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The Jewish Community of Szecseny

Szecseny

Hungarian: Szécsény; Slovakian: Sečany; Alternate name: Széchény

A town in the district of Nograd, north Hungary.
 

History

Jews had settled in the town at the beginning of the 18th century. Most of them were merchants and some engaged in industry and crafts.

In 1840, 564 Jews were living at Szecseny. It is hard to say when the community was formed, but it is known that its regulations were approved by the authorities in 1860.

Following the dispute between the orthodox Jews and the reform movement at the general Jewish Congress of Hungary (1868-69), the Jews of Szecseny elected to join the orthodox stream, which refused to accept the regulations adopted by the Congress. The community had a hevra kaddisha (burial society), charity societies and educational institutions. 39 Jews of Szecseny joined the army in World War I and 15 of them fell in battle.

In 1930 there were 356 Jews in the community.


The Holocaust

 Jews were devasted by the Jewish Laws (1938 and thereafter) designed to restrict their rights in the economy and culture. Their friendly relations with the Christian population were shaken, clerks lost their positions and shops were confiscated. In 1940 all the shop owners and other business people and professionals, thought to constitute competition to the Szecseny Christians, were interned in a concentration camp. When Hungary allied with the Germans in the summer of 1941 against the USSR, forced labor companies of Jews were sent to the front to clear mines. None of them survived.

Szecseny became a concentration center for Jewish forced labor. In March 1944 the German army occupied Hungary. The Germans did not enter Szecseny and the handling of the Jews was left to the local civil guard.

A ghetto was formed in May, in which all the Jewish families were concentrated. The Jews were rounded up into the ghetto between May 5 and May 10. The ghetto extended over a very small area of only two streets near the synagogue and was surrounded by a wooden wall and guarded by gendarmes. It was severely overcrowded and several families were forced to share a room. Some rooms had twenty occupants. Movement outside the ghetto was restricted and inmates were only allowed to leave to buy food or for forced labor accompanied by gendarmes. In late May and June the able bodied men were sent away for forced labor.

On June 1,1944 the remaining Jews were deported to Balassagyarmat. That morning they were awoken before dawn and were forced into the streets. They were subject to a humiliating and brutal search for valuables and jewelry. As they were marched to the train station, the local population lined the streets, some of them clapping and jeering. On June 10 they were deported to Auschwitz and most were murdered.


Postwar

Twelve survivors returned to Szecseny after the war. With the help of the Joint they set up a prayer house in place of the desecrated synagogue. After the establishment of the state in 1948, most of them went to Israel.

In 1964 nine Jews were living at Szecseny.

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The Jewish Community of Szecseny

Szecseny

Hungarian: Szécsény; Slovakian: Sečany; Alternate name: Széchény

A town in the district of Nograd, north Hungary.
 

History

Jews had settled in the town at the beginning of the 18th century. Most of them were merchants and some engaged in industry and crafts.

In 1840, 564 Jews were living at Szecseny. It is hard to say when the community was formed, but it is known that its regulations were approved by the authorities in 1860.

Following the dispute between the orthodox Jews and the reform movement at the general Jewish Congress of Hungary (1868-69), the Jews of Szecseny elected to join the orthodox stream, which refused to accept the regulations adopted by the Congress. The community had a hevra kaddisha (burial society), charity societies and educational institutions. 39 Jews of Szecseny joined the army in World War I and 15 of them fell in battle.

In 1930 there were 356 Jews in the community.


The Holocaust

 Jews were devasted by the Jewish Laws (1938 and thereafter) designed to restrict their rights in the economy and culture. Their friendly relations with the Christian population were shaken, clerks lost their positions and shops were confiscated. In 1940 all the shop owners and other business people and professionals, thought to constitute competition to the Szecseny Christians, were interned in a concentration camp. When Hungary allied with the Germans in the summer of 1941 against the USSR, forced labor companies of Jews were sent to the front to clear mines. None of them survived.

Szecseny became a concentration center for Jewish forced labor. In March 1944 the German army occupied Hungary. The Germans did not enter Szecseny and the handling of the Jews was left to the local civil guard.

A ghetto was formed in May, in which all the Jewish families were concentrated. The Jews were rounded up into the ghetto between May 5 and May 10. The ghetto extended over a very small area of only two streets near the synagogue and was surrounded by a wooden wall and guarded by gendarmes. It was severely overcrowded and several families were forced to share a room. Some rooms had twenty occupants. Movement outside the ghetto was restricted and inmates were only allowed to leave to buy food or for forced labor accompanied by gendarmes. In late May and June the able bodied men were sent away for forced labor.

On June 1,1944 the remaining Jews were deported to Balassagyarmat. That morning they were awoken before dawn and were forced into the streets. They were subject to a humiliating and brutal search for valuables and jewelry. As they were marched to the train station, the local population lined the streets, some of them clapping and jeering. On June 10 they were deported to Auschwitz and most were murdered.


Postwar

Twelve survivors returned to Szecseny after the war. With the help of the Joint they set up a prayer house in place of the desecrated synagogue. After the establishment of the state in 1948, most of them went to Israel.

In 1964 nine Jews were living at Szecseny.

Written by researchers of ANU Museum of the Jewish People