History of the Jews in Verpelét

Location

Verpelét (Yiddish:ווערפעלעט) is a small town in Heves, Northern Hungary east of the Mátra Mountains. Its location is some 31 miles SW of Miskolc, 8 miles WSW of Eger.

Early History

The first indication of the settlement Jews in Heves County is from written documents, dating back to the 15th century. The Verperlet Jewish cemetery, which has been preserved contains some 40 graves, the oldest of which dates back to 1628.

After the Battle of Mohács (1687), Jews were generally driven out of Hungary and assumedly the same was the case with the Jews of Verpelet.

In the 16th-17th century, Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Hungarian Jews lived under considerably safe conditions enjoying religious tolerance, though there is no record of Jews living in Verpelet during this time.

Under the Habsburg Monarchy Jews were discriminated upon, and amongst many restrictions, were not allowed to live near mining towns or in the Heves county.

19th Century

Starting in 1816, the seat district of Eger published bulletins from which we learn of the dramatic increase of Jewish presence in the Heves and Külsö-Szolnok counties.

Accordingly, Census of Jews in the counties of Heves and Külsö-Szolnok;

• In 1816 1,592 Jews lived in 46 villages.
• In 1851, 6,879 Jews lived in 145 villages.
• In 1869 11,533 Jews lived in 166 villages

In 1840 The Jews of Verpelet numbered 139 persons, . Rabbi Zev Wolf Tannenbaum (1787-1873) was Rabbi of Verpelet at this time (as seen in his authored book Kirya N’emana printed in 1850). This indicates that the Jews had formed a formal community and framework. His Grandson Rabbi Moshe Tannenbaum (1850-1916) succeeded him there as Rabbi..

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 facilitated the Jewish emancipation by the new Hungarian Parliament and heralded and a golden era for Hungarian Jewry, politically , economically and culturally. This lasted a half a decade until World War I.

In 1880, 174 Jewish persons lived in Verpelet.

From documented records, it many be noted that Jews in the Heves were an accepted and respected part of the population and engaged in labor, commerce and education as equal and prominent citizens.

20th Century

The beginning of World War I broke this peaceful period for the Jewish communities. In 1918, Jewish properties were looted and the archives destroyed. The pogroms against the Jews during these revolutionary times made their situation harsh.

More than a hundred Jewish soldiers from Heves county had taken part in the battles of WW1. Many died in action and countless returned crippled.

Seemingly, the years thereafter were peaceful , and Jews continued to dwell, engaged in commerce and religious practice freely.

In 1931, 146 Jews lived in Verpelet. They maintained a Synagogue, school and Yeshiva.

Rabbi Yosef Asher Pollack (1888 – 1944) (author of She'eris Yosef Asher), founded a boys Yeshiva there. In 1935, the Yeshiva students numbered over 100 boys, most of who had come from nearby towns. These boys would eat their meals at the homes of the local Jews. Samuel Feuerstein (1894-1983) of Massachusetts, USA donated funds for a new building which housed the Beth Midrash and a dormitory. Each dormitory room had been built with a sink and shower, though the town still did not have a plumbing system and water was drawn from pumps.

The laying of the cornerstone ceremony for this Yeshiva took place with the participation of scores of leading area chief Rabbis, as well as hundreds of former yeshiva students, and thousands of Jews from cities in the immediate area. Notable amongst attendees was Rabbi Moshe Sofer (II) of Eger whose two sons learned at this Yeshiva.

Holocaust of Verpelet Jewry

The German occupation brought a radical turning point to the Jews of Verpelet. The yeshiva was closed by governmental decree in 1942, and many of the students were conscripted into forced labor battalions.

On 26, April 1944. The Nazi confined some 6,601 persons from the Heves county to various ghettoes in the area. Between 8-13 of May, the Jews of Verpelet were moved to the deserted Bagólyuk mining area, near Szúcs. They were housed there in the abandoned workers quaters.

At the end of May, all men in the ghettos fit to work were selected and transported for labour service. The remaining people, mostly women, children and elderly, were taken to the brikyard at Kerecsend for a few days and then to the Maklar Railway Station. From there, they were transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. .

Jewish records cite the date 21 Sivan, 5704 (12, June 1944) as the date Rabbi Yosef Asher Pollack and his wife were killed at Auschwitz. This is the same date recorded for the deaths of Eger residents, Rabbi Shimon Sofer, Rabbi Moshe Sofer (II) and their family .

According to the Verpelét town council website, eleven Jews returned after the Holocaust. The former Synagogue is now the fire department's storage room. Hungary's only wooden synagogue, which was in Verpelet was torn down in 1961.