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The Major Ghetto Centers (provided by FACEBOOK - Yizkor - Kehilot hungary/Transilvania January 16, 2013) Cluj OR Kolozsvár - The ghetto of Cluj was one of the largest in Northern Transylvania. As elsewhere in the region, the "ghettoization," which began on May 3, 1944, was preceded by an announcement posted all over the city the day before. Issued under the signature of Lajos Hollóssy-Kuthy, the deputy police chief, the text of the announcement was also published in the local press on May 3. The Jews of Cluj and of the communities in Cluj were concentrated in a ghetto established in the Iris Brickyard, in the northern part of the city. The specifics of the concentration operation were worked out at a meeting held on May 2 under the leadership of László Vásárhelyi, the mayor, László Urbán, the police chief, and Gendarmerie Col. Paksy-Kiss. The meeting, attended by approximately 150 officials of the municipality who were assigned to the roundup operations, was devoted to the details of the ghettoization process as outlined in the decree and during the conference with Endre held at Satu Mare on April 26. The Hungarian officials of Cluj received expert guidance in the anti-Jewish drive from SS-Hauptsturmführer Strohschneider, the local commander of the German security services. The ghettoization was carried out at a rapid pace. By May 10 the ghetto population reached 12,000. At its peak just before the deportation, by then including the Jews transferred from the ghetto of Gherla, it was close to 18,000. In addition to the officers noted above, the following officials were also heavily involved in the anti-Jewish drive: József Forgács, the secretary general of Cluj County representing the deputy prefect; Lajos Hollóssy-Kuthy, deputy police chief; Géza Papp, a high-ranking police official; and Kázmér Taar, a top official in the mayor’s office. Overall command of the ghettoization process in Cluj County, except Cluj, was exercised by Ferenc Szász, the deputy prefect of Cluj County, and by József Székely, the mayor of Huedin. The Jews of the various towns and villages in the county were first concentrated in their localities, usually in the synagogue or a related Jewish institution. After a short while and a first round of expropriations, they were transferred to the ghetto in Cluj. Among the Jews transferred to the ghetto of Cluj were those from the many communities in the districts of Borşa, Cluj, Hida, Huedin, and Nadasdia. Next to the Jewish community of Cluj, by far the largest communities brought into the Iris Brickyard were those of Huedin and Gherla. The Jews of Huedin were rounded up under the command and supervision of Székely, Pál Boldizsár, the city’s supply official; József Orosz, the police chief; and police officers and detectives, Ferenc Menyhért, András Szentkúti, András Lakatos, and Sándor Ojtózi. Among these were the Jews of Borşa, Ciucea, Gilău, Hida and Panticeu. The brickyard ghetto of Gherla included close to 1,600 Jews. Of these, nearly 400 were from the town itself; the others were brought in from the neighboring communities in the Gherla district. The transfer of these Jews into the Cluj ghetto was carried out under the command of Lajos Tamási, the mayor of Gherla, and Ernö Berecki and András Iványi, the chief police officers of the town. The ghetto of Cluj was under the direct command of Urbán. The internal administration of the ghetto was entrusted to a Jewish Council consisting of the traditional leaders of the local Jewish community. It was headed by József Fischer, the head of the city’s Neolog community, and included Rabbi Akiba Glasner, József Fenichel, Gyula Klein, Ernö Marton, editor-in-chief of the Új Kelet (New East), Zsigmond Léb, and Rabbi Mózes Weinberger (later Carmilly-Weinberger). Its secretary general was József Moskovits, and Deszö Hermann the secretary. Fischer reputedly was one of the few provincial Jewish leaders who were fully informed about the realities of the Nazis’ Final Solution program. He and his family were among the 388 Jews who were removed from the ghetto of Cluj and taken to Budapest — and eventually to freedom — on June 10, 1944, as part of Kasztner’s controversial deal with the SS. The ghetto was evacuated in six transports, with the first deportation on May 25 and the last on June 9.
Dej. The ghetto of Dej included most of the Jews in Someş County. Under the administrative leadership of Prefect Béla Bethlen, the county was represented at the April 26 conference with Endre in Satu Mare by János Schilling, the deputy prefect; Jenö Veress, the mayor of Dej; Lajos Tamási, the mayor of Gherla; Gyula Sárosi, the police chief of Dej; Ernö Berecki, the police chief of Gherla; and Pál Antalffy, the commander of the gendarmerie in Someş. The objectives and decisions of this conference were communicated to the chief civil service, gendarmerie, and police officers of the county at a special meeting convened and chaired{{ by Schilling on April 30. Among the Jews first assembled in Gherla were those of the villages of Aluniş, Băiţa, Beudiu, Buza, Chiochiş, Dârja, Fizeşu Gherlii, Icloda, Lacu, Livada, Lujerdiu, Manic, Mateiaş, Nasal, Pădureni, Pui, Sic, Sânnicoară şi Sânmartin. For more details, see Braham, Politics, chapter 29 or Braham, Genocide, pp. 24-27, 123-141. As elsewhere, the ghettoization drive began on May 3. The roundup of the Jews in the county was carried out under the command of Antalffy. The ghetto of Dej was among the most miserable in Northern Transylvania. At the insistence of the virulently antisemitic local city officials, it was set up in a forest — the so-called Bungur — situated about two miles from the city. At its peak, the ghetto included around 7,800 Jews, including close to 3,700 from the town itself. The others were brought in from the rural communities in Someş County, many of whom were first assembled in the seats of the districts of Beclean, Chiochiş, Dej, Gherla, Ileanda, and Lăpuş. The luckier among the ghetto dwellers lived in makeshift barracks; the others found shelter in homemade tents or lived under the open sky. Before their transfer to the Bungur, the Jews of Dej were concentrated into three centers within the city, where they were subjected to body searches for valuables. The ghetto, surrounded by barbed wire, was guarded by the local police supplemented by a special unit of 40 gendarmes assigned from Zalău. Supreme command over the ghetto was in the hands of Takáts, a “government commissioner.” The internal administration of the ghetto was entrusted to a Jewish Council consisting of the trusted leaders of the local community. The Council included Lázár Albert (chairman), Ferenc Ordentlich, Samu Weinberger, Manó Weinberger, and Andor Agai. Dr. Oszkar Engelberg served as the ghetto’s chief physician and Zoltán Singer as its economic representative in charge of supplies. Sanitary conditions within the ghetto were miserable, as were the essential services and supplies. This was largely due to the malevolence of Veress, the mayor of Dej, and Dr. Zsigmond Lehnár, its chief health officer. The investigative teams for the search for valuables were as cruel in Dej as they were everywhere else. Among those involved in such searches were József Fekete, József Gecse, Maria Fekete, Jenö Takacs, József Lakadár, and police officers Albert (Béla) Garamvolgyi, János Somorlyai, János Kassay and Miklós Désaknai. The ghetto was liquidated between May 28 and June 8 with the removal of 7,674 Jews in three transports. A few Jews managed to escape from the ghetto. Among these was Rabbi József Paneth of Nagyilonda, who together with nine members of his family was eventually able to get to safety in Romania. Among these were the small Jewish communities of Beclean, Beudiu, Bobâlna, Icloda, Ileanda, Lăpuş, Mica, Reteag, Şintereag, Urişor, and Uriu. Those assembled in Gherla were eventually transferred to the ghetto of Cluj. See Braham, Genocide, pp. 27-29, 178-187. See also USHMM, RG 25.004M, roll 52, file 2044; roll 72, file 40027; rolls 89-90, file 40029.b. {PAGE } Şimleu Silvaniei. The ghettoization of the Jews of Sălaj County was carried out under the command and supervision of the officials who had participated at the Satu Mare Conference of April 26: András Gazda, deputy county prefect; János Sréter, mayor of Zalău; József Udvari, mayor of Şimleu Silvaniei; Lt. Col. György Mariska, commander of the county’s gendarmerie unit; Ferenc Elekes, police chief of Zalău; and István Pethes, police chief of Şimleu Silvaniei Baron János Jósika, the prefect of Sălaj County, resigned immediately when he was informed by Gazda about the decisions taken at the April 26 conference. He was one of the few Hungarian officials who dared to take a public stand against the anti-Jewish actions, deeming them both immoral and illegal. His successor, László Szlávi, an appointee of the Sztójay government, had no such scruples and cooperated fully in the implementation of the anti-Jewish measures. Soon after their return from Satu Mare, the conferees met at the Prefect’s office with Béla Sámi, the chief county clerk; Drs. Suchi and Ferenc Molnár, the chief health officials of Sălaj County and Şimleu Silvaniei, respectively; László Krasznai, the head of Şimleu District; and István Kemecsey, the technical services department of Şimleu Silvaniei, in order to select a site for the ghetto. The roundup of the Jews in Şimleu Silvaniei was carried out under the immediate command of István Pethes; in Zalău under the leadership of Ferenc Elekes; and in the other parts of the county under the direction of Gazda and the immediate command of Lt. Col. György Mariska. Among the sizable Jewish communities affected were those of Tăşnad and Crasna. The Jews of Sălaj County were concentrated in the Klein Brickyard of Cehei, in a marshy and muddy area about three miles from Şimleu Silvaniei. At its peak, the ghetto held about 8,500 Jews. Among these were the Jews from the communities in the districts of Crasna, Cehu Silvaniei, Jibou, Şimleu Silvaniei, Supuru de Jos, Tăşnad, and Zalău. Since the brick-drying sheds were rather limited, many of the ghetto inhabitants were compelled to live under the open sky. The ghetto was guarded by a special unit of gendarmes from Budapest and operated under the command of Krasznai, one of the most cruel ghetto commanders in Hungary. Among these were the Jews from the towns of Crasna, Şimleu Silvaniei, Tăşnad, and Zalău. On Şimleu Silvaniei, see USHMM, RG 25.004M, rolls 90, 92 and 94 , file 40029. On Tăşnad, roll 50, files 1106, 30 (502), and 422 (666). Among these were the Jews from the towns of Buciumi, Cehei, Cehu Silvaniei, Jibou, Nusfalau, Pir, Simleu Silvaniei, Supuru de Jos, Supuru de Sus, Surduc, Tasnad, and Zalau. As a result of tortures, poor feeding, and a totally inadequate water supply in the ghetto, the Jews of Salaj County arrived at Auschwitz in very poor condition, so that an unusually large percentage were selected for gassing immediately upon arrival. The deportations from Cehei were carried out in three transports between May 31 and June 6.