Gara family papers

Otto Gabriel Gara (1925-2010) was born on July 31, 1925 in Budapest, Hungary to Julius Gara (1891-1944) and Aranka Fleischer (b. 1891). His parents married in Budapest in 1924. He survived several labor camps in Hungary. His father Julius was imprisoned on March 20, 1944 in Kistarcsa concentration camp. He was later deported to Auschwitz where he perished. After the war, he studied law at Eötvös Loránd University. Otto married Agnes Benedek in 1952. The couple immigrated to the United States in 1956, the same year as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. They lived in several cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. Otto worked as a librarian. They had one son, Steven. Agnes Gara (1932-2013) was born Agnes Ann Benedek on July 20,1932 in Budapest, Hungary to Hermann or Armin Benedek (b. 1893) and Erzsébet Benedek (née Pap, b. 1929). Her parents married in 1929. Her father Hermann was arrested on November 16, 1944 and deported to Buchenwald on 19 November where he likely perished. Her mother likely survived the war. After the war, Agnes studied science at Eötvös Loránd University. She married Otto Gara in 1952. The couple immigrated to the United States in 1956, the same year as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. They lived in several cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. Agnes worked as a scientist. They had one son, Steven. The collection documents the Holocaust-era experiences of Otto and Agnes Gara, both of whom survived the Holocaust in Budapest, Hungary. The bulk of the collection consists of identification documents and papers related to Otto and Agnes’s immigration to the United States in 1956. Other material includes birth and marriage certificates, education papers, and prewar, wartime, and postwar family photographs.