The German occupation on 19 March 1944 led to fundamental changes in the situation of the Jews in Baja, just like everywhere else.As early as on the occupation day, raids were held in Budapest and the entire country. The newly appointed Sztójay government issued a series of restrictive measures and obliged Jews to wear the yellow star.They decreed that the Jews were to register their property with the competent financial authority and to close their businesses. The Germans required the Jewish Councils made up of the most prominent members of the local Jewish communities draw up lists of every Jew with their addresses.
The mayor’s offices started to designate ghettos and transit camps. On the given day, local police and the gendarmerie banged on the doors of the Jewish houses. In line with the decrees, Jews were allowed to pack a definite size of luggage per person and food for two weeks. They were then forced to the designated parts of the city, while families from villages were forced into transit camps in the outskirts of the town.