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Translation of the “Nyircsaholy” chapter from
Pinkas Hakehillot Hungary
Edited by: Theodore Lavi
Published by Yad Vashem
Published in Jerusalem, 1975
Our sincere appreciation to Yad Vashem
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.
This is a translation from: Pinkas Hakehillot Hungary: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Hungary,
Edited by Theodore Lavi, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. Pages 391-392.
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
[Pages 391-392]
Translated by Jerrold Landau
Donated by Aaron Slotnik
Nyircsaholy is a village in the District of Szatmár, Region of Mátészalka. In 1941, its population was 2,601.
Jewish Population
| Year | Population |
| 1850 | 18 |
| 1890 | 105 |
| 1930 | 133 |
| 1941 | 126 |
| 1956 | 8 |
| 1972 | 1 family |
Until the Second World War
The village was destroyed in the wake of the Turkish conquest and the wars that took place in the area throughout a long period (1605–1814). After the liberation, the owner of the estate encouraged Slovak farmers and Jewish merchants to settle there. The new residents were very poor, but diligent. The Slovaks developed wide–ranging agriculture, and the Jews developed commerce and trades. A few of the Jews became landowners who employed Jewish officials and work foremen. One founded a flourmill. Slowly, the place began to develop and flourish.
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The community was organized in 1832 by a Jew named Hartmann, who purchased an estate in the place. He was also a shochet [ritual slaughterer] and prayer leader, and he set up a house of prayer in his home. A synagogue was built in 1849, and it was later renovated and enlarged. That year, the Chevra Kadisha was founded, and a plot of land was designated as the cemetery. A Talmud Torah and cheder were also founded that year. The community of Nyircsaholy defined itself as Orthodox in 1869, and it became dependent on Mátészalka in 1885.
A school was founded at the end of the 19th century. It excelled both in its high level of studies and its traditional, religious spirit.
An active chapter of the Zionist movement was founded in Nyircsaholy during the 1930s. Meetings were organized, and lectures were presented. The Jews of Nyircsaholy demonstrated a large degree of appreciation for the Zionist movement. Many of the youths were active in the movement, underwent hachshara, and prepared to make aliya to the Land with the full support of their parents. Four youths from Nyircsaholy made aliya to the Land of Israel in 1936.
Eleven Jews of Nyircsaholy fought in the First World War and two fell in battle. Their names are engraved alongside the Christian fallen on a memorial tablet in the town. When the soldiers returned from the front after the war, the Jews of Nyircsaholy were accused of enriching themselves on the backs of the soldiers, and mass wrath was directed against them. Jewish homes were pillaged and they themselves were cruelly beaten. On the other hand, the Jews of Nyircsaholy were barely affected during the White Terror, since Nyircsaholy was under Romanian rule at that time.
With the passing of the discrimination laws in 1938, the firmly rooted economic base of the Jews of Nyircsaholy was shaken. Estates and farms were confiscated, and the merchants and tradesmen feared for the fate of their permits. The government conducted frequent searches of the Jews, threatening to deport anyone who did not present appropriate citizenship papers on demand. The Jewish youth in the para–military Levente organization were ordered to wear a yellow band on their arms.
The Holocaust
In 1941, 32 men were taken to forced labor. Some of them were sent to Ukraine, where they perished in the minefields. Others perished in the Mauthausen and Günskürchen concentration camps.
The Germans entered Nyircsaholy in 1944. The local youths immediately began to perpetrate acts of libel and pillage against the Jews. They damaged the synagogue and pillaged shops. Proclamations were posted on the streets, and announcements were proclaimed with the accompaniment of drums, warning the Christians against helping the Jews hide jewelry, etc.
On April 16, the Jews were commanded to close themselves in to their houses. On April 23, the Jews were placed on wagons and transported to the Mátészalka Ghetto. They were transported to Auschwitz on May 30.
After the war, six men and 17 women who had succeeded in escaping from the forced labor camps returned. The returnees purified the desecrated synagogue and the cemetery, and renewed communal life. A monument to the memory of the martyrs of Nyircsaholy was erected in 1948. However, the returnees dispersed one by one, and only two families were left in 1952. In 1955, the synagogue was sold for demolition.
[Page 392]
Sources and Bibliography:
Yad Vashem Archives E 7–4 / 138–140.
Borovszky: Szatmár vármegye, pp. 128–129. In: Magyarország vm–i.
J. Léval:Zsidósoros Magyaroszágon, p 410.
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
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