Jews in Bekes county

Jews in Bekes county, Hungary

History

Jews have lived in Békés county, Hungary since the 18th century. In 1768 there were only 3 Jews in the village of Vari (Gyulavari). From the end of the 18th century the first Jewish communities were founded in Vari, Dévaványa and Békésszentandrás.

In 1836 there were 542 Jews in Békés County, but by 1870 there were 6255. From the 1850's to the First World War a large infrastructure was built including Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, prayer-houses, mikvehs, schools and Chevra Kadishas (Békéscsaba, Gyula, Orosháza, Szeghalom, Békés, Szarvas, Battonya and Sarkad)

Holocaust (Shoa)

From 1941 forced labour was imposed on the Jews, and the all of the Jews of Békés County went either to the ghettos and/or to the concentration camps of Bekescsaba and Szolnok. Others were deported on transports to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Strasshof.

5000 Békés County Jews died in the Holocaust. Of the 2000 survivors, very few returned to the area and now the Békés County Jewish community is very small and is concentrated in Békéscsaba where a new synagogue has been built.

Holocaust memorial days

In Bekescsaba, Oroshaza, Gyula, Szarvas, Totkomlos and Doboz - every year, in summer.

The memorials of the jewish communities

* Synagouges (Bekescsaba, Gyula, Bekes, Oroshaza, Fuzesgyarmat)
* Prayerhouses (Medgyesegyháza)
* School-buildings (Bekescsaba, Oroshaza, Devavanya)
* Cemeteries (Korosnagyharsany, Devavanya)

External links

* [http://www.balogh-istvan.extra.hu Istvan Balogh's homepage about the jews of Bekes county, Hungary]

Szarvas Jewish Camp http://szarvasifahazak.com

The oiginal address of the page in Hungarian: "http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9k%C3%A9s_megyei_zsid%C3%B3k"