When German troops entered Hungary in the spring of 1944, the Hungarian police immediately began to cooperate with them and to carry out measures against the Jewish population in accordance with the Nazi agenda. It is first the Hungarian police who burst into Jewish homes and confiscate gold and other valuables and to give the order that Jews must wear the "yellow star." The Hungarians behave brutally, striking people with rifle butts and truncheons. One of the police inspectors apparently tries to help the Wiesels because he's a friend of Eliezer's father, but nothing comes of the attempt.
The Jewish population of Hungary were taken aback by the complete subservience of the Hungarians to the Nazis. At least subconsciously among Jewish people, the expectation was probably that because Hungary had been an independent country since the end of World War I, there was no reason for Hungarians to follow the orders of the Germans, and especially to do it so enthusiastically.
The Hungarian police prove themselves to be willing participants in the Nazis' campaign of genocide against the Jews. When it is time to evacuate the ghetto, they act with appalling brutality, forcing the Jews out with clubs and rifles and screaming abuse at them. Elie hates them for this, not least because these are his friends and neighbors who are being rounded up and treated so badly. The Jews are going to be sent to the camps, so it is a traumatic experience for everyone. However, the situation is made even worse by the thuggish behavior of the Hungarian policemen. The police are supposed to uphold law and order, yet here they are, actively participating in a monumental crime against humanity. For Elie, the Hungarian police are the face of evil, his first oppressors, and he hates them for it.
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