In loving memory of my great-great-grandparents, Jakob and Molly Wiessberger And their children Eva, Martin, Gizella, Bertha, Antonia “Tonesi,” and Rezsi ז”ל

Foreword to the English-language Translation This translation of The History of the Jewish Community in Sečovce was completed in the Fall of 2022 under the supervision of my gracious Modern Hebrew professor, Naomi Sokoloff Ph.D., who has guided me through this work and has edited my translation. This project came about as a result of my work translating another Yizkor book, from the town of Mizoch under the supervision of Professor Sokoloff and Laurence Broun in the Fall of 2021. Hearing Laurence's story from his ancestral hometown of Mizoch, I became interested in my own family history, leading me to this Yizkor text of my ancestral hometown of Sečovce. It is with solemn dedication that I have undertaken this project. It is no small task translating the memory of a community so close to many hearts, including my own. Additionally, it is a great privilege to know so much about my family history. Many Jews around the world have lost the history of their ancestors prior to the Holocaust due to its intentional destruction at the hands of the Nazi regime. And many more histories sadly have no one left to tell them. My connection to Sečovce can be traced back on my mother's side to my great-grandmother, Reszi White, and her parents, Jakob and Molly Weissberger. I am incredibly lucky that Reszi made the journey to the United States before the Holocaust, as I would most likely not be here if she had stayed. Much of my family history is told through this book, including the infamous story of the murder of my great-great-grandparents in chapter eleven. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of those who have made the translation of this book possible. As mentioned previously, I would like to thank Naomi Sokoloff for her work on this project. I would additionally like to thank my cousin, Brian Wiatrak, for his commitment to recording the Weissberger family history and the indispensable knowledge his research has provided, especially his self-published book: Four Families, Two Worlds: The Weisseberger, Fischer, Joskowicz and Wiatrak Families in Eastern Europe and the United States. I would like to thank Lance Ackerfeld for directing the Yizkor Book Translation Project on JewishGen— preserving a vital part of Jewish history. And lastly, I would like to thank my father, Richard Silverstein, for copy-editing this text.

Jonah Silverstein 2022

Notes on the English-language Translation The author uses many religious quotes to provide commentary on the contents of the text. Wherever possible, I have used standard translations of the original Hebrew text in order to have consistency across texts. I have adapted some of these translations where necessary to improve readability. Adaptations and translation sources are marked in the footnotes. The editor, as well as many of the survivors that have written this book, are deeply religious, as shown throughout their use of talmudic and biblical quotes and imagery derived from Jewish sacred texts. Out of a sense of respect, I have used the term “G-d” here due to the tradition of refraining from using the Lord's name except in prayer. There are many foreign words used in this text, mostly from Hebrew, but also from Hungarian, Yiddish, Czech, Slovak, and German. Common Hebrew and Yiddish words like Torah, yeshiva, mikvah [Jewish ritual bath], rabbi, and shul— as well as place names— have not been italicized, while less common foreign words are italicized to emphasize their origin outside of the English language. I have chosen throughout the text to translate the Hebrew phrase kedoshei, literally meaning holy or holy ones, as “martyrs.” This is the best translation I could come up with for this word which would make sense to English audiences. The phrase “victim” lacks the respect and religious connotations of kedoshei. While “martyr” connotes both respect and religious significance, it also connotes a cause to their death which is not correct. I want to make it clear that the use of the word “martyr” in this case does not mean that there was any choice or religious sacrifice, because there was none, on the part of those murdered in the Holocaust. There are many other hard choices in this translation, many of which have been marked in footnotes.

Translator's Footnotes

1. Reference to Kiddushin 32b:13 Return
2. Reference to Pirkei Avot 5:17 Return

 Yizkor Book Project    JewishGen Home Page  

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 22 Feb 2023 by JH