When the Nazis invade Budapest in 1944, Margit Kassai begins to document her life in a diary in the form of a letter to her husband, who has been sent to do forced labor. With wry self- deprecation, dark humor and an incredible attention to detail, Margit describes the persecution of Jews and how she feels working in children’s homes and living under a false identity. Even as bombs fall around her, she braves the streets to find food for the children in her care, writing unflinchingly of the suffering she endures and her determination to see her husband again.

Margit Kassai (1909–2000) was born in Budapest, Hungary. She and her husband, György Tolnai, left Hungary for France in 1946, where they had a daughter. In 1948, Margit immigrated to Toronto, Canada. She worked in the Department of Political Economy at the University of Toronto.

Margit Kassai's profile page

Gergely Kunt is a social historian and assistant professor at the University of Miskolc, Hungary. He is a founding member of the European Ego-Documents Archive and Collections Network. Kunt specializes in Holocaust and Communist-era diaries and recently published The Children’s Republic of Gaudiopolis.

Gergely Kunt's profile page

Frances Tolnai was born in France in 1947. Her work experience includes nine years at the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario and over two decades at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She is now retired and lives in Nova Scotia.

Frances Tolnai's profile page

Dr. Eva Aniko Székely, born and raised in Hungary, is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. She studied psychology, sociology and languages, worked as a clinical psychologist and wrote Never Too Thin (1988) and scholarly articles on women’s health issues. Dr. Székely lives in Florida.

Eva Aniko Székely's profile page