László Gyarmati

"We succesfully arrived in Győr without any problems. We got on the train to Sopron where the rails are in line with the border line. The conductor promised us that he would phone to all the forthcoming stations and ask his colleagues whether there are Russian soldiers and police officers or not and so it happened. Suddenly at Vitnyéd he said the Russians were already at the next station. The train was stopped in the open fields and everyone got off. The train looked like a huge worm with a lot of ants on it, and when you shake the worm The ants are escaping in every direction. The conductor suggested us to go perpendicularly to the rails. There is the frontier in that direction four-five kilometres away but there is a problem: the Hansági Channel. -And how did you feel? -The athmosphere was very tense. We were scared -in particular we soldiers, because we knew if they caught us at the frontier we couldn’t expect anything good."

"When we reached the frontier zone the hand of God helped me again. Suddenly we caught sight of two men driving along with a cart from the direction of the frontier. They said that they were going to have one more tree chopped down. They had already laid one trunk to build a bridge across the channel. Unfortunately it only made straddle legs crossing possible so the water came up to one’s knees and people’s feet got wet. Our group set forth and pursued its way to the border but I joined these men at the same time. We went back a couple hundred metres to the edge of the forest and we cut down another tree. I was very lucky to be there because at that very moment the army started rocket launching in the area. We saw lighting rocket ammunitions and heard gun shots. Everyone of us was frightened and the two men wanted to leave. By that time the tree had already been chopped and the branches lopped off, so I asked them to stay for a little while and take this last trunk to the channel. Seeing that there were children in our group it was of vital importance to make crossing easier for them. Don’t cut down any more trees but take this one- I asked. Luckily I was able to persuade them so we carried the second trunk to the channel. By that time the majority of people and children were on the other side. They were alarmed at the rockets so they crossed the channel consequently their feet got wet. We got there, laid the trunk over the channel and the two men left. We said hello to them. Neither of them accepted any money. There was a woman with four little children on this side but our group were on the other side. My brother-in law got across, emptied his backsack and came back for two year old Eszter. Put her in it and took her over the other side, but the water came up to their knees. The woman with the children was unable to cross the channel without help. By that time there were two trunks side by side. I called Árpi back and we took all of them over. Everyone was transferred to the other side by then."