Other names: Hóldmezõvásárhely [Hun], Ioneşti [Rom], Vašarelj [Croa]

46° 25' N 20° 20' E

maps courtesy of Mapquest and Wikipedia

Location:  Hódmezõvásárhely is located in Csongrád megye in south eastern Hungary, 22 km/14 mi NE of Szeged,

Population: about 50,000
       In the 1890s, Hódmezõvásárhely was the 4th largest town in Hungary.
   Jewish population:
          1840: 56
          1869: 1,312
          1880: 1,685
          1930: 1,151
          1941: 1,501 (2.4% of the total population)
          1955: 259
          1969: 80

Description and History:  Hódmezõvásárhely is one of the oldest settlements in Hungary and is located in the middle of the Great Hungarian Plain.  There is evidence of human habitation in the area dating back approximately 6,000 years.  The town is named after the beavers (hód) that once lived in Lake Hód.  The lake has dried up due to regulation of the river and its bed is now a recreation park south of town.  The literal translation of the town's name is "beaver-field-market-place". The present town developed in the 15th century, when the small villages of Hód, Vásárhely, Tarján and Ábrány joined and established a market town.  In 1437 the town was called Hódvásárhely.  In the Middle Ages markets and livestock trade fueled the town's growth.  Starting in 1552, the region was occupied by the Turks, and most of the residents fled or were killed.  Residents began returning in 1699.  After the War of Independence (1703-1711), the town was under the control of several counts and generals.  From 1722 on the Karolyi family possessed the town.  This lasted until 1818, when landowner jurisdiction was abolished.   Hódmezõvásárhely was a pottery town in the mid 19th century, with over 400 potters working there.  After the great flood of 1879 in nearby Szeged, an earthen dike  was built around the town.  In addition, a stone wall following the former banks of Lake Hód was built.  Though the town was characterized by agriculture until the mid 1870s, by 1890 with increasing urbanization, the town became the 4th largest in the country.  The early 20th century was characterized by a great deal of construction, though 70% of the population continued to engage in farming and livestock trades, especially horse breeding.  Today, the town is a tourist destination and is still renowned for its artisans, including embroidery and pottery.  Museums (including a permanent Holocaust exhibit and Emlékpont, a museum dedicated to the period of Soviet occupation), houses of worship, galleries, statues and monuments, parks and a thermal swimming hall are other notable attractions.  The library has a collection of antique books from the 17th and 18th centuries.  The people of Hódmezõvásárhely take pride in their town being a city of the arts.

examples of embroidery  and pottery from workshops in Hódmezõvásárhely

History of the Jewish Community:  Jews first settled on the estate of the family of Count Karolyi within the boundaries of the city in 1748.  They were expelled in 1770 due to objections by the Greek Orthodox Church, but by 1780 three Jewish merchants were living in the town.  In 1810 the Jews received authorization to sell kosher wine, indicating the beginning of their re-organization as a religious group but a regular community was not established until 1829.  Until 1830 burials took place in the graveyard of the congregation in Makó.  As early as 1833, the community entered into negotiations with various landowners to obtain property or buildings to use as a synagogue.  A house was purchased in 1834 that served as the first synagogue.  By 1836, 33 Jewish families were registered in the area.  The community outgrew the original building quickly and a neighboring house was purchased, where a school opened in 1845. At the same time a mikveh was built. 
     Many Jews from Hódmezõvásárhely participated in the ill-fated Hungarian war for independence in 1848-1849.  As consequence, the Austrians assessed the community a heavy fine and placed many restrictions on religious life.  However, by 1850 the community had a rabbi, Abraham Grünhut, and the next year alderman Sámuel Wodiáner proposed the construction of a new synagogue.  See Synagogue below for more information about the Hódmezõvásárhely synagogue.  In 1868, the community joined the Neologists.  Jews engaged mainly in small trade, though there were a few wealthy merchants and even some industrialists. 
     There was a continued strong identification with Hungarian sentiments and interests, to the extent that many young men volunteered to fight in WWI.  Twenty-nine of them were lost on the various fronts. 
     In the 1942-1943 academic year, the  school had two instructors and 47 students.  Although there were few survivors after the war, there is still a Jewish community in Hódmezõvásárhely today.

Cemetery:  The Jewish cemetery in Hódmezõvásárhely is in good condition and well maintained by the community at some considerable cost to them.  There is a registry book about the deceased, showing the row and gravesite numbers.

Holocaust:  The Jewish economy was ruined in 1938 due to the institution of anti-Jewish restrictions.  From 1940 onward, men were conscripted into labor battalions.  After German occupation, the Jews were relatively lucky as the local authorities resisted attempts to establish a ghetto and the residents could stay in their apartments.  However, a  ghetto was eventually established, located in the Jewish section of town, in a triangle bounded by Szent István Square and Ferencz, Búvár, Eszterházy, Klauzál and Szeremle streets.  On June 16, 1944, with the aid of gendarmes from the nearby town of Makó, local policemen and members of the compulsory paramilitary youth movement, 737 Jews were herded into the synagogue, where they were searched and deprived of what few remaining valuables they had.  On June 17th and 18th they were transferred to the Szeged ghetto via "cattle wagons".  According to one survivor, the trip took more than a day, even though Szeged is only 22 km from Hódmezõvásárhely.  From Szeged,  between June 25th and June 28th, some were deported to Auschwitz and Wiener-Neustadt.  Of the Jews deported to Auschwitz, only five returned.  Others were deported to Strasshof, a transit camp in Austria, where the deportees were assigned to labor stations in various places in lower Austria.  Many of these Strasshof deportees survived.  Even so, over 500 people perished.  For additional information on the transport to Strasshof, see the NEMÉTH family story, below.  In 2005, A commemoration was held to mark the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust.  A commemoration is also scheduled to be held this year, on June 28, 2009. 
     JewishGen's Yizkor Book database does not have an entry for Hódmezõvásárhely.

Synagogue:  Hódmezõvásárhely's synagogue is one of the most outstanding synagogues in all of Hungary.  It was originally built in the Romantic style.  Construction began in 1852 under the direction of Miklós Busch, a builder from Szentes.  The state of the community's finances caused delays, but in 1856 the interior work was begun.  In 1857 the synagogue was completed.  An inauguration ceremony, led by Rabbi Lipót Löw of the neighboring community of Szeged, was held on May 15, 1857.  In 1881 a collection was initiated to add an organ behind the women's gallery, but it was not installed until 1897.  Also around the turn of the century, a choir was introduced and services began to be conducted in Hungarian.
     The synagogue was refurbished in the Secessionist* style between 1906 and 1908 under the direction of Szeged architect Miksa Müller.  At this time the building received a new main facade and staircase, a new reinforced concrete ceiling, as well as modifications to the interior.  Sculptor József Bertakovics from Budapest was hired for the interior work.  A new Aron Kodesh was constructed, the organ was relocated to the eastern side, and the windows were replaced with stained glass. 
     The women's galleries frame three sides of the interior and the choir stalls are above the Aron Kodesh (Ark).  Above the Ark is an inscription in Hebrew from Psalms 16:8--"I have set the Lord always before me".  Above the lead-glass Tiffany style rosette on the front of the building is another Hebrew inscription quoting Psalms 91:2--"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God; in him will I trust."
     After the war, the remnants of the once-thriving Jewish community were no longer able to maintain the building.  The state of the building deteriorated, helped along by a thunderstorm during which the roof was severely damaged.  Although the roof was eventually repaired, there was considerable damage to the ceiling and walls.
     In 1974 marble memorial plaques and a symbolic black tomb memorializing the deported Jews were placed in the vestibule of the synagogue.  In 1986, the Jewish community made an agreement with the municipality, in which the town would purchase the synagogue and the school building and utilize them for cultural purposes.  The synagogue, which was still in a state of disrepair, began reconstruction for a 3rd time, funded generously by the municipality.  Reconstruction on the adjoining school began in the late 1990s.  Reconstruction was slow and laborious, but the buildings were fully restored in time for the country-wide Holocaust commemoration in 2005.  As well as worship services, the synagogue can also be used as a venue for concerts and other cultural activities.  The school building houses a permanent Holocaust exhibit, a musuem which is unique in rural Hungary. 
     In 2005, approximately 40 people attended Rosh Hashanah services in the 626 seat synagogue, a tribute to the durability and persistence of the community, but nevertheless a stark reminder of the losses suffered by the city's Jews.

*Secession: an eclectic style of decoration in art and architecture developed towards the end of the 19th century characterized by organic and dynamic forms, curving design and "whiplash" lines, often incorporating folk motifs.

	Hódmezõzovásárhely synagogue		synagogue interior

Rabbis: Several prominent rabbis served the community of Hódmezõvásárhely.  Among them were:
     Ábrahám GRÜNHUT (officiated 1830-1866), also known as A. KROL.
     Lajos SELTMANN (1854-1932; officiated 1879-1932) was a noted author who wrote about life in the yeshivot .
     Meir (Dr. Pál) WEISS (officiated 1933-1937) was also a professor of Bible Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
     Aaron (Dr. Adolf) SILBERSTEIN (officiated 1938-1944), authored a monograph about the community. 
    

Lists of Hódmezõvásárhely community members in 1942

The 1848 Hódmezõvásárhely census

Families:

    NÉMETH family (ANISZFELD and KERTÉSZ)

    SONNENFELD/KUN

    STÖSZEL family:
          The family of the webmaster is the STÖSZEL family.  A family of cantors, they were very itinerant, but lived in Hódmezõvásárhely from about 1860 through the 1890s.  The patriarch of the family was Cantor Israel STÖSZEL/STESZEL (1781-1864).  He and his wife Resi nee HECHT had 5 children--sons Moritz/Mor and Salomon, both cantors, and daughters Fani (1848-1866), Czilli and Mari.  The children were born in such varied places as Csecse, Brezova and Eger.  The family lived in Eger prior to moving to Hódmezõvásárhely. 
               4) Salomon STÖSZEL (1836-1909) married Rozi ADLER in Vac (Vacz/Waitzen) in 1861.  They had 3 children. Their son Lipot Samuel was born in 1862.  Lipot Samuel eventually moved to Pest and married Karola/Katalin SCHWELLER?/SCHNELLER? of Balassagyarmat there in 1887.  It is unknown if they had any children.   Salomon and Rozi's daughter Therezia/Rezi was born in 1865; she married Salamon KRAUSZ (b. 1862, Csosz) in Vac in 1887.  Salamon KRAUSZ was living in Buda at the time, so it's likely they lived there, as they "drop out" of the Vac vital records after the marriage.  Salomon and Rozi's youngest daughter, Josefa, was born in Nyitra in 1868.  The family lived in Parutcza, near Nyitra, where they were duly recorded in the 1869 cenus, but moved back to Vac at some point.  Josefa, the youngest daughter, died at the tender age of eighteen in Vac in 1886 of an intestinal ailment. 
                  Salomon and Rozi were divorced, and Salamon subsequently married Maria LICHT of Körmend, Vas megye in 1875.  Salamon and Maria and their 5 children moved to Uzhorod and then to the United States.  They lived in Cleveland, Ohio, where the name STÖSZEL was Americanized to STACEL.  Salomon was the cantor for the Eagle Avenue Hungarian Synagogue, now known as B'nai Jeshurun, in Cleveland.  Salomon and Marie's son Jacob STACEL was a municipal judge in Cleveland in the 1920s and 1930s and was the grandfather of the webmaster.

      *Anyone with knowledge of any of the individuals mentioned in the STOSZEL family story is encouraged to contact the webmaster.  In addition, there is a STÖSZEL/POLLATSCHEK (POLACSIK) family in Vac that is possibly related to my family.  Regina/Rebeka STESZL/STÖSZEL married Natan/Nathan POLACSIK/POLLATSCHEK.  Their children were Izsak b. 1850 (married Regina PRAGER in Pest in 1879; children Sandor b. 1881, Roza b. 1883, Ilka b. 1884, Ferenc, 1886-1890), July b. 1852, Ester b. 1853, Hanni b. 1857 (married Armin GLATTER in Pest in 1877, children Alfred b. 1878, Vilmos b. 1880, Jeanetta b. 1882, Izidor 1883-1884, Ernesztin b. 1885), Felix b. 1859, Gyula/Elchane b. 1861 (married Terez Bergstein in Pest in 1886), Resi b. 1863 and Pepi b. 1867.  Based on the births of her children, Regina/Rebeka STESZL/STÖSZEL was probably born around 1830; as Salomon STÖSZEL was born in 1833 and they are the only two STÖSZEL families in Vac it's quite possible Regina and Salomon were siblings.


This site is a work in progress! 
     Anyone who would like to contribute additional information to this website--stories, photos, family data, travelogues or any other information--is encouraged to contact the webmaster.
    

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