Peter Shugart was born in July 1942 in Budapest, Hungary. When his mother, Arlene, was pregnant with Peter, his father was arrested and taken to forced labor in Russia. He never returned. Arlene ran their store until the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944. Arlene and Peter moved into an apartment with his aunt, cousin, and grandmother.
Soon after, Peter’s aunt and grandmother were caught in a roundup and deported to Auschwitz. His grandmother did not survive. Arlene was left to care for Peter and his two-year-old cousin. In December 1944, they were forced into the Budapest ghetto. Arlene searched for food during bombings of Budapest by the Soviets. Peter and his cousin were given one slice of bread to last for two days. Budapest was liberated by the Soviets in 1945. Peter’s aunt survived Auschwitz and returned a year later to be reunited with her son. Thirty-two members of their family did not survive.
Peter’s aunt in the United States helped them immigrate in 1948, and they settled in Chicago. Peter’s mother married a fellow Holocaust survivor, Bernard Pergricht, who adopted Peter. They moved to El Paso in 1978. Peter enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Bliss.
Connecting Stories: Arlene Pergricht, Bernard Pergricht