Pinkas Hakehillot Hungary: Abony

“Abony” - Encyclopedia of Jewish
Communities in Hungary
47°11' / 20°00'

Translation of the “Abony” chapter from
Pinkas Hakehillot Hungary

Edited by: Theodore Lavi

Published in Jerusalem, 1975

Acknowledgments
Project Coordinator
Francine Shapiro

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This is a translation from: Pinkas Hakehillot Hungary: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Hungary,
Edited by Theodore Lavi, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.

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[Pages 127-128]

Abony

This was a small town in the Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun district, nine kilometers
from Solnok. The Jews called it Abon . The population in 1941: 15,299.

Jewish Population

Year	Number
1784/85	233
1840	912
1880	834
1930	431
1941	315
1946	56
1959	19

Until the Second World War

The first time a Jew was mentioned was 1756 in official documentation, which dealt with tax collection. Although they were not given official protection, by 1767 there were already eight Jewish taxpayers in the town, under the auspices of an estate owner, Balogh Istvan.
In 1791 when the Jews were permitted to engage in trade all over Hungary, Jews from the area were attracted to Abony because they found conditions favorable for commerce.

The majority of Abony's Jews made their living through trade, mainly as traveling peddlers, who went as far as Transylvania with their wares. In 1860 when they were permitted to make their living in agriculture, between 20-25 Jews established farms, and the majority of them cultivated the land with their own hands.

Generally the Jews of Abony enjoyed a reasonable standard of living.

The community registered 48 shopkeepers, 17 artisans, 3 physicians,

3 engineers, 17 farm owners, and 13 clerks in 1929.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Jewish community developed at a rapid rate. But after 1840, when all the cities of Hungary were open to Jewish settlement, many of the local Jews went to larger towns.

Abony's Jews were outstandingly patriotic. In 1793 they donated big sums to the war against the French, and in the community archive there is a document from this time. In it the authorities thanked Abony Jews for volunteering such support. Also during the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848, their help to the rebels distinguished the Jews. The rebel leader, Lajos Kossuth, personally visited Jacob Hay, one of the leaders of the Abony community, who donated valuables to the movement. After the rebellion was crushed, a big fine was levied on the community.

The community was organized about 1770. The Hevra Kadisha was established in 1771, and a synagogue was erected in the same year on a plot of land that was donated by the estate owner, Joseph Urmeny. In 1825 a new synagogue was built, and it was enlarged in 1875.

The school was established in 1788, and it developed in a short time. In 1856 a

special building was erected for it, and in 1880 a completely new building was built.

Other town institutions were: a poorhouse, a woman's society, and a fund to assist poor pupils.

There were several distinguished rabbis of Abony: Rabbi Yakov Herzog (1836-1857), the author of Pri Yakov, who wrote about the Talmud. Rav Yitzhak Konstadt (1866-1881) was the author of sermons collected as Luach Erez, published in Krakow in1886. During this time there was a rabbinical conference, and when it concluded, a Kollel, was established in Jerusalem for Austro-Hungarian Jews. Bela Vajda (1888-1901), a prolific historian, wrote a history of the Jews in Abony. Shimon Guttman was the author of Peace in the Bible.

Fourteen members of the local Jewish community were killed in the First World War. In 1919, during the Communist Revolution, one Jew was killed, and in May 1920, the White Terror bandits killed the caretaker of the community synagogue.

From 1938 the Jews of Abony felt the harsh hand of Laszlo Endre, the head of the district, and the cruelest enemy of Hungarian Jews.

The Holocaust

During May of 1944, during the Nazi conquest, a ghetto was built in Abony, and the Jews of the nearby towns of: Jaszkarajeno, Toszeg, Tortel, Ujszasz, and Zagyvarekas were sent there. After a few weeks all were transported to Kecskemet, then were taken from there to Auschwitz from June 25-27.

After the war only a few returned from Auschwitz. Also a few returned from forced labor camps, including some from the little towns near Abony. The members of the reorganized community numbered 56 in 1946. But the majority of them emigrated afterwards, and in 1959 only 19 Jews remained in Abony.

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