The Detention Camp Chess Boards | The Surviving Remnant
A chess game that Arie Klein from Tiszasuly, Hungary made in 1946 in the British camp where he was detained as a Ma’apil.
Arie Klein preparing a chess game in Cyprus, 1946
A chess game that Arie Klein from Tiszasuly, Hungary made in 1946 in the British camp where he was detained as a Ma’apil.
When the Germans occupied Hungary, Arie was sent to a forced labor camp. With the approach of the Soviet Army, during the prisoners’ transfer to Germany by their captors, Arie and a few others managed to escape the transport. At first they were captured and treated as prisoners of war by the Soviets but an order was received to release the Hungarians and they were transferred to the care of the Joint Distribution Committee in Hungary. On his return home, Arie learned that his parents Joseph and Erzebet Klein were deported to Auschwitz and murdered and that his elder brother, Ferenc, was hung after attempting to escape from a forced labor camp in the hope of joining a resistance group.
Arie joined the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement where he met his future wife, Leah. In 1946 they attempted to immigrate to Eretz Israel on the ship “Knesset Israel”, but they were intercepted and deported to detention camps in Cyprus. One of the members of their group, Israel Roth, who was a talented mechanic, built a lathe using a pair of skates that he bought in exchange for cigarettes from a local truck driver. The group proceeded to make chess games that they sold to the British soldiers for a shilling per game. Arie carved a game for himself and kept it as a memento. In 1947 Arie and his wife Leah were allowed to immigrate and they settled on Kibbutz Beit Kama. In 1950 they moved to Jerusalem. Arie & Leah have twin sons and six grandchildren.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Donated by Arie Klein, Jerusalem
Arie Klein’s parents Josef & Erzebet who were murdered in the Holocaust
Page of Testimony in memory of Erzebet Klein filled out by her son Arie
Page of Testimony in memory of Josef Klein filled out by his son Arie
