Do Not Forget Me Street - Erica Frydenberg

In the beautiful city of Budapest lies Do Not Forget Me Street. Here, the author, Erica Frydenberg, was born into the maelstrom of WWII, just as the Hungarian regime was implementing Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’.

Decades later, she returns, determined that the atrocities committed never fade from memory. She confronts the mass murder and deliberate inhumanity designed to erase a people, but she also honours the courage of those righteous heroes—the likes of Raoul Wallenberg and Carl Lutz, and the many lesser-known individuals who risked everything to save Jewish lives.

For Erica, the history is personal. Her own uncle, the enigmatic Nandor Eichel, had saved her life before she turned one. This ‘Budapesti Schindler’, protected only by a fragile diplomatic status, moved through the chaos rescuing countless others, whose stories only surface decades later in Sydney, Australia.

Yet Nandor refuses to speak of the past. As Erica pieces together his hidden story, she uncovers deeper truths about memory—its capacity to wound, to illuminate and to nurture empathy and healing across generations.

Gininderra Press 2026, softcover

FROM THE MUSEUM SHOP: DISCOVER A NEW READ

Do Not Forget Me Street - Erica Frydenberg

Reading this personal memoir is deeply affecting as author Erica Frydenberg returns to her birthplace of Budapest and uncovers her family’s experiences during the Holocaust. She confronts the systematic mass murder designed to erase a people, while also honouring the extraordinary courage of Raoul Wallenberg and Carl Lutz.

But why did her uncle, Nandor Eichel, who helped save countless Jewish lives, refuse to speak of his own experiences? Frydenberg, a distinguished academic, psychologist, and author of more than 30 books and 200 academic papers, reflects on this question throughout the memoir. It is this search for understanding that gives the book its emotional depth.

The final chapters move beyond history into a thoughtful exploration of resilience, survivor guilt, coping strategies, and the so-called “dignity of silence.” Drawing on the teachings of Viktor Frankl, Frydenberg leaves the reader with a powerful message of hope, meaning, and purpose.

Do Not Forget Me Street is not only an important historical account, but also a moving reminder of the power of books to connect generations and deepen conversations around resilience, memory, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Every purchase in the Museum Shop supports the running of the Sydney Jewish Museum. 

Viktor Frankl 'Man's Search for Meaning" is in stock. Available here