Post-war Budapest

Photographs of destruction and survival

I am at a conference this week, so instead of writing a long narrative post, I’m going to share a couple photos that Opapa took of post-war Budapest in 1945/6. These complement Opapa’s short story, Inherit the Earth, that I shared yesterday.

Below, I’ve copied a page of Opapa’s photo album that I find to be especially fascinating. On the top, you can the destruction of Budapest after the war: there is a bombed-out bridge crossing the Danube, with the Hungarian Parliament in the distance. This photograph is juxtaposed with a picture of my great-grandmother, Margit, standing in what I presume must be her apartment.

The photograph of Margit offers a rare window into the family’s possessions: you can see books, upon books, upon books. A globe is in the far-right corner, on the middle shelf. There is a collection of plates at the top of the bookshelves. Family photographs are at waist-level, surrounded by a collection of small objects — a bust, a snuff bottle, a vase, several bowls, and flowers. There is more stuff than I had imagined.

So much had been destroyed, and yet so much survived.