The History of the Jewish community in Secovce
(Sečovce, Slovakia)

48°42' / 21°40'

Translation of
Le-toldoteha shel ha-kehilah ha-Yehudit be-Sets'ovtseh

Editor: Emanuel Frieder

Published in Tel Aviv 1991


 

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Jonah Silverstein

 

Editor

Naomi Sokoloff, Ph.D.

 


This is a translation of: Le-toldoteha shel ha-kehilah ha-Yehudit be-Sets'ovtseh
(The history of the Jewish community in Secovce),
Editor: Emanuel Frieder, Committee of Secovce Émigrés in Israel, Published: Tel Aviv 1991 (H 237 pages)


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In loving memory of my great-great-grandparents, Jakob and Molly Wiessberger
And their children Eva, Martin, Gizella, Bertha, Antonia “Tonesi,” and Rezsi
ז”ל
 
Foreword to the English-language Translation

This translation of The History of the Jewish Community in Sečovce was completed in the Fall of 2022 under the supervision of my gracious Modern Hebrew professor, Naomi Sokoloff Ph.D., who has guided me through this work and has edited my translation. This project came about as a result of my work translating another Yizkor book, from the town of Mizoch under the supervision of Professor Sokoloff and Laurence Broun in the Fall of 2021. Hearing Laurence's story from his ancestral hometown of Mizoch, I became interested in my own family history, leading me to this Yizkor text of my ancestral hometown of Sečovce.

It is with solemn dedication that I have undertaken this project. It is no small task translating the memory of a community so close to many hearts, including my own. Additionally, it is a great privilege to know so much about my family history. Many Jews around the world have lost the history of their ancestors prior to the Holocaust due to its intentional destruction at the hands of the Nazi regime. And many more histories sadly have no one left to tell them.

My connection to Sečovce can be traced back on my mother's side to my great-grandmother, Reszi White, and her parents, Jakob and Molly Weissberger. I am incredibly lucky that Reszi made the journey to the United States before the Holocaust, as I would most likely not be here if she had stayed. Much of my family history is told through this book, including the infamous story of the murder of my great-great-grandparents in chapter eleven.

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of those who have made the translation of this book possible. As mentioned previously, I would like to thank Naomi Sokoloff for her work on this project. I would additionally like to thank my cousin, Brian Wiatrak, for his commitment to recording the Weissberger family history and the indispensable knowledge his research has provided, especially his self-published book: Four Families, Two Worlds: The Weisseberger, Fischer, Joskowicz and Wiatrak Families in Eastern Europe and the United States. I would like to thank Lance Ackerfeld for directing the Yizkor Book Translation Project on JewishGen— preserving a vital part of Jewish history. And lastly, I would like to thank my father, Richard Silverstein, for copy-editing this text.

Jonah Silverstein
2022
 
Notes on the English-language Translation

The author uses many religious quotes to provide commentary on the contents of the text. Wherever possible, I have used standard translations of the original Hebrew text in order to have consistency across texts. I have adapted some of these translations where necessary to improve readability. Adaptations and translation sources are marked in the footnotes.

The editor, as well as many of the survivors that have written this book, are deeply religious, as shown throughout their use of talmudic and biblical quotes and imagery derived from Jewish sacred texts. Out of a sense of respect, I have used the term “G-d” here due to the tradition of refraining from using the Lord's name except in prayer.

There are many foreign words used in this text, mostly from Hebrew, but also from Hungarian, Yiddish, Czech, Slovak, and German. Common Hebrew and Yiddish words like Torah, yeshiva, mikvah [Jewish ritual bath], rabbi, and shul— as well as place names— have not been italicized, while less common foreign words are italicized to emphasize their origin outside of the English language.

I have chosen throughout the text to translate the Hebrew phrase kedoshei, literally meaning holy or holy ones, as “martyrs.” This is the best translation I could come up with for this word which would make sense to English audiences. The phrase “victim” lacks the respect and religious connotations of kedoshei. While “martyr” connotes both respect and religious significance, it also connotes a cause to their death which is not correct. I want to make it clear that the use of the word “martyr” in this case does not mean that there was any choice or religious sacrifice, because there was none, on the part of those murdered in the Holocaust. There are many other hard choices in this translation, many of which have been marked in footnotes.

 

  Page
number
Initial pages
     People of the Book vii
     Introduction 1
1. The City of Sečovce and the Founders of the Jewish Community 3
     A. Sečovce and its History 5
     B. The Pioneers of the Jewish Community 6
2. The Status of the Jews in the Habsburg Kingdom 7
     a. Imperial Decrees of Karl VI, Founder of the Dynasty, and the Decrees of his Successors 9
     b. The Condition of the Jews From the Late 18th Century until Emancipation 10
     c. The Jews in the Kingdom of Franz Joseph, Kaiser of Austria and King of Hungary 11
3. The Emancipation of the Jews and its Significance 13
     a. Legal Recognition of the Equality of the Jews 15
     b. Emancipation in Hungary and its Opponents 15
4. The Domestic Lives of Hungarian Jews 17
     a. The Conflict Between the Haredim and the Secular Jews 19
     b. Moses Sofer and the Rabbis of Slovakia 19
     c. The Influence of the Jewish Elders of Slovakia 21
     d. Sečovce's Community Remained United 22
     e. The Status of the Jews in Slovakia until the End of WWI 23
5. The Jewish Community in Czechoslovakia 25
     a. Riots in the Cities of Slovakia - robbery and burglary 27
     b. About the Life of the Community of Sečovce in the 20s and 30s 27
     c. Menachem Katz Describes His Community 28
6. Communal Institutions 31
     a. Institutions of Religious Education 33
     b. Charitable Organizations 33
     c. Mikvah and Synagogue 35
7. Rabbis of the Community 37
     a. Rabbi Meir Kahane 39
     b. Rabbi Nathan Shapira 40
     c. Rabbi Joseph Greenwald 40
     d. Rabbi Baruch Joshua Reinitz 41
     e. Rabbi Aharon Krauss 45
     f. Rabbi Samuel Menachem Klein 46
     g. Rabbi Zalman Adelis 48
h. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gershon Moskowitz, Rabbi of the Region 49
8. Community Elders' Stories 51
     a. Young and Wise[1] 53
     b. The G-dfather - a Respected Christian 53
     c. His Nationality Did Not Suit Him 54
     d. Which [type of] Dispute Was It?[2] 55
     e. The Deeds of Our Ancestors Are Lessons to Our Children 55
9. Educational Institutions 57
     a. “You Shall Teach Them” - in the Cheder and in the Yeshiva 59
     b. The Opening of the Jewish Day School 59
     c. The Teacher's Association 60
     d. The Lack of Jewish Teachers 62
     e. Zionist Teachers in the School 63
     f. Memorial Plaque to the Founder of the Jewish School in Sečovce 66
10. Occupations of the Jews of Sečovce and Their Livelihoods 67
     a. It Is Not the Midrash That Is Important, but the Deed 69
     b. It Is Proper to Study Torah with Derech Eretz 70
     c. Doctors of Sečovce 70
     d. Lawyers and Business People 73
     e. Farmers, Traders, and Craftspeople 74
     f. The Businesses of Ignatz-Isaac Shwartz 77
     g. Grocers, Wine and Hard Liquor 78
11. The Double-Murder in Sečovce in 1924 83
     A. Djorbala Havrilla is a Despicable Murderer 85
     B. It is Commanded to Protect Human Life, Long Ago Commanded to the Children of Noah (Gentiles) 85
12. The Visit of the Rabbi of Munkács to Sečovce (5688) 87
     a. R. Menachem Fried Invited the Rebbe 89
     b. The Lions of the Aron Kodesh Are Rejected 89
     c. The Rebbe's Journey to the Land of Israel 90
13. Political Developments in Europe and the Worsening Situation of the Jews 93
     a. Czechoslovakia in the Process of Splitting 95
     b. The Jewish Organizations in Their Activities 96
     c. The Political Developments in Slovakia 97
     d. The Situation of the Jews at the End of 1939 and the Beginning of 1940 - 5700 99
     e. Refugee Ships Sail on the Danube 101
     f. Laws and Decrees in 1940 102
     g. The Establishment of the “Jewish Center” on Behalf of the Authorities 104
     h. Decrees and Events from 1941 - 5771 105
14. Persecutions and Deportations (1942 - 5772) 109
     a. Rumors about the Deportation of the Jews 111
     b. Memorandum to the President of the State Submitted on Behalf of the Rabbis of Slovakia 111
     c. Efforts to Cancel the Decree 112
     d. The Sermon of Rabbi Frieder at the Synagogue 113
     e. People Were Led like Sheep to the Slaughter 116
     f. A Law Regarding the Expulsion of the Jews 118
     g. The Organization of “Labor Camps” and the Slowing of Deportations 119
15. Rescue Operations and Dashed Hopes (1943-1944 5773-5774) 121
     a. Recruitment of Resources for the Good of the People 123
     b. The Survivors are in Danger 123
     c. Suppression of the Rebellion in Slovakia and the Resumption of Deportations in the Fall of 1944 124
     d. Alois Brunner Yearns for a “Final Solution” 126
     e. What a Sad Liberation This Is 128
16. R. Pinchas Wintner, the Critical Supporter of Sečovce 129
     a. The Needs of the Body and the Needs of the Soul 131
     b. G-d fearing Philanthropist, Who Donated Greatly During the Holocaust Years 132
     c. Ties with the Authorities 132
17. On Sečovce in Foreign [Languages] 135
     [Slovak] Príspevky k dejinám židovskej náboženskej obce v Sečovciach 137
     [Hungarian] Gálszécs - Sečovce 140
     [Slovak] židovská mládež v Sečovciach 142
     [English] The Jewish Community of Sečovce 144
18. Martyrs of Sečovce and Environs 149
     Yizkor 151
     List of Martyrs from Sečovce and Environs 152
     Yehuda Spiegel, Netanya: Ujlak - Nový Sad 168
     List of martyrs from Ujlak - Nový Sad 169
19. Holocaust Memorial Day and the General Day of Kaddish 175
     a. 27th of Nisan - Memorial Day for the Holocaust and Heroism 177
     b. 10th of Tevet - General Day of Kaddish to Remember the Holocaust 177
     c. Communion 178
     d. Reciting Psalms 179
     e. El Maleh Rachamim 180
     f. Public Kaddish 180
     g. The Vision of the Dry Bones 181
20. Holocaust Survivors' Stories 183
     Ernest Wintner, Beverly Hills - U.S. 185
     Kalman Lebenkopf, Akko 189
     Isaac Marko, Netanya 194
     Masha Friedman-Piker, Givatayim 197
     Naftali Rosenfeld, Bnei Brak 201
     Nathan Asher-Rosenberg, Bnei Brak 203
     Yehuda Spiegel, Netanya 206
21. Yahrzeit Candle for the Deceased Expatriates of Sečovce 207
     Beba Wintner, ז”ל 209
     Matthew Rotenberg, ז”ל 211
     List of the Jews of Sečovce Who Died 212
22. Appendices 215
     Appendices 215
 
Names extracted from List of Martyrs


Translator's Footnotes

  1. Reference to Kiddushin 32b:13 Return
  2. Reference to Pirkei Avot 5:17 Return


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