Testimony of Asher Arani, born in Ujpest (Budapest), Hungary, 1924, regarding his experiences in Budapest

Testimony of Asher Arani, born in Ujpest (Budapest), Hungary, 1924, regarding his experiences in Budapest Traditional family in Budapest; his father was the head of the community and chairman of the Chevra Kadisha (burial society); witness' membership in Netzach-Habonim from 1942; member of the leadership of the movement that united with Dror Hechalutz, from December 1943. Preparation of bunkers for refugees and preparation for underground activities; his success as a member of Levente, a paramilitary organization that served as a supplementary unit for a Hungarian Army paratrooper unit, to change his identity and issue Aryan documents for refugees; smuggle of friends from labor camps to Romania; detention by the Gestapo as a smuggler, May 1944; obtains a Schutzpass for many children; hides Jews in bunkers; detention by the Hungarians and charged with carrying a weapon without a license, December 1944; liberation, March 1945. Establishment of children's institutions and aliya training groups; coordination of his friends' departure from Hungary, summer 1945; aliya to Eretz Israel on the "Knesset Israel" ship after detention in Cyprus, late 1946.