This is a picture of the Hungarian Gendarmes.The gendarmes are like Policemen.They  collaborated with the German and Hungarian Nazi Party "Nyailas" to round up the Jews and to enforce the rigid Anti-Jewish Laws.The gendarmes all wore a hat which had a feather sticking up.         

The Holocaust of Jewish Marmaros

This act presaged the end of Czechoslovakia. Events proceeded with breathtaking speed - after only one month, the “Vienna Arbitration” of November 2, 1938, awarded Hungary southern Slovakia and in it, the city of Kashoi (Kosice). It also assigned the western part of Carpatho-Russia, namely the districts of Berg and Ung and in these, the cities of Munkacs and Ungvar, to Hungary. The district of Marmaros, which lies in eastern Carpatho-Russia, was not included in the “arbitration”. This region was destined to have another fate. 4.020 square miles came from Slovakia and 610 square miles came from the newly formed,"Carpatho-Ukraine state.

Hitler divided crumbling Czechoslovakia into three parts: (1) Bohemia and Moravia, whose population was Czech, he made a “protectorate” ruled directly by the German Nazis; (2) Slovakia was transformed into an “independent” state which the Germans ruled by means of a puppet government appointed by the German Nazis; (3) Marmaros, populated by Ruthenians-Ukrainians, was supposed to receive broad autonomy under Nazi patronage. The city of Chust was to be the capital of this autonomous Ukrainian state.As a result of this Carpathia lost more thean 180,000 people and nearly all its fertile land and industry.

This Ukrainian autonomy lasted from November 22, 1938 until March 15, 1939, a period of only three and one-half months. In mid-March 1939, Axis Hungary overran Czech Marmaros by force, and in a brief struggle routed the Ruthenian-Ukrainian forces which attempted to stand in their way and to oppose them. Germany only recognized the Hungarian conquest de facto, and the Hungarian authorities themselves did not annex Czech Marmaros to Hungary in an absolute, formal manner. The region had the status of “occupied territory” and was legally under military rule; this as a Hungarian gesture towards their Nazi ally. Practically, however, there was no difference - administratively, or from any other point of view - belween the Marmaros district and the districts of Berg and Ung, which Hungary had acquired “legally”, through the “Vienna Arbitration”.

The Hungarians justified their conquest of Marmaros by claiming that it was necessary in order to protect the local Hungarian population, whose safety was endangered by the Ukrainian-Ruthenian rule. The historical truth, however, is that the few Hungarian nationals in Czech Marmaros were not in any danger at all - not economically, not spiritually, not culturally and certainly not physically. But the tens of thousands of Jews under the militant-dilletant rule of the Ruthenians, were in fact in serious danger. The leadership of these new Ukrainian-Ruthenians consisted of nationalistic Ukrainians (known as “Sitches”), most of them refugees who had fled Soviet rule during the early years of the U.S.S.R. and who were under strong nationalist Nazi influence. Openly and without any effort to cover-up, the Sitches were preparing black-lists of wealthy Jews, who were to be executed. Rumors were purposefully circulated that the Jews were about to be slaughtered, at any moment. These "Sitches" also had the support of the German Nazi Goverment.All Political Parties were dissolved and replaced bt a sole Ukranian National Union with its Para-Militaryorganization "SICH".This movement grew firm ties with Germany and was in turn supported by them.The "SICH" Goverment then gave the Germans disastrous economic concessions which amounted to exploitation.

It appears that in the entire brief period of their rule, the Sitches did not carry out the execution of even one Jew. The terror that they spread among the Jews had more of a practical purpose - to extort money from the Jews, in exchange for allowing the Jews to live. In retrospect, it is very possible that their entire aim was only financial, and that they never really intended to murder and slaughter Jews. But the Jews of Marmaros were not aware - nor could they have been aware, under the circumstances in which they found themselves - of the intentions of the new rulers, who could be described as “slaves swaggering as kings”. The Jews of Czech Carpatho-Russia, who for close to twenty years had become accustomed to living in a democratic country - the only one in that part of the world, despite all its shortcomings - and especially the Jews in Marmaros - now found themselves to have suddenly fallen “from the heights to the depths”.

From this, it can be appreciated that the Jews of Marmaros received the Hungarian invaders with feelings of relief. For indeed - so the Jews said - any rule would be better than the prevailing anarchy. Not only was there the nightmare of the “black-lists” and the open threats of slaughter; economic and political disorder was rampant in Marmaros in the wake of this regime, which did not breed confidence insofar as its administrative and political capabilities were concerned.

In a very short time, the Jews of Marmaros realized that the tradition against praying for a new regime proved itself valid in this instance, as well. The Hungarian regime emerged, quickly enough, in all its ugly wickedness and abominable cruelty. We have elaborated upon many of the details in many of the individual articles in the book, such as the articles on Hust, Tecs, Rachov, and Iasin, as well as in many of the shorter entries. We feel that there is no need for extensive repetition here.

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