אידישע וועלט פארומס

EXT synagogue in Ungvar (Uzhgorod), a town in Ruthenia with a large Jewish population. Ungvar was transferred from Romania to Hungary in November 1938. Star of David, detail on synagogue. Men and women and young boy walking in courtyard of synagogue, Hebrew writing on walls of building. Munkacs (? It is not exactly clear when the location changes). MCU, travelling shot of an older man in profile, long white beard and hat, walking toward screen left. MS, woman wearing a scarf on her head, in peasant dress, walks through wooden gate toward camera, smiling, with a chicken or goose in her hands. A young girl, wearing a hat walks through a wooden gate, also carrying a chicken. Middle-aged man with moustache, wearing cap, walks through wooden gate toward camera, carrying chicken wrapped in butcher paper under his arm. The dope sheets indicate that the cameraman filmed the rabbi slaughtering the birds according to the kosher rites, but these scenes were cut by the Hungarian censors before the film left the country.

02:01:51 CU adolescent boy (Orthodox) smiles sheepishly at camera, camera follows him briefly. Street outside the walls of the synagogue, other buildings visible, people walking, mainly men, all in orthodox dress, bicycle rides through shot, screen right. MS, travelling shot, man seen from behind, walking on street with goose under his arm, 2 children walking in the background. MS of a storefront that reads "ADOLF (TEXTA) MERMELSTEIN". Men, Hungarian soldiers in front of shop window. Men on the street, aware of the camera, turn away. CU of an older man who smiles and smokes a pipe. 02:02:39 Tombstones in a small Jewish cemetery in the FG with a thatched-roof house in the background. [Overexposed]

02:03:24 Budapest: EXT Dohany Street synagogue, only one side of the building is visible. Men walking by wearing bowler-type hats and fedoras. Also in Budapest, very nice shots of a man directing a group of small boys as they play violin. The boys are identified in the dope sheets as "Gypsy children playing violin in dead-end alley of Budapest's Gypsy district."

Ungvar: MCU armed police patrolling street. [Overexposed]. One young boy and two women in profile, in market, woman counting her change. MS of peasant women, all with their heads covered and wearing shawls in the open air market, some look at the camera. 02:04:31 Policeman with rifle in the street, horsedrawn carriages, men and women in contemporary dress and hats (women in heels and tailored overcoats; men in fedoras and tailored overcoats) on busy street. Policeman conducting traffic. Hungarian soldiers march by, turn a corner. A sign on a building reads "KARANA." MS Peasants in horse-drawn carts move by on the same street corner where soldiers were previously. Armed police monitor procession from screen left.

02:05:14 Ungvar market, center, young Orthodox Jew and older man in profile smoking a pipe. Men gathering hay, people and cows in background. Woman with her head covered and wearing a fur coat (guba), standing in front of a basket of eggs, looking for money in her change purse. Mores scenes of people and goods at the market. Two women talk, one becomes aware of the camera and smiles. Travelling shot, man carrying a bucket at market, wearing a fur shawl (guba) and hat. More shots of market women.

Notes:
This is silent footage, but on the VHS viewing copies from TC 02:02:02 through 02:02:11 extraneous noises can be heard. It sounds like someone hit a microphone button while the footage was being dubbed to VHS.

Footage viewed by Hungarian survivor, Mr. George Havas. He identified the locations as Ruthenia and Ungvar. Brought in photo of the synagogue which appears in the establishing shot of this story, this synagogue now houses the Transcarpathian Regional Philharmonic Society. The town of Ungvar, in the former USSR, is now known as Uzhgorod.

Cameraman's dope sheet available in departmental files. This footage is from the March of Time outtakes collection at the National Archives and Records Administration.

See also RG-60.4582, Film ID 2837 for duplicate and better quality footage.