Section One: Home By Leslie Vertes

SECTION ONE: HOME

The author of this memoir, Leslie Vertes, was raised in Hungary, by an abusive and distant father, Alexander, and mother, Ilona. Her parents had an unstable marriage, and it caused Leslie to have a difficult childhood. Regardless of his father’s cold and disciplinary parenting style, Leslie learned a lot from him that he used later in life: shoemaking, dancing and organization. When Leslie’s father was out of work, his family lost everything; as a result, they had to sell all their belongings to get by and moved to Budapest in search of a new beginning. His sense of home was disrupted due to his family moving so many times, he describes his year in Budapest as feeling foreign. The history of antisemitism in his home country,

Having a friend or family member around the camp, made it easier to endure the treatment alongside a companion. Leslie had his brother in law, Andrew, in the same unit and they did almost everything together. All the hard physical work began to take a toll on Andrews health, and he began to grow weak and sick resulting in a kidney infection. Having a German doctor in camp did not make it more manageable for the Jews; Andrew did not receive any medication for his illness and soon passed away at the age of twenty. Leslie suffered this significant loss, feeling sad and angry, with so many questions flooding his mind. Questioning why the Jewish POWs got all the heavy work compared to the lighter tasks given to the German POWs. In the course of time spent at camp, Leslie fell sick with scurvy, due to the lack of vitamin C. Accordingly, he began developing oozing blisters all over his body, accompanied by his teeth falling out one by one and multiple other symptoms. With one of his teeth under his dental bridge becoming infected, he was in relentless pain and was admitted to the infirmary. More blisters appeared on his body, along with a high fever; however, with no medication, he had to care for himself to survive. Upon being released from camp, he arrived home to Budapest with no end to the devastating news. He had lost his lover; his former fiance had been murdered while she was ill at the hospital.

Since Vera had close relatives in the United States and they thought it would be easy to obtain a U.S. Visa. After a while of not hearing back from the United States, they were fed up, and Vera went to the Canadian consulate. Regardless of where their family was, they needed to start a new life, and they knew Canada was a better option. For the reason that they both have skills in trades, Vera making dresses and Leslie making shoes, they received their Canadian visas in less than a month. Once they arrived at the airport in Montreal, they received their monthly child allowance and loved Canada right away. Although their living conditions were meagre, Leslie was determined to support his family. Starting his first job in Canada at a Volkswagen dealership, then later finding a role in his trade and Vera doing clothing alterations, they were getting by and adjusting to their new home. They became official Canadian citizens in 1962 and were extremely appreciative that Canada welcomed them with open arms and granted them a new and better life. Vertes takes great pride in being a Canadian citizen and gives back to the country with volunteer