly while in Budapest, dated 1945, a spiral notebook with drawings kept while in hiding, an unbound notebook, dated February, and a pocket calendar, dated 1945. Additionally, the collection includes three handmade doilies embroidered by Dolly and Marianne Dezsofi prior to the war (1940-1941); and one silver napkin ring given to Dolly Dezsofi by her grandfather and engraved with the name "Doli," ca. 1935.
Date: 1932-1945
Handmade embroidered doily
Object
Handmade doily embroidered by Dolly Dezsofi and her sister aournd 1940-1941.
Silver napkin ring
Object
Silver napkin ring given toDolly Dezsofi by her grandfather and engraved with name "Doli."
Handmade embroidered doily
Object
Handmade doily embroidered by Dolly Dezsofi and her sister aournd 1940-1941.
Handmade embroidered doily
Object
Handmade doily embroidered by Dolly Dezsofi and her sister aournd 1940-1941.
