Oral History Interview with Peter Cziffra

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Title

Oral History Interview with Peter Cziffra

Date

October 15, 1999

Contributor

Interviewee:
Peter Cziffra
Interviewer:
Meta Joy Jacoby

Summary

Peter Cziffra was born in Berlin, Germany on October 6, 1930. Peter shares his childhood memories of the war years and living in Shanghai. His Hungarian Christian father and Jewish mother divorced when he was very young. When he was six years old he was sent to live with his grandmother in Buxton, England. His mother and the Jewish owner of a large German shoe factory were married in the United States in 1937. After the couple returned to Germany his step-father was held in jail until he agreed to sell the factory. In 1940 Peter’s mother and step-father left Germany. In order to join them, Peter, at the age of nine, flew to Paris alone, then accompanied by a Cooks Travel agent, crossed Switzerland by rail on the Sultan Express and joined them in Milan, Italy. Together they sailed from Trieste on the Conte Rosso. It was the next to last steamer to leave Trieste for Shanghai until the war ended.

The family lived first in the French Connection district. They were forced to move to the Hongkew Ghetto after Pearl Harbor. After the Americans entered the city, they were able to relocate. Peter was able to attend school throughout the family’s stay in Shanghai. Although he witnessed first hand the bombing and destruction of the city, Peter stated that he remained physically and emotionally unharmed.

In 1946 Peter came alone to San Francisco. His parents were unable to leave Shanghai until 1949, due to his step-father’s illness.

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Publisher:
Gratz College
Number of Tapes:
1
Language:
English
Identifier:
HOHAGC00098
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Copyright date:
2010
Cite this item
Oral History Interview with Peter Cziffra. 1999. InterviewInterview by Meta Jacoby. Audio. Oral History Interview With Peter Cziffra. Holocaust Oral History Archive. Gratz College. https://grayzel.gratz.edu/hoha/oral-history-interview-peter-cziffra.

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