On April 16, after a swift and extensive confiscation campaign against Jewish property and the issuance of anti-Jewish decrees, the Hungarian Council of Ministers adopted a far-reaching resolution to oust the Jews from economic activities such as commerce and the capital market. Pursuant to the decree, the Jews were given until April 30 to declare, on a form obtained at the nearest branch of the Finance Ministry, the current value of their property, including objets dΓÇÖart , rugs, gold and silver, jewelry, securities, and bank accounts. Safe-deposit boxes of Jews were blocked. All transfers of Jewish property to non-Jews concluded after March 22 were nullified, and the items included in them also had to be declared. Most Jews obeyed all provisions of these decrees painstakingly.
On April 27, the Minister of Supply gave all Jews until May 1 to provide government offices in their places of residence with their personal details. Depicted as a measure to facilitate the issue of new ration cards and coupons, it was, in fact, a ruse meant to allow the authorities to double-check and complete a list they had prepared at the beginning of the month, and to assist the German and Hungarian units that engaged in rounding up Jews.
