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The German army and the S.S. units invaded Hungary on March 18, 1944 in accordance with the agreement reached between Chancellor Hitler and the Regent Horthy. Upon his return from Klessheim on the special “Turan” train, the Regent ordered Hungary's armed forces – the army, the gendarmerie and the police – to be friendly to the German forces.

Three days later, on March 22, an official announcement proclaimed that the Regent had dismissed the Kallay government and had appointed Dome Sztojay, the former Hungarian ambassador to Berlin, as Prime Minister.

Select units of the S.S. and the Gestapo which came with the occupying troops began their terror operations at once, at first on their own, but after a very short while with the active cooperation of the Hungarian administrative officials and the Hungarian security forces. Working according to lists prepared in advance, they arrested politicians known for their anti-Nazi views, newspapermen and other public personalities. At the same time, they put into effect various anti-Jewish regulations: Jews were forbidden to leave their places of residence and in some localities; the authorities ordered the heads of the kehilla to prepare a list of all members of the kehilla, irrespective of sex or age.

Any illusions that the Jews of Hungary may have entertained that their fate would be different from that of Jews in other European countries were completely discarded on March 19, 1944.

On March 29 the Sztojay government adopted a set of discriminatory regulations of which the most severe was the requirement that all Jews bear the yellow star patch^[2] with this began the physical separation of the Jews from the rest of the population, providing a grim foreboding of events to come

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The requirement that Jews must wear the yellow patch went into effect on April 5. Two days later, the Director-General of the Ministry of the Interior, Laszlo Baki, announced at a closed meeting that “the Jews will very shortly be removed from their homes in the region covered by the Kassa gendarmerie”. Participating in that meeting were the commander of the gendarmerie in Kassa, other gendarme and police officers and the acting governor of Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia. To this end, a German command post was to be set up in Munkacs in cooperation with Col. Ferenczy and the public prosecutor, Meggyesi. Committees to carry out the order were to be located in Huszt, Ungvar, and Nagyszollos and in the cities beyond Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia.

On April 7, the Ministry of the interior issued Regulation N°6163-1944 which bore the unpretentious title: “Determination of Living Quarters for the Jews” and the first sentence read as follows: “The Hungarian government will soon purify Hungary of the Jews”. The reference was to expulsion rather than the fixing of places of residence.

Zemplen county was part of the region within the authority of the Eighth Gendarmerie of Kassa together with Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia. This fact played a vital role in the fate of the Jewish population.

The Jews of Újhely numbered 4690 souls in 1940. In 1949 according to the record of the kehilla, there were only 360 Jews there. The situation was similar in the other kehillas of Zemplen.

This short essay seeks to present facts and data on the history of this terrible tragedy.

* * *

Even before March 19, the Jews of Újhely were already aware that they lacked the same rights as the non-Jewish citizens. The municipal administration issued periodic discriminatory announcements which caused great hardship. The following example was typical:

Jeno Blumenfeld and 107 of his colleagues informed the mayor in January, 1944 that they would keep their stores closed on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays, citing a regulation of the Ministry of Commerce and Transportation as legal basis for this act. The mayor, Dr. Indar Varo, refused to recognize the validity of their declaration. As provided in the law, Blumenfeld and the other merchants registered their protest in due course, maintaining that: “they all observed the Sabbath and keeping their stores open was contrary to their faith; hence they could not be compelled to do so”.

The sub-prefect, Miklos Bornemissza rejected their appeal on January 24 on the grounds that “the appellants failed to submit basic

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Evidence or objections which could serve as cause to alter the decision in the first instance”. It was obvious that the Jews could expect nothing good from an administrative attitude of this nature.

In conformity with legal procedure, the sub-prefect passed the documents in the case on to the Ministry of Commerce and Transportation which also rejected the request for reconsideration. Date of the decision was June 11, 1944!

The original segregation document records that by order of the S.S. commander, it was planned to gather all the Jews of sub-Carpathian Ruthenia into concentration camps during 2-6 April and there is little doubt that they would all have been deported very soon thereafter. However, the commander of the Hungarian First Army, General Geza Lakatos, refused to agree to the gathering of the Jews from the cities, certainly not from humanitarian reasons. He believed that transportation of the Jews was apt to disrupt the steady deployment of the army. (The attack by the Hungarian army in the Kolomea region began on April 15 and was called off after heavy losses).

The timetable which had been set up at the secret meeting of the Ministry of Interior on April 7 remained in effect. On April 12, the commanders of the Kassa region gendarmerie were given a briefing at Munkacs in the presence of Col. Ferenczy and the public prosecutor, Meggyesi. The main points called for the gathering of all the Jews in sub-Carpathian Ruthenia within one week, beginning April 16. The Jews of Zemplen were to be included.

The operation was begun by gendarme units a day earlier, on the morning of April 15. The Jews of the north-eastern border region were first gathered in concentration camps in Hungary; residents of sub-Carpathian Ruthenia to Munkacs, Ungvar, Beregszasz, Huszt and Mateszalka, whereas the Jews of Zemplen were sent to Újhely. A few days later, the Jews of the southwest border area were gathered in Nagykanizsa and they were the first to be deported to Auschwitz by the end of April.

The Újhely ghetto was set up in and around the gypsy suburb in houses on Rakoczei, Virag, Sziget, Vorosmarty, Zarda, Meszaros, Molnar Szechenyi-Wolkenstein, Apponyi, Arpad, Kisfaludy, Kolcsey, Zapolya and Munkacsy Streets.

With amazing speed, within four days, all the Jews of Újhely and of the entire county, without regard to age, sex or condition of health, were relocated here. The roundup of the Jews was carried out by the gendarmes and no one was permitted to remain in his home. Many who were not considered Jews even by the Jewish laws of 1939 and 1941 were taken as well. Verifiable appeals were lodged to no avail; once he was in the ghetto no one was permitted to leave.

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Between ten and eleven thousand^[3] people were crowded into the narrow area, some of them having been brought from the villages. They lacked basic foods and especially essential hygienic facilities. It was impossible to provide such a large concentration of people in the ghetto with even the most primitive sanitary conditions. The water supply and the meagre sewage system were inadequate to meet the personal needs of the population. On April 20, therefore, the sub-prefect of the county found it necessary to put into effect stringent sanitation regulations “for the extermination of vermin, prevention of contagious diseases and the provision of sanitary facilities for the Jewish inhabitants”.

It should be noted that the regulations began as follows: “With regard to the temporary settlement of the people of Újhely of Jewish race… I direct as follows”. (emphasis mine E.K.) Considering that the text of the regulations was received also by the leaders of the community, they could have had little doubt regarding their future.

The principal provisions in the first section of the regulations were:

1. The entire Jewish population must be examined individually, without delay, to ascertain to what extent they are infected with vermin and disease. The examinations will be conducted by local Jewish physicians in every section of the Jewish dwelling places as set up by the Jewish Council.
2. People who have been contaminated by lice or bugs shall be disinfected immediately… In case of need, the regional steam decontamination machine may be used as well.
3. The two bathhouses should be operated at once and kept in operation for purposes of fumigation and washing so that each of the Jewish residents should be able to bathe once a month (sic!) in accordance with conditions.
   

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According to the sub-prefect's regulations, the Jewish Council was completely responsible for all precautionary measures but it should be added that the Council was altogether lacking in means.

The Jewish Council was appointed by the heads of the administration. The chairman was Dr. Lajos Rosenberg, a lawyer (2, Kazinczy Street), Deputy Dr. Alexander Glueck and its member's, Samuel Eisenberger, Henryk Szamek and Morris Szofer.

What was the Jewish Council able to do? On April 22 it requested the mayor to allocate 3000 kilos of coal, 1000 kilos of lime, 2000 kilos of straw and “laundry and washing soap for the 8,000 Jews who have been transferred here”.

A distinguished visitor came to the ghetto on April 24 – none other than Laszlo Endre, Director-General of the Ministry of Interior. He examined some of the crowded lodgings around the bathhouse and the synagogue on Karolyi Street. He was disturbed by what he found and probably out of fear of an epidemic that could spread to other parts of the city, he firmly requested replies to the following questions:

1. “What steps have been taken to prevent an epidemic?”
2. “What staffs of doctors, nurses and sanitation personnel is capable of maintaining the health services and how can existence of such an establishment be assured?”
3. “What is lacking? (physicians, medicines, lime, inoculations, etc)”.

The sub-prefect sent his announcement to the Ministry of the Interior

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three days later, on April 27^th. He attached his regulation of April 20^th (see above) and added: “The health services are provided by the staff of the local Jewish hospital (two head doctors and another doctor), two additional Jewish doctors who have been attached to the hospital and additional physicians who are working in the Jewish quarter, which is divided into twelve sections (six for local Jews and six for those brought here from the surrounding area). All are under the supervision of the county's chief physician, a country physician and two municipal physicians”.

“Fifteen professional nurses work in the hospital and a staff of forty women capable of nursing care work in the two branches (for patients with chronic contagious diseases and for mental cases, or those afflicted with acute contagious illness). Each of the twelve doctors working in the several sections of the ghetto has a nurse attached who helps to single out or care for patients who are contaminated by vermin”.

The disinfection equipment of the Bodrogkoz district was operated in the Újhely ghetto from April 24 to May 22, 1944. The municipal physician, Dr. Sziklay, directed that 120 pengos be paid to the Kiralyhelmec council for transport of the equipment; a sanitation inspector, Andreas Aranyos, received 200 pengos for thirty days of work; Istvan Orosz, a sanitation inspector from Kiralyhelmec was paid ninety pengos for ten days work.

The Ministry of the Interior also concerned itself with the Jewish mental cases. A regulation was issued on April 20^th instructing that only dangerous mental cases requiring treatment in confinement should be retained in the psychiatric wards. All others, who could receive external family care, “should be kept within their family circles in those places where the Jews have been taken, in accordance with the regulations.^[5]

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Simultaneously, with issuance of the sanitation regulations, the authorities began “taking into custody” valuable belonging to Jews. In towns and villages outside of Újhely, the process began even earlier. (The phrase: “taking into custody”, which appeared in the documents, designates a process leading to confiscation of all movable property of Hungarian citizens considered to be Jews). The legal basis for this “appropriation” of valuables was a regulation of the Ministry of Interior dated April 7^th, 1944 and marked “Internal”. The regulation declared: “Jews who are about to be transferred may take with them the clothing they are wearing, two changes of underwear, food for fourteen days per person and an additional bundle weighing 50 kilograms containing bedding, blankets, mattresses (sic!) but no money, jewellery, gold items, etc”. (Emphasis mine. EK.).

The administrative authorities and especially the gendarmerie carried out their orders mercilessly. Their cruelty exceeded even that in the days of the Inquisition. Their victims, broken in body and spirit, stigmatized with the yellow patch, were compelled to yield up their money, their gold and silver jewellery, including wedding rings, carpets and pictures.

Since furniture and kitchen equipment could certainly not be included in the 50 kilogram bundles, and since most of the household linen and clothing also had to be left in their abandoned homes, the Jews entered their ghettos in Újhely and elsewhere, stripped and robbed.

Incidentally, the Ministry of the Interior regulation n°.6163-1944 was completely lacking in any legal basis, both with regard to the transfer of the Jews to the detention camps as well as with regard to the confiscation of their belongings. ^[6] Administrative heads, sub-prefects, mayors, prefects and registrars in sub-Carpathian Ruthenia and in the north-eastern part of the country, had always been most punctilious in their observance of the exact letter of the law, but since the middle of April 1944, the situation changed overnight. They showed no concern whatsoever if the matter involved implementation of discriminatory regulations affecting the Jews.

True, there were exceptional cases, but not in Zemplen.

The “custodianship” of the valuables of the Jews proved to be so successful that on April 20^th, 1944 the public prosecutor, Meggyesi, instructed the sub-prefect of the county to telephone the authorities of the villages under his jurisdiction and the mayors of the towns to give them the following orders: “Until further instructions, cease sending the valuables of the Jewish detainees to headquarters in Munkacs. The orderly arrangement of the valuables there will take several days”.

The district officer in Sarospatak replied to this order: “Before your instructions had been received, Sarospatak had already transferred to

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Munkacs the valuables taken from the Jews…. The Council of Tiszakarad already sent the confiscated jewellery and 9,789.39 pengos. The funds expropriated amounted to 8,657.67 pengos and the public auction of animals brought 8,175.65 pengos – a total of 16,833.32 pengos. The amount of 7,043.94 pengos was deducted from this total in payment of a public debt… The local gendarmerie guard in the village of Bodroghalom transferred to the Tiszakarad Council the sum of 2,433.63 pengos after….

“…There were several items of jewellery in the office of the regional registrar in Vegardo but the gendarmerie guard of Újhely took these to the city. There was no jewellery to be transferred from the registrar's offices in the villages of Hercegkut, Bodrogolaszi and Vamosujfalu”.^[7]

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deduction of debts, the money was sent on to Munkacs and this amount is included in the aforementioned figure for Tiszakarad!! (The two exclamation marks appear in the original document. E.K.) Several additional pieces of jewellery are in the possession of the village judge^[8] of Bodroghalom, prior to transfer….

This report indicates that the civic authorities and the gendarmerie carried out the “custodianship” of the valuables of the Jews with speed and enthusiasm. Furthermore, the local authorities, without awaiting government instructions, began selling at public auction some of the possessions which were not transferred, such as household animals – no doubt on the assumption that the Jews “who were to be settled in the ghetto temporarily” would never return to their homes, and legal problems with regard to acquisition of the items would never arise.

To complete the picture, mention should be made of the circular issued belatedly on July 13^th by the treasury office in Újhely. This order regularized the steps taken with regard to real estate owned by Jews. The acting director of the local treasury office, basing himself on a regulation issued by the Minister of Finance, notified all authorities concerned:

“Jewish-owned flats may be conveyed to Hungarian and German military units only after inventory of the contents, but no effects of any kind shall be handed over to individuals in the military. Effects may be utilized in the housing of the military when the latter are eligible for such housing under the appropriate regulations”.

“Heads of the local village authorities are forbidden to open furnished apartments of Jews and to hand over furniture for any purpose whatsoever”.

Further: “The distribution of effects even for welfare purposes is strictly forbidden. Such activity in several places is contrary to the regulations. In a few places, animals which had formerly belonged to Jews were sold. The regulations require that the treasury authorities must hand them over for safe-keeping and such practice on the part of the local authorities, therefore, contravenes the regulations. In general, if personal effects of any kind have been distributed, all the facts in the matter should be recorded and those who affected the sales should provide confirmation of the sale price and what the money was used for”.

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issuance of this regulation was necessary since Jewish homes in Zemplen as well as in Sarospatak had already been expropriated during May. The district officer, Alexander Fuzessery sent an urgent message to sub-prefect Bornemissza on May 24^th as follows: “The government regulations of April 28^th in the matter of expropriation of Jewish flats, as published in the official register, determined that decisions to expropriate the flats of Jews shall be brought to the attention of the owners of the flats. “However, the Jews of Sarospatak have been transferred to the ghetto in Újhely. Further, the majority of them have been taken from there to an unknown destination. Accordingly, it is impossible to bring to their attention the matter of the expropriation”.

The district officer therefore made an urgent request: “Considering the shortage of housing and the desire of those who lack homes to occupy the apartments intended for them as soon as possible, it would be most desirable to make such arrangements as would render the expropriation decisions of practical value, without regard for any possibility of objection or appeal!”

The sub-prefect^[9] did not delay the matter and three days after the district officer's request, on May 27, he sent the proposal to the Minister of the Interior. However, he relied on the paragraph in the apartment's decree which enabled “the expropriation of the home of a Jew who already has a home, in the same town or elsewhere” (emphasis mine E.K.)

The sub-prefect added: “Jews from all the villages of the county have been transferred to the Jewish quarter of Újhely and recently from there, to a place outside the county. The flats occupied by the Jews have therefore become vacant, that is: every Jew already has another home. (emphasis mine. E.K.)

What a mockery!

In addition to his application to the Ministry of the Interior, the sub-prefect requested of the mayor of Újhely that reports of decisions by district officers regarding expropriation of apartments should be “delivered promptly to the intended recipients, or returned to the district officers with explanation as to why they were not so delivered”.

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Four months later, on September 22, the sub-prefect received the reply of the Ministry of the Interior to the effect that: “if the Jew had been a lessee tenant, the rental relationship had been cancelled under regulation 1610-1944, paragraph 12, and therefore there was no need to inform the Jew of the decision since he was no longer a party to the matter.

“If the Jew had been the owner of the flat rather than a tenant, effort should be made to inform him of the decision but under the terms of paragraph 56 of Act XXX of 1929, it is possible to proclaim immediate execution of the decision”.

The fate of the belongings left behind by the Jews was revealed in another matter. The acting representative of the Hungarian Red Cross in Újhely wrote to the city mayor on June 5 requesting that he: “be given all the equipment of the enlarged Jewish hospital in the ghetto, which was no longer necessary. (emphasis mine. E.K.). I stress particularly that I am interested in obtaining all the medical instruments and the x-ray equipment”.

On the reverse side of this request, the mayor recorded the following comment: “Instructions have been given accordingly: the above details are based on the inventory – June 7, 1944”.

When convenience dictated, the municipal administration could act swiftly, appropriately and efficiently.

In another case, a government agency took action over the heads of the local administrative authority. The person in charge of medical manpower informed the sub-prefect of Zemplen that he had: “taken possession of the expropriated medical equipment of the Jewish doctor, Ludwig Adler from Kiralyhelmec; had, with full responsibility, prepared a detailed inventory and had transferred it to the local clinic of the Green Cross”.

There were instances when the local authority adhered faithfully to the letter of the regulations governing personal effects of the Jews. On June 30, the mayor of Újhely requested of the gendarmerie guard station there which was attached to Region Eight of Kassa that :”several bicycles which had previously been made available for use by the separate headquarters of the unit dealing with the ghetto, should be handed over to the treasury officials”.

The headquarters of the gendarmerie had, on June 23, ordered its guard station to retain possession of the bicycles and the commander of the station had relied on the ruling issued by the Ministry of the Interior on

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May 31, directing that bicycles and typewriters which had been Jewish property should be supplied to the gendarmerie as to military units. Nevertheless, they were compelled to hand these bicycles over to the treasury. The following comment is recorded on the reverse side of the page: “The bicycles have been transferred: no need for further action. To be filed. August 8, 1944.

With regard to the personal effects which had been taken from the Jews, the commander of the Újhely fire brigade reported to the mayor of the city on July 14: “Today I conducted a security check in the Jewish synagogue and in its yard. I declare that the furniture and the bedding are piled up in a disorderly and disorganized manner and if a fire should break out, we shall be unable to extinguish it with the means at our disposal. Furthermore, we shall be unable to save, not only the belongings which are scattered about, but not even the city hall building which is adjacent. Should there be an aerial attack, even the smallest incendiary bomb would be sufficient to cause a fire destroying the jumble entirely”.

The fire chief listed five steps which, in his opinion, must be taken to correct the situation and prevent a possible fire. The acting mayor approved out of consideration for the fact that: “it is in the interests of the state that the possessions located there (in the synagogue and its yard) (E.K.) should reach their destination in their entirety”.

What that destination was to be and what happened to the belongings which had been stored there for inventory purposes, according to the documents, is unknown.

* * *

Special attention should be given to those who were exempt from the provisions of the “Jewish Laws” and to the fate of those who requested such exemption. The status of the latter was unequivocal: “The request for exemption from provisions of the law” will not be considered in the case of anyone who had not received the exemption up to March 19, 1944.

The application of an Újhely resident, the widow of Salamon Veltner, to recognize the anti-revolutionary activity of her late husband in 1919^[10] was turned down by the mayor. He refused to grant a certificate to that effect despite the fact that the woman produced written confirmation….

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From the records of the Újhely prison that “the revolutionary court (Communist) had sentenced him (her husband) to eight days imprisonment because of anti-revolutionary activity and he had served the sentence in the Újhely prison”. Reason for refusal to grant the certificate: “The city administration has no information that the deceased did engage in anti-revolutionary activity and there is no evidence to that effect in the offices of the municipality….”

The mayor ignored the confirmation from the prison as if it did not exist…

Those who had requested the exemption, not in the spring of 1944 but much earlier, and already possessed the precious document, were in a different situation. As for the others, they were too late. For example:

Miklos Reich was exempt from the Jewish Laws because he was a war orphan and his wife, therefore, qualified for the same exemption. She filed a request on May 2 that she be permitted to leave the ghetto and return to her original home….

The widow of Lajos Kohn, who together with her son had been removed from Erdobenye to the ghetto in Újhely, made application on April 21 for recognition as a “war widow” and, therefore, eligible for exemption as if a non-Jew.

The wife of Janos Palocsik had been transferred from Olaszliszka to Újhely. Her husband was a Christian and she had been converted seventeen years earlier, which made her a non-Jew under the law. Her request that she be permitted to return to her village was file on April 16.

The widow of Armin Friedmann produced a document from the military chaplaincy attesting that her husband had fallen at the front, victim of a shell fragment and she was, therefore, considered a war widow. This document was recognized in Bodrogkeresztur. At first, the authorities permitted her to remain in her home but “later”, she was transferred to the ghetto in Újhely. On May 19, she presented a request through the Jewish Council, that she be granted the exemption with permission to return to her “normal” residence together with her children, Eva, Andor, Laszlo, Julianna and Iren….

An exceptional case was that of Bernat Weinstock. “The police command of Újhely permitted B. Weinstock to return to Csorgo^[11] with his wife and children in accordance with Decision n°17-1944, since he is

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eligible for exemption from all restricting regulations. However, the afore-mentioned was arrested by the gendarmerie upon his return home. He was transferred to the Jewish quarter and has remained there since”.

Special mention should be made that the military archives carry record that B. Weinstock had four times been singled out for citation for bravery (In the First World War), receiving three silver and one bronze medal. Furthermore, the Jewish Council had appended a certificate from the “United Hungarian Party” of Kassa^[12] on Weinstock's conduct during the days of Czechoslovak rule. The mayor's office put a notation on the application: “It should be ascertained if he is still here”. The application was then passed on to Újhely's district officer and on June 20, the latter informed the mayor that: “since this person has already been transferred out of here, there is nothing for me to do in the matter”.

The various requests were sent by the Jewish Council to the commandant of the police who passed them on to the sub-prefect of the county. The latter took no action on them whatsoever but sent them to the commandant of the gendarmerie with the query: “Please advise if those who submitted these applications are still in the Újhely ghetto or if in the meantime, the applications have perhaps become obsolete”.

The commandant of the gendarmerie returned the applications to the sub-prefect of Zemplen county on June 9 with the comment: “All the Jews in the Újhely ghetto were transferred out by June 3 and the applications are therefore now obsolete”.

The following case is unique in its record of the handling of Jewish affairs. The district officer of Sarospatak passed on to the mayor of Újhely the documents on the matter of the wife of Jeno Elefant, a resident of the village who was being supported by the Ministry of Defence. She was probably eligible for exemption on the basis of these documents. The mayor returned the papers on May 24 with the added notation: “This dependent of the Ministry of Defence left Újhely for an unknown destination and since her presence in Újhely had been only temporary, the documents may be filed”. (emphasis mine. E.K.)

Even after the deportation of the ghetto residents from Újhely, there was still work for the administrative personnel. Matters of the Jewish homes, care of the personal effects and their transfer for use, kept the various authorities busy for months. Several cases can serve to illustrate the inhuman spirit, as reflected in the various documents. One example is the matter of payments to Jewish pensioners of whom there certainly were not many in the county. The Postal Savings Fund recorded that payments to certain pensioners in the county had not been effected, and

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by way of comment: “The pensioner has moved to an unknown address”.

The sub-prefect of the county informed the Minister of the Interior, Jaross, on July 21 that: “inasmuch as this is now a standing situation, I shall cease issuing payment orders to Jewish pensioners until further notice. Please advise me, therefore, if I should once and for all cancel payments to these pensioners, considering that I shall not be able to obtain any information with regard to their possible death. (emphasis mine. E.K.)

The responsible heads of the county and the local authorities persistently maintained, after 1945, that they had played no role in the acts of cruelty for which the gendarmes had been responsible. Furthermore, they had not even known what was to happen to the Jews who were transferred out of the area. Documents like those cited here contradict all their attempts at self-defence.

The final document connected with the Újhely ghetto carries the following official heading: “Journal of expenses for fixing dwelling places for the Jews – containing seven (7) double-numbered pages”.

The following are a few selected items, indicating subject and amount:

May 9, '44		cost of rail transport of food for the Jewish Council	299.80 p
May 10, '44		invoice of the Geza Eszrenyi building materials firm	120.00 p
May 11, '44		cost of rail transport of food for the Jewish Council	87.60 p
May 19, '44		grocery bill for clerks of the authority (food)	3255.00 p
May 24, '44		cost of use of the Fekalia machine	1650.00 p
June 3, '44		grocery bill for the clerks of the authority (food)	791.00 p
June 9, '44		cost of use of Fekalia machine	1980.00 p
June 16, '44		payment for 8 day's work in gathering of the ghetto fences June 8-14, '44	339.00 p
June 23, '44		repair of street pavements in the ghetto Machine for cleaning of latrines.	246.00 p

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June 30,'44		repair of fences in the ghetto	307.00 p
July 10,'44		invoice of the Geza Eszrenyi building materials firm	41.60 p
		Cost of wooden planks	1161.30 p
		Cost of 740kg lime	1642.15 p
July 14,'44		dismantlement of the ghetto fences	262.00 p

Summary

With these words, the local authority finished off the history of the ghetto in Újhely.

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XI. Jewish Communities in Zemplen

During the preceding consideration of the history of the Jews of Zemplen, it was not possible to recount the stories of the dozens of little village communities scattered throughout the county. This final chapter must, therefore, serve as their special memorial.

The surviving remnants of Zemplen in Israel have, ever since the fifties held an annual memorial gathering in the Hebrew month of Iyar. After the lamentation and the mourning for the saintly victims, the cantor intones the memorial service and reads out a list of the destroyed communities. The list was compiled on the basis of information provided by the survivors and it is not yet certain that it is complete. It includes the names of villages about whose Jewish residents I have no information. At the same time, the Encyclopaedia of Jewish Communities – Hungary, makes mention of offshoots of communities in villages which, for some reason, were not recalled by survivors as having Jewish residents.

It is our wish to do full justice to the memory of all our brethren in Zemplen and we shall, therefore, make mention of the names of villages drawn from both these sources. Since the major part of this work deals with the county's capital, Újhely, which had the largest community, nothing further will be added here about that centre.

In many small villages there were only a handful of Jews and a full community life never developed there. Yet, Jews lived there for several generations, earned their livelihood there and from those places, they were sent off to their fate. Their memory is recalled even if only by recording the names of their villages. The list also includes some villages which were annexed to Hungary following the Vienna Agreement and its Jewish residents were gathered in the Újhely ghetto. The history of these few scattered communities does not properly fall within the purview of this study which seeks to deal with Zemplen County in its Trianon borders and we shall therefore only make mention of their names.

The Jews of the small villages shared a similar history and a common doom. Almost all of them settled in the various places in the eighteenth century, having come there in connection with wine and viniculture business. Many became agriculturists and vintners, while others followed prevalent pursuits such as trading, peddling and the crafts. When there was a split in the communities, all of them without exception, regarded

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themselves as Orthodox. Each community, no matter how small, had its Mikveh (ritual bath), heder (religious Hebrew school), cemetery, Shohet (ritual slaughterer) and teacher.

During 1941-42, all men of military age were conscripted into the Labour Service. A considerable number of them were killed or murdered by Hungarian staff officers with the result that only the women, the elderly, youth and children remained in the villages. Following the German occupation, they had a joint fate: they were assembled in their synagogues and transferred to the ghetto in Újhely.

***

Bekecs – a village in the Szerencs district. Jews resided there from the eighteen century and from the nineteenth century on, they numbered about a hundred. This tiny community, which was affiliated with the kehilla in Szerencs, created a synagogue, maintained a Hevra Kaddish (burial society) and a heder. After the German occupation, they were all sent to the ghetto in Újhely. Only about ten persons survived the concentration camps and the Labour Service.

Bodrogkeresztur – a village in the district of Tokaj. The first Jews to settle there in the eighteenth century engaged in trading in agricultural products, including wine. The village was known for the fairs held there which attracted merchants and artisans from surrounding countries. During the time of the famous Rabbi Isaiah Steiner, many Jews were wagoners. They provided transportation for visitors, and even opened restaurants. During World War I, refugees came from Galicia and these proved a thorn in the side of the native villagers. Anti-Semitic agitation increased and during the time of the White Terror, a demobilized soldier murdered an entire Jewish family.

The Hevra Kaddisha was established in 1767 and a cemetery at the same time. There was also a philanthropic aid society, a Mishnah study society and a youth group known as Tiferet Bahurim. The kehilla had two branches, one in Bodrogkisfalud and the other in Szogi. The first synagogue was built in 1767 and when this was destroyed by fire, it was replaced in 1906 by a new synagogue. The Hasidim had their own house of worship.

The community was served by distinguished rabbis. Rabbi Eliezer London and Rabbi Israel Wahrmann were active toward the end of the seventeenth century. Rabbi Abraham (Abish) Tennenbaum was compelled to leave the village because he had come from Galicia and many of his followers left with him upon his departure in 1815. Rabbi Moses Ginz Schlesinger wrote a book dealing with Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) which was published by his son, Rabbi Hayim Alter, who died

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in the Holocaust. Toward the end of the past century, Rabbi Isaiah Steiner came from Liszka. He was a pupil of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Friedman who drew pupils from afar. Rabbi Steiner organized help for the refugees from Galicia during World War I. His followers, and especially the women, ascribed supernatural powers to him and sought his help.

The community also had a Talmud Torah and a yeshiva. After World War I, a branch of the Zionist Organization was established there. A grave in the cemetery of over two hundred years old is said, by some, to contain the remains of the Baal Shem Tov.

Soon after the arrival of the Germans, all the Jews were assembled in the synagogue and from there, dispatched to the ghetto in Újhely. Their valuables were confiscated and their property was at once divided up among the local residents. The Jews were permitted to leave with small packs only. Of the seven hundred who left, less than a hundred remained alive.

Cigand - a village in Bodrogkoz. Jews first came here at the beginning of the previous century and dealt in agricultural produce. In general, their relations with their neighbours were peaceful. Prior to World War I, the community was affiliated with that of Kiralyhelmec. Their synagogue was built in 1920 and they also maintained a Hevra Kaddisha, a Talmud Torah, a heder and a school. Following the German occupation, the Jews were all transported in carts to the ghetto, together with their spiritual leader, Rabbi David Neumann. Only about thirty of the two hundred Jews survived the forced labour, the deportations and the murders.

Erdobenye - a village in the Tokaj district. The Jews who settled here in the eighteenth century grew grapes, produced wine, were artisans and engaged in trading. Their community was associated with that of Olaszliszka. They had a Hevra Kaddisha, a philanthropic aid society, a school and a heder; the youth were organized in a Tiferet Bahurim society. During the White Terror, after World War I, Jewish-owned stores were robbed and the Jews were persecuted. When the Germans entered Hungary, the local Jews were transferred first to Tokaj and then to the ghetto in Újhely. Of the approximate 150 Jews in this village, only about ten remained alive. The fifteen Torah scrolls in the synagogue were saved by a villager and hidden away until the fury had subsided.

Gesztely – a village in Szerencs district. The first Jews reached here in the eighteenth century. Members of the community, which was affiliated with the kehilla in Szerencs, were merchants and artisans. Later, local Jews built a cement factory and a mill. As in other villages, the Jews of Gesztely suffered from the local population during the White Terror. The

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Jews of Ujcsanalos received their religious services, including supply of kosher meat, from here. The seventy Jews were sent to the Újhely ghetto and only bout fifteen survived.

Hernadnemeti had a Jewish population ever since the eighteenth century. Some pursued small-scale crafts while others tilled the soil or received appointments from the large estates. One of the local Jews owned a flour mill. Though they were few in number, they built a synagogue and maintained a cemetery. There were a number of robberies during the White Terror and local, peaceful relations were disturbed. In 1938, their means of livelihood were undermined when their enterprises were confiscated, including taverns which they owned. One family was banished from the village in 1940. Following the German occupation, the remaining Jews were sent to the ghetto in Újhely. There were four survivors from the eleven souls in the village.

Laca – a village in Bodrogkoz. Jews lived here since the preceding century and their numbers reached about sixty. Their fate was sealed when they were sent to labour camps and to the ghetto in Újhely. There is no information with regard to survivors.

Legyesbenye. The community was affiliated with Szerencs and maintained its own synagogue, mikveh and cemetery. Jews had lived here since the eighteenth century engaging in trade, crafts and agriculture. They numbered about sixty when sent to the ghetto in Újhely. A bare handful remained alive after the forced labour camps and the deportations.

Mad. The community was established in the eighteenth century and Rabbi Moses Wolf Litman was the first spiritual leader. The synagogue was put up in 1798. The main occupation of the Jews in Mad was connected with production and marketing of wine. From its earliest days, the community leaned toward Hasidism. Rabbi Amram Rosenbaum settled in Palestine during the 1820's. The community constantly battled against assimilation and any foreign influences. Its leading rabbis were: Rabbi Abraham Yehuda Schwartz, Rabbi Amram Blum and Rabbi Naftali Schwartz. The fact that the rabbis and religious judges of Mad published some twenty-five books during 300 years is indicative of the creative Jewish life there. The local yeshiva drew students from all parts of Hungary.

Twelve Jewish soldiers from Mad fell on the battlefields during World War I. In 1940, three families were banished to Kamenets-Podolski and were murdered there. Following the German occupation, all the Jews were gathered in the synagogue and sent by rail to the ghetto in Újhely. Ninety souls survived from the population of 450.

A history of the Jews here has been written by Aryeh Levi under the title: “The Jewish Community of Maad (Hungary”. (Jerusalem, 1974).

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Megyaszo – a village in the district of Szerencs, where the Jews settled in the eighteenth century. They possessed vineyards and farmlands. As early as 1812 the community had its own synagogue, mikveh, cemetery and heder. Though itself affiliated with the community in Szerencs, it provided religious services for the Jews in Baksa and Alsodobsza. When the signal was given, all the Jews of the villages were assembled in the synagogue and from there sent to the ghetto in Újhely. Only about one tenth of Megyaszo's 100 Jews remained alive.

Monok – a village in the Szerencs district. First settlement of Jews here began in the middle of the nineteenth century, although there is record of individual Jews earlier. They were wheat traders, farmers and artisans. Monok was the birthplace of Lajos Kossuth and the Jews always participated in the celebrations in memory of Hungary's great patriotic figure. The community had a Hevra Kaddisha, a charity society, mikveh, Talmud Torah, heder and a school. The vigorous spirit in this small community was manifested in many ways, as for example, its observance of the traditional third festive meal on the Sabbath in which pupils of the Talmud Torah regularly took part with an artistic programme.

In 1914, all the Jews of Monok were sent to Tallya where they were held for two days while their documents were checked. The sixty or seventy Jews of the village were dispatched to the ghetto in Újhely after the German occupation. The only survivors were two women who found the synagogue razed and the Torah scrolls flung onto a dung heap.

Olaszliszka – a village in the Tokaj district where Jewish settlement dated back to the eighteenth century, attracted by the opportunities in viniculture and the production and merchandizing of wine. An organized community came into existence in 1810 and a synagogue was built in the middle of the century. Religious services were provided to two smaller villages: Sara and Vamosujfalu. A school was opened in 1872, followed by a Talmud Torah and a yeshiva. A women's organization was active and a shelter for the poor was operated. One of the more unusual activities was carried on by a group which acquired books for the advancement of the yeshiva.

In 1840, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Friedman, a faithful pupil of Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, came to Liszka bringing with him the life-style of the famous sage and established a Hasidic centre in the village. He was a modest man, an ascetic, wise, warm-hearted and true to the principles of his teacher. Liszka became a centre for Hasidic pilgrimages. The rabbi refused to accept a salary except for one florin a week, and all the money given by his visitors he handed over to the community for distribution among the poor. At his initiative, a 500-seat synagogue was built but the final bracket at the top of the roof was left incomplete, as

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a reminder of the destruction of the Temple. In the same spirit, the rabbi instructed that his own home be built without a foundation to symbolize the temporariness of life in the Diaspora.

Rabbi Zvi Hirsch was also a prolific writer. One of his books, a compendium of explanations and interpretations of the Torah, appeared in two editions. Another volume comprised his sermons and eulogies. Still another was a collection of tales, anecdotes and observations on current events. He died on the 14^th day of the month of Ab in 1874. Thousands used to come for observance of his Yahrzeit (anniversary of the death).

Following his passing, the community began to decline and maintained its institutions only with great difficulty, among them, its Hasidic style yeshiva. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Rabbi Haim Friedlander, also a writer who published a volume of exegesis on the Torah and the holidays and another on new ideas with regard to problems discussed in the Mishnah. He was, in turn, succeeded by his son, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Friedlander.

During World War I, thirty-six members of the community served in the armed forces and ten of them were killed at the front. Nevertheless, the community had little peace or quiet in the post-war period. Rabbi Friedlander was accused in 1925 of counterfeiting money and though he was completely exonerated by the court, the event served to inflame passions. After 1941, the situation in the village became much worse, as it did throughout the country. The men were impressed into the Labour Service units and with the arrival of the Germans, the remaining Jewish population was sent to the ghetto in Újhely. Only fifteen of the 200 Jews returned after enduring their Hell on earth.

Ricse – a village in the district of Bodrogkoz had a Jewish population since the early part of the nineteenth century. They were merchants, artisans, agriculturists and owners of flour and saw mills. Following World War I, the Jewish community was able to stand on its own feet and provided religious services to Jews in smaller villages in the region: Bodrogsemjen, Damoc, Zemplenagard, Cseke, Karos, Karcsa, Nagyrozvagy, Kis and Revleanyvar. The synagogue was built toward the end of the past century and the community also maintained a mikveh, Talmud Torah, heder, yeshiva and a school. The young people carried on numerous activities and were inclined toward Zionism.

In 1939, the village was visited by a group of saboteur irregulars sent by the Hungarian government to create panic in Czechoslovakia on the eve of the partition of that country. The ruffians robbed the Jews and tormented them.

One of the community's rabbis, Rabbi Nathan Lieberman, published a volume on the Mishnah and made notes on a section of one of Rabbi

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Moses Teteilbaum's books. The last rabbi of the community was Rabbi Samson Segal Billiczer who served also as Shohet. From its earliest days, this community leaned toward Hasidism. About 170 Jews were sent off to the ghetto in Újhely and only 45 returned from the concentration camps and the Labour Service units.

Sarospatak was one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the county, its community dating back to the eighteenth century when the regulations for its Hevra Kaddisha were drawn up. The first tombstone in the cemetery dates back to the same period. The first rabbi was Zvi Hirsch Hacohen who served his flock during the third decade of the past century. He was followed by Rabbi Simon Hacohen Shatin, who had previously been in Mad and Tokaj. Rabbi Isaiah Katz, Bairon's rulings in Halacha (Jewish law) was widely quoted and reflected glory on his community. Rabbi Isaiah Ehrenfeld published interpretations of the Torah, whereas the community's last rabbi, Ephraim Fischel Fischer, struck off in a different direction. He became a fervent propagandist for Samson Raphael Hirsch, translated his letters into Hungarian and espoused the cause of enlightened orthodoxy.

The community opened its school in 1886 with money from the Goldblatt Fund. The Hasidim did not split off but did set up their own separate bet midrash on the bank of the Bodrog River

In general, the Jews enjoyed good relations with the villagers. Tradition had it that in 1848 the Jewish elders had saved the settlement from destruction. Pupils of the Academy had thrown stones at a unit of the Russian army which was passing through and the Russians prepared to shell the village in retaliation. A delegation of prominent Jews succeeded in convincing the Russian officers to reverse their decision, thus averting disaster.

The community had a Talmud Torah and a yeshiva whose last head was Rabbi Eliezer Schwartz. A women's society was organized at the end of the preceding century. A winter prayer house was built alongside the big synagogue in 1935-36.

The members of the community endured various disturbances in 1939. The expulsion of several families who were murdered by Ukrainians across the border was but the first of a long series of oppressive acts. The economic restrictions also struck heavily at the Jews, since many of them were merchants and artisans.

At the beginning of the forties, Patak became a centre of the Labour Service units which were engaged in building an airfield. Thereafter, they were sent to the Ukrainian front. After the German occupation, the Jews were assembled in the synagogue and many were tortured to compel them to reveal where they had hidden their valuables. They were then

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shipped by train to the ghetto in Újhely and their fate was sealed. Of Sarospatak's 1100 Jews, only about 150 remained alive. The director of the faculty of theology at the Academy concealed and thus saved sixteen Torah scrolls.

Szegilong – a village in the Tokaj district. The Jews made their living from farming and viniculture, commerce and the sale of wine in the taverns. The community was associated with that of Bodrogkeresztar from which it received religious services. There was a small prayer house in the village and a Shohet who assured the supply of kosher meat and also taught in the lower classes. The seventy Jews of the village were sent off to the ghetto in Újhely and only twelve returned after the war. They found their synagogue destroyed and erected a monument in memory of the community's martyrs.

Szerencs. The community here was set up in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Fund-raising for the synagogue was begun in 1809 and soon, thereafter, the governing regulations of the community were drawn up. A year earlier, the Hevra Kaddisha was organized and the yeshiva established. Renowned rabbis were Amram Billiczer and his son, Rabbi Pinhas Segal Billiczer. Both were mentioned frequently in response literature. Rabbi Menahem Halevi Pollak wrote a well-known book.

The community in Szerencs served as a centre for many smaller villages among them: Bekecs, Leyesbenye, Taktaharkany, Tiszaluc, Hernadnemeti, Megyaszo, Taktaszada, Ulcsanalos, Sajohidveg, Sajokorom, Beczek, Ond, Gesztely, Girincs, Zombor, Sajokesznyeten, Hernadkak and Sostofalva.

There were organizations for philanthropic activity and for sponsorship of godfathers as well as a wedding fund.

After the German occupation, on the eighth day of Passover, the Jews were assembled in the synagogue and then sent to the ghetto in Miskolc only twenty-five kilometres away and closer than Újhely, capital of the county. Of the thousand Jews who lived in Szerencs before the Holocaust, only some 140 survived.

Taktaharkany – a village in the Szerencs district. Jews, who lived here since the early years of the preceding century, gained their livelihood as merchants, artisans and tillers of the soil. The community had a synagogue, a mikveh, a cemetery and maintained a Shohet who also taught beginners' classes in the heder. In 1938, the authorities began to bear down on the merchants, many of whom lost their means of livelihood. Following the German occupation of Hungary, all of the village's Jews were gathered in the local synagogue and sent to the ghetto in Újhely. Only five of the Jewish population of about seventy remained alive.

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Tallya – a village in the Szerencs district. Jews settled here at the beginning of the preceding century with the support of the estate owners. The local population, which regarded them as undesirable competitors, reacted with unconcealed hostility. The Jews leased vineyards, dealt in wine and grapes and followed various crafts. In 1867, the Hasidim seceded from the community but soon thereafter returned. The local Jews established a Hevra Kaddisha and maintained a mikveh and heder. A Mishnah study society also existed as well as a Tiferet Bahurim group for the youth. There were three synagogues in the village, the newest of which was completed in 1890. It was renowned for its Aron Kodesh (Holy Ark) which was nine metres high and was decorated with a precious Parochet (curtain), a gift of the local Count Andrassy. Affiliated with the community were the smaller Jewish groups in Golop, Ratka and Monok.

The community rabbis were well known: Rabbi David Judah Rottenberg published a volume of exegesis on the Torah; Rabbi Moses Aaron Friedman wrote another distinguished work; Rabbi Hayim Gershon Katz Gottdiener was a saintly and noble character; Rabbi Gershon Lits Halevi Rosenbaum published a book of commentary on the Shulhan Aruch compilation and eulogies; his son, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Lits Rosenbaum, who succeeded him in 1901, was a member of the county House of Representatives. The last rabbi of the community was Mordecai Segal Lits Rosenbaum, who perished in Auschwitz.

During the unsettled period which followed World War I, the local population prepared a campaign of violence against the Jews. A Jewish defence unit composed of volunteers arrived from Budapest and prevented the riots. This unit operated between November 1918 and March, 1919, with the permission of the democratic government.

From 1938, the authorities expropriated the vineyards owned by the Jews and forbade them to sell wine. After the German occupation, the Hungarian authorities treated the Jews with cruelty and coarseness, robbing and tormenting every Jew they could lay their hands on. In the end, the Jews were sent off to their fate from the Újhely ghetto with Rabbi Mordecai Segal Lits Rosenbaum at their head. Of the 170 Jews in Tallya, only twenty members of the Labour Service units and a few women returned. In 1947, they erected a memorial for those who had died in the Holocaust.

Tarcal – a village in the Tokaj district. Although Jews had lived here in the eighteenth century, the community was organized and a synagogue erected only in the middle of the past century. At first, the local group was associated with Bodrogkeresztur from which they obtained their religious services but they later assumed independence and organized a Hevra Kaddisha, a home for the aged, a Mishnah study group and a

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Heder. The Jews were vintners, merchants and artisans.

Rabbi Esdekiel Panet, who was later to become the chief rabbi of Transylvania, served here during the early part of the nineteenth century and founded the famous family of that name. He was born in Silesia, was influenced by Hasidism and wrote a book on Jewish law. At the end of the century, the rabbi here was Jacob Shapira who was succeeded by his son-in-law, Joshua Heschel Segal Rosner.

Following World War I, the Jews here suffered a great deal at the hands of the local villagers. The Jewish Laws which went into effect on the eve of World War II undermined their economic status. Following the German occupation, they were subjected to a curfew, then assembled in the synagogue and shipped to the ghetto in Újhely. Only about thirty survived the original population of some 300. The few who remained, left the village when their synagogue was burned down in 1956.

Tiszaluc – a village in the district of Szerencs. The first Jews who settled here in the eighteenth century earned their livelihood from the sale of timber that was floated down the Tisza River from the mountains in northeast Hungary. Later, they leased lands or served as overseers and functionaries for the estate owners or worked as merchants and artisans. The synagogue was erected in the latter part of the previous century. The community was, at first, affiliated with that of Mad and later Szerencs. It had a Hevra Kaddisha and a mikveh. Passage of the Jewish Laws by Parliament seriously affected their means of livelihood and all those employed by the estates were dismissed.

With the outbreak of World War II, several families were deported and were murdered in Kamanets-Podolski. The German occupation was followed by assembly of the local Jews in the synagogue courtyard whence they were shipped to the ghetto in Újhely. The approximately 170 Jews were reduced to about twenty and those returning to the village after the war, found that their synagogue had been converted by the villagers into a pigpen.

Tokaj – a village located where the Bodrog River flows into the Tisza. Jews were to be found here in the seventeenth century but they left because of the hardships caused by the many wars and only returned in the eighteenth century. Their means of livelihood were connected with viniculture and wine. About a hundred years ago, an enterprising Jew put up a match factory; others were merchants, artisans, functionaries, physicians and lawyers. The community had a Hevra Kaddisha, an organization for the sponsorship of godfathers, a society of Jewish merchants and a Tiferet Bahurim group for the youth. The school was established in 1856 and from 1883, the language of instruction there was

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Hungarian. The synagogue was built in 1889. Among the renowned rabbis were Rabbi Gabriel Jacob Sanditc and Rabbi David Schick who published a book on Talmudic study. Last of the community's spiritual leaders was Rabbi Moses Nathan Halevi Jungreis who died in the Holocaust. Tokaj was one of the few places where Jewish nationalism was able to strike root and despite the Orthodox atmosphere, a Zionist youth movement was established there in 1931.

Early in the forties, Tokaj became a centre for the Labour Service units and the forced labourers of military age were sent from here to the Ukraine. After the German occupation, an S.S. unit was camped here and aided the local authorities in carrying out the measures against the Jews. Even before the first steps were taken to annihilate the community, the wealthy Jews were arrested and held in administrative imprisonment in Kis-Tarcsa. In April 1944, all the Jews were assembled in the synagogue and held there for two weeks under terribly crowded conditions. Subsequently, the bet midrash and the other communal buildings were transformed into a miniature ghetto. The authorities permitted the villagers to help the incarcerated Jews by sending them food parcels. In May, they were all loaded onto wagons and taken to Bodrogkeresztur and then transferred to the ghetto in Újhely. A few managed to escape and fled to Budapest. Only about one tenth of the approximately one thousand Jews in Tokaj survived the war.

Tolcsva – a village in the Tokaj district where Jews first settled in the eighteenth century. They leased vineyards, manufactured wine and were also occupied as traders, artisans and waggoneers. The first synagogue was built in 1860. The community maintained a heder, a yeshiva and a charitable aid society.

Many of the community's rabbis were authors. Rabbi Moses David Ashkenazi, who served during the early part of the preceding century, wrote two books dealing with religious legal problems. He went to Palestine, settled in Safed and died there in 1856. Rabbi Aaron Greenberg, a former pupil of the Hatam Sofer, wrote on marriage and divorce problems. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Glueck issued two volumes on various interpretations of the Mishnah. Later, Rabbi Samuel Gottlieb and Rabbi Akiba Pinhas Kornitzer served the community.

Smaller communities affiliated with Tolcsva were: Komloska, Bodrogolaszi, Zsadany, Felso-, Kozep- and Alsohuta. The community had a Hevra Kaddisha and a women's organization. There was a lively cultural life and despite the fact that this was an Orthodox community, there was also Zionist activity. The Jewish Laws served to destroy the Jews' means of livelihood; their vineyards and lands were expropriated. Several families were banished to Kamenets-Podolski in 1941, and were

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murdered there.

After the German occupation, the Jews were all sent to the ghetto in Újhely. Tolcsva had about 360 Jews of whom only about forty were the surviving remnant.

Vajdacska – a village in the Sarospatak district, first settled by Jews at the beginning of the last century. They were merchants and artisans and tilled the soil. At first affiliated with the community in Sarospatak, the Jews here later assumed communal independence and other smaller communities looked to them for religious services. Among them were: Pacin, Berecki, Bodroghalom, Karcsa, Karos, Laca and Rozvany. Though some of these villages had partial services, sometimes a Shohet, sometimes a synagogue, their Jews would on the holidays all come to pray in Vajdacska. In addition to its synagogue, the community also had a cemetery, a Hevra Kaddisha, a heder, a yeshiva, a mikveh and a school. During its history, the community had only one rabbi – Ephraim Fishel Roth who wrote a well-known book.

A cooperative store opened in 1930 seriously affected the Jewish owners of the local grocery store and other merchants. The Jews were also forbidden to sell alcoholic beverages and with the passage of the Jewish Laws, their lands were expropriated. After the German occupation, they were all assembled in the synagogue yard and then, headed by their rabbi, sent to the ghetto in Újhely. The town had a population of some 60-70 Jews of whom only about ten remained alive.

Zemplenagard – a village in the district of Kiralyhelmec. The Jews who settled there in the nineteenth century were for the most part traders and artisans. The community was affiliated, at first, to that of Ricse and later to that of Cigand. It had a synagogue, a mikveh and a cemetery. Small neighbouring village communities which had previously been connected with Ricse, received religious services from here. Among them were Revleanyvar and Damoc.

After the German occupation, the Jews were gathered in the school and transferred from there to the ghetto in Újhely. Of the approximately 130 Jews of the village, less than ten survived.

In addition to the names listed above, mention must also be made of the following scattered communities: Kaso, Golop, Boly, Bodzasujlak, Bodrogszerdahely, Bodrogszentes, Szomotor, Szephalom, Semjen, Koskövesd, Nagy-, Mikohaza, Magyarsas and Tiszakarad.

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Sources

Pinkas hakehillot. Encyclopaedia of Jewish Communities – Hungary.
Jerusalem, 1976 (Hebrew).
Borovszky, Samu, Magyarorszag varmegyei es varosai – Zemeplenvarmegye. Budapest.
Magyar Zsido Lexikon. Szerkesztette Ujvari Peter. Budapest. 1929
Reshimat Kehillot Mahoz Zemplen. Manuscript. (Hebrew).

Footnotes

1. Since the description here is based entirely on archival sources in Hungarian, it has not been found advisable to indicate or translate the footnotes which appear with the original Hungarian text only, with the exception of a few, as required for purposes of clarity. M.S. Return
2. The Jews were ordered to sew the patch on the upper left side of their clothing, where it would be prominently displayed. Return
3. Another estimate sets the number of ghetto inhabitants at 14,000 Jews. (M.S.) Return
4. It should be noted that until now, only a small part of the documents pertaining to the establishment of the ghetto and conditions there have been found. There is hope that additional documents will be discovered in the various government offices and in the archives of the people's courts. During the research, it became clear that unknown persons had destroyed papers of some significance. The same happened to the minutes of the Újhely city council for the year 1944. Someone tore out the pages in which, according to the context, there was record of the deliberations regarding establishment of the ghetto. Return
5. The director of the county hospital reported to the chief municipal doctor with regard to Jews who were sick and hospitalized. The report noted: Sixty-five men and fifty-eight women were hospitalized, of which, fifty-five men and fifty-seven women were mental cases. An additional parenthetical comment stated: “Their number is being reduced from day-to-day as they are discharged”. (see footnote 14 in the Hungarian text) Return
6. The Hungarian government decree requiring declaration of the wealth of the Jews and deposit of all gold, silver and platinum jewellery as well as precious stones and pearls, was published in the official register on April 16^th1944. The confiscation of jewellery by the gendarmerie headquarters in the Kassa region was therefore carried out even prior to publication of the decree which in any event spoke of deposit only. With regard to the fixing of compulsory residences for the Jews, seizure of their homes and determination of new homes, the regulation was published in the official register only about two weeks later on April 28^th, 1944. (see note n°15 in the Hungarian text) Return
7. This document also includes further information with regard to the “custodianship” of the Jews' valuables reported by the district officers of Tokaj, Szerencs and Bodrogkoz: Seven crates, nine suitcases, a small package and twelve typewriters were ready for transfer from the Tokaj district. Approximately fifty crates from the Bodrogkoz district; twenty-six large crates; seven small crates; two suitcases and additional valuables packed in bags and boxes from the Szerencs district. (see note n°17 in the Hungarian text) Return
8. The function of the village “judge” was to see to the execution of the orders of the authorities. (M.S.) Return
9. Sub-prefect Bornemissza issued a circular to some district officers ordering them to assist the treasury personnel in the gathering of the personal effects of the Jews and in taking inventory. Minutes regarding the taking of inventory in Jewish apartments conveyed for military use have been found among the mayor's documents. (see details in the Hungarian text, note n°18) Return
10. The reference is to the short-lived Communist regime in Hungary. (M.S.) Return
11. The village of Csorgo belonged to Czechoslovakia up to 1938 (M.S.) Return
12. Kassa belonged to Czechoslovakia up to 1938. (M.S.) Return

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