Satoraljaujhely

SATORALJAUJHELY (in Yiddish popularly abridged to Ujhely), city in N.E. Hungary. Before World War I it was one of the main Jewish settlements in Hungary, excluding *Subcarpathian Ruthenia and *Transylvania. Jews first arrived there at the beginning of the 18^th century, in connection with the nationalist army of F. Rákóczi. An organized community was established in 1771. The first Jewish elementary school was founded in 1836; M. *Heilprin was among its teachers. The first rabbi was S. Weil. He was succeeded by Moses *Tei telbaum (1808–40), founder of the celebrated dynasty of ẓaddikim. His grandson was compelled to leave the town as a result of the opposition to the Ḥasidim. Rabbinical office was then held by Jeremiah Loew (1854–73), who took part in the Hungarian General Jewish Congress of 1868–69. He endeavored to prevent a split within the community after the schism within Hungarian Jewry that followed the congress (see *Hungary), but in 1886 his son Eleazar Loew (1873–86) founded a separate Orthodox community. After the separation of the Orthodox sector, the majority of the community remained *status quo ante.

After the term of office of R. Kalman Weiss (1890–1910), a rabbi was not appointed until the arrival of S. Roth (1921–44), the last rabbi. A large synagogue was erected in 1888. The Orthodox community also built a large synagogue and established a higher yeshivah (1922–44). The Jewish population numbered 3,523 in 1869; 5,730 in 1910; 6,445 in 1920; and 4,160 in 1941. They were mainly occupied in commerce, but a number were in professions.

Holocaust and Contemporary Periods

The Jews in the city were affected by the anti-Jewish legislation, unemployment, and other difficulties that faced the rest of the Jews in Hungary in the interwar period. After the German invasion (March 19, 1944), about 4,000 Jews from Satoraljaujhely were confined in a ghetto, joined by another 11,000 from nearby villages, all crowded 20–25 to a room. All were deported to the death camp at *Auschwitz between May 16 and June 3 in four transports. Only 555 survived. There were 204 Jews living in Satoraljaujhely in 1953.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.