★★★★★ Dr. W. 14.04.2024 amazon.de

What if your neighbour becomes your killer, out of the blue? Just ordinary people. A two-story building somewhere in Budapest. 1944. Tenants, jews among them, a janitor, a woman, hungarian citizens, an unexpected jewish survivor. On the very first day of Arrow Cross Rule, october 15, all changed. Dead bodies, robbery, deportation. Followed by witness and judges, perpetrators and victims, guilty and not guilty, remembrance and forgetting. How many faces, how much truth? How much healing?The author presents a well researched case study of human behaviour in very difficult times. After Chapter 3 I read the appendix beforehand: full script of the events, of trial sessions, and intriguing statements of participants. The book could be an extensive explanation of a picture. After almost 80 years all shades of truth become visible – much more than simply black and white. Viewed from any possible perspective.There are no simple answers. The main motif is greed. Which turns to murder. Instigated by the false belief of "ordinary" people being entititled for life-or-death decisions, more or less. There are several layers of truth, which are discussed in detail. Among them social, gender, political, and personal topics, commemoration. The author used all sources available including contemporary witness.The book provides a very close look at one day of deadly terror in time and space. It could happen anytime again at any place. Forgetting is no option.