Historical Context

WWII
Miriam Katin was born in 1943 in Budapest, Hungary during WWII (1939 - 1945).

In March 1944, Germans occupied Budapest. Over 184,000 Jewish people inhabited Budapest at the time. The Germans began murdering Jewish people and only approximately 119,000 survived the invasion.

Seige of Budapest (1945)
In 1945, Soviet Union and Romanian troops sieged Budapest forcing the Germans to retreat and destroy Danube bridges. WWII severely damaged the city of Budapest and killed almost 200,000 residents.

Here’s a link to a video of Budapest in 1943.