קהילת יהודי פיריס

Piricse

A village in the Szabolcs district, north east Hungary.

Jews first settled in the place in the first half of the 18th century; they appear in the census of 1747.

The majority were merchants, mainly in grains, and there were also tradesmen. A few were farmers, with one owning a large estate which employed several Jews.

The community was organized in the mid-1800s at which time a house of prayers was built.

As a result of differences between haredim (orthodox) and maskilim (enlightened) at the Jewish Congress in 1868, the community affiliated with the orthodox stream which refused to accept the decisions of Congress.

During the period of the White Terror, pogroms against the Jews instigated by right wing military elements (1919-21) after the fall of the communist regime, the Jews were subjected to acts of robbery and pillage. In 1936 a young Jew was murdered but the murderers were never brought to trial.

In 1930 the community numbered 73, as against 171 in 1880.

The Holocaust Period

In 1938, with the publication of discriminatory laws which aimed at limiting Jewish participation in the economic and cultural fields, a number of Jews lost their means of livelihood. The young men were conscripted for forced labor and only five of them returned after the war.

In 1944, following the German occupation, and immediately after Pesach, the Jews were taken to the district capital, Nyiregyhaza and from there transferred to nearby Nyirgespuszta. On May 25 they were loaded into cattle cars and transported to Auschwitz.

After the war 11 survivors returned from Auschwitz and forced labor. They found the synagogue, which had been used as a stable, laid waste. Communal life was not renewed, and within a short while the people dispersed.