After liberation, Holocaust survivors embarked on the arduous task of rehabilitation as they faced the reality of their immense grief and loneliness. Many started to comprehend the enormity of their personal loss, and were plagued by their memories. Some held onto a particular object that had accompanied them during the Holocaust period, in an effort to preserve the memory of those dark years. Sometimes, that very object served to remind them of their rescue and survival, and often the war years became a defining element in their personality. They had to build themselves a new identity on the foundations of the murder and destruction they had witnessed and experienced, and to that end, they sought a memento from those years that would form a part of their identity.
Géza Hajdu was born in Hungary and married Shoshana Deutsch in 1928. They lived in Budapest, where they had three children: Eva, who died in the 1940s, Laszlo and Klara. The family was middle-class and maintained a secular lifestyle.
Géza worked in agriculture at the family's farm outside the city. In April 1944, following the German invasion of Hungary, he was arrested and sent to the brick factory in Budapest, and from there to Auschwitz. He was transferred to several camps and was liberated at Theresienstadt. His wife and children, who had remained in Budapest, moved with their Jewish nanny Anna Fogel to live in one of the "protected houses" in the city. Later on, Laszlo, Klara and Shoshana hid in a convent in Budapest, with the help of Ilona Molnár, later recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. The convent was originally designated to host farmers' daughters who had come to Budapest to study or work. During the war, most of these girls returned home, and the convent quickly filled up with Jewish women in the possession of forged identity papers. The Hajdu family stayed at the convent for approximately six months, including a period of time after liberation.
At war's end, the Hajdus returned home and were reunited with Géza, who told them that the belief that they would meet again was what kept him going throughout their years apart. When Géza returned from the camps, he pointed to the pot that he had brought back with him, saying:
"If I ever express dissatisfaction, show me this pot."
Laszlo immigrated to Israel in 1959. The rest of the family joined him in 1962 and settled in Haifa. The 73-year-old Géza found agricultural work in Shapir, near Kiryat Gat.
