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Kezmarok Coat of Arms

   Kežmarok, Slovakia


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The Holocaust Period

The following material was adapted, with kind permission, from The Database of Jewish Communities - Beit Hatfutsot - The Museum of the Jewish People, Tel Aviv, Israel.

After the annexation of Austria to Germany in March 1938, there were anti-Semitic manifestations by the German citizens of Kezmarok. A few of the Jews of Kezmarok enlisted in the army of Czechoslovakia, which was deployed along the border with Germany and Austria. In the army barracks at Kezmarok thousands of soldiers were stationed, among them many Jews.

Following the Munich pact of September 1938, the Sudeten region of Czechoslovakia was annexed to Germany and the republic broke up. Some 20 Jewish families from the annexed region escaped to Kezmarok. Slovakia declared its autonomy on October 6, 1938. On November 5 the anti-Semitic “Hlinka Guard” expelled some 30 stateless Jewish families to the border with Hungary. The Hungarians refused to accept them and they remained on the border for about two weeks. Finally, the Slovak authorities allowed them to return to Slovakia.

Slovakia became an autonomous state, a satellite of Germany, on March 14, 1939. The following day German students of the local high school attacked Jews and broke windows in the homes and businesses of Jews. The employment of Jewish doctors and lawyers was restricted and gradually the Jews of Slovakia were removed from the social and economic life of the country. A local branch of the "Center for the Jews" provided help to the needy. When World War II broke out (September 1,1939), the community of Kezmarok assisted about 2200 Jewish refugees from Poland to escape to Hungary.

In December 1939 some 30 Jews of Kezmarok succeeded in boarding the "illegal" emigration ship "Confino" and they reached Eretz Israel by way of the Black Sea in the Spring of 1940. Another group of 30 Jews who left in May 1940 on board of the "Pancho" reached the shores of Eretz Israel after many misfortunes, but only in 1944.

In Kezmarok, Jewish men were taken to forced labor and the harassment of Jews intensified. At the end of 1940, 1,185 Jews were registered in the town. In the summer of 1941 all the Jewish businesses were transferred to Slovak "Aryans". A number of Jewish families escaped from Kezmarok to Hungary.

In February 1942 Slovaks, with the help of German youth, confiscated the valuables of Jews. The Jews were ordered to report for registration. On March 29, 1942, young Jewish girls were abducted from their homes and taken to a camp in Poprad. Soon after Passover they were deported by trains to Poland and reached Auschwitz a month later. On April 1, 1942, Jewish men of the ages of 16-45 were taken to the fortress of Tokaj and they too were deported on the following day, via Zilina, to concentration camps in Poland. Attempts to escape to Hungary increased in number. Those who were caught were taken to a camp at Novaky and from there deported to Poland.

Most of the Jews who were still in Kezmarok and the surrounding area (some 800 people) were deported to the region of Lublin in Poland between May 25 and June 5, and some on September 21 (Yom Kippur) and October 2, 1942. Before the deportation, the children, the old, and the weak were shot on the spot and those capable of work were transferred to labor camps. Only Jews who were economically vital and some who managed to hide, remained in Kezmarok.

In the summer of 1944 a revolt against the Fascist regime of Slovakia broke out. Jews of Kezmarok who were still in the area, joined the fighters against the government. The revolt was suppressed by the German SS forces and the Hlinka Guard, who began to hunt down the partisans-- particularly the Jewish partisans. Those who were caught were shot on the spot. In September 1944, some 40 Jews of Kezmarok, among them the Rabbi Simcha Natan GrÜnburg, were caught near the Polish border and were shot. 48 Jews of Kezmarok and its surroundings fought against the Germans in the ranks of the Czech army and the partisans. The Jewish doctor, Eduard Laufer from Nitra, saved Jews and partisans in the guise of a Christian Slovak.

When the war in the region ended, in January 1945, survivors of some 15 Jewish families came out of hiding and, joined by Jews from other places, and revived the life of the Jewish community. Rabbi Meir GrÜnburg, the son of Rabbi S. N. GRÜNBERG, became the Rabbi of the area, which included the communities of Kezmarok and Liptovsky-Mikulas. An attempt was made to rebuild the ruins of the synagogue but the building was finally torn down (under the Communist regime in 1961). A kosher restaurant was opened and a shochet from Kosice came once a week. Rabbi David REISNER served as a Mohel for the entire region.

In 1948 there were 384 Jews in Kezmarok, among them 58 children. Moritz GOLDMAN was the head of the community. In 1949 most of the members of the community went to Israel. Some of them, including Rabbi Meir GRÜNBERG, emigrated to the U.S.A.

In the 1950s there were ten children in the community, who received Jewish education. In the 1970's there were still some Jews in the place and a Christian Slovak looked after the Jewish cemetery. In 1989 the cemetery was found surrounded by a wall, the gate locked and the graves in a proper condition.

The cemetery, being within the confines of the town, managed to remain intact. The designer of this webpage, Madeleine Isenberg, visited there in August 1996, and was able to locate several family tombstones.

In 2004, a general cleanup and restoration took place and the cemetery has been described as being in the best condition of the approximately 700 Jewish cemeteries in Slovakia. It continues to be maintained by Mr. Rudolf Herz, who had Jewish ancestors.

Photograph of the Kezmarok Cemetery after Restoration

Summary of Jewish Population in Kezmarok

In 1921  1,650 Jews
In 1930   1,166 Jews
At the end of 1940 1,185 Jews were registered
In 1948  384 Jews (of these, 58 were children)
1950s  there were 10 children in the community, who received Jewish education
1970s   there were still a few Jews; a Christian Slovak looked after the Jewish cemetery.
1 Oct 2002  Leo KOVACS, the last Jew in Kezmarok died and was buried together in the grave of his grandfather, Leo (Aryeh Leb) HERZ

Memorial to the Jews of Kezmarok

This page is in memoriam for the Jews who were former residents of Kezmarok, Slovakia, and were killed during the Holocaust.  The Kezmarok Memorial in the Cholon Cemetery, Cholon, Israel, was dedicated on June 25, 1989. For anyone traveling to Israel -- or for those liveing there -- the exact location of the memorial within the cemetery is: Block 15, Area 3, Rows 21/22.

Photograph of the Kezmarok Memorial in Cholon, Israel

Below is a transliterated and alphabetized list in English, of the names listed in Hebrew on the Kezmarok Memorial.  

At the end of 1940, there were 1,185 Jews living in Kezmarok.  On the memorial, the names of at least 673 people are listed. Some additional people are not specifically named, but are lumped together as "children," or "sons,"  or "daughters," or "families."

Note:  The Chief Rabbi of the Kezmarok community, Rabbi Simcha Natan GRÜNBERG, his wife, sons and daughters were killed during the Holocaust.  Only son Meir emigrated to New York, USA, and was known there as the “Kezmarker Rav.”

Below is a transliterated list of the names and alphabetized according to English, as listed on the memorial. The memorial itself lists the names according to Hebrew alphabet, with some later additions not according to that order.

According to the plaque on the memorial, the Yahrzeit date (or anniversary) of their martyrdom has been designated as the 31 May 1945 corresponding to

 20th of Sivan.

List of Holocaust Martyrs on Cholon Memorial

Last name

First name
(male)

First name
(wife or female)

Children
(or comments)

Alexander

Aryeh ben David

 

 

Altman

Aharon

 

 

Altman

Artur

Malka

o Ruth

Altman

Dov

Breindel

o Azriel

o Sara

o Miriam

o Matil

o Bluma

Bergman

 

Rivka

o Shimon

Bergsman

Yaakov Raphael

Chana Braizel

o Mordechai

o Gershon

o Shmuel

Berman

Avraham Yechiel

Raizel

o Noah

Berman

Yaakov Meir

Golda

 

Bertfeld

Yosef

Chana

o Charlotta

o Irvin

Birnbaum

Pinchas

wife

 

Birnbaum

Yochanan

Rivka

o Malka

Bitterman

Ilana

 

 

Bleier

 

Chana

o Leah

o Olga

o Alter

Blumenstock

Avraham

Shaindel

o Olga

o Shimon

Breitkopf

Yehuda

 

o Yaakov

o Yehoshua

o Yosef

o Ethel

o Rachel

o Chaya

Brody

Avraham

Devorah

 

Cohen

Simcha

Ethel

o Yaakov

o Aidella

Dagan

 

Ella

o Natan

o Dov

o Ida

Dagan

Eliezer Moshe

Gittel

 

Deutsch

Akiva

Shifra

o Menachem Zvi

Eichner

Mordechai Yehuda

Mindel

o Tuvia

o Chanah

o Grandmother Yanka

Englander

 

Hasa

o son

Englander

Avraham

Friedel

o David

Englander

Avraham

Yetta

 

Englander

Avraham

Chana

o Gershon

Englander

Meir

Gittel

o Jerko

Englander

Nechemiah

Rachel

o Bella Gittel

Englander

Yaakov

Rivka

o Zuzi

Englander

Yehoshua

Raizel

o Avraham

Englander

Yitzchak

Olga

o Imra

Englander

Yosef

Chaya Leah

 

Englehart

 

Hinda bat Gittel

 

Englehart

Chaim

Liebe

o Shimon

o Avigdor

Engleman

Moshe Yehuda

Beila

o Chava Tamril

Farber

Alexander

Arzjah

o Yitzchak

o Miriam

Farkas

Chanoch

Berta

o Eta

o Chanah

Fenster

Aharon

Chava

 

Fenster

Meir

Esther

o Gershon

Fenster

Menachem

 

o family

Feuer

David

Berta

o children

Feuereisen

Avigdor

Wilma

o Magda

o Waldemir

Feuereisen

BenZion

Berta

o 3 children

Feuerwerker

Ephraim Fischel

Seren

o children

Folger

 

Friedel

o Children

o grandchildren

Forscher

Avraham Yitzchok

Breindel

o Bella

o Leah

o grandchild Shaindel

o grandchild Chaim

Forscher

Moritz

Cornelia

o Cornelia's sister Roza

Frankel

Shimon

Gittel

 

Frei

Shmuel

Chava

o children

Fried

David

Rachel

o Shlomo

Friedman

Shmuel

Bluma

o Yisroel

o Mordechai

o Rivka

o Gershon

Friedman

Yoel

Sara

o Esther

o Devorah

o Marko

Fuchs

Shlomo

Regina

o Raphael

o Zvi

o families

Gartner

Gideon

Rachel

 

Gassner

Shmuel

Raizel

 

Gassner

Yitzchak Aizik

Roza

o Shaindel

o Tovah

o Chana

o Shalom

o Raizel

Goldman

 

Yehudit Grosshandler

 

Goldman

 

Beila

o Zechariah

o Esther

Goldman

Azriel

Chana

o daughters

Goldman

Ernst

 

 

Goldman

Leib

Tzila

o children

Goldman

Salomon

Helen

o Mattal

o Rina

o Chana

Goldman

Shmuel

Esther Beila

o Children of Moshe Meir and Riva

Goldman

Yaakov

 

o family

Goldman

Yitzchak

Rivka

o Zechariah

o Baruch

o Mordechai

o Yonah

o Beila

o Chana

Goldman

Zvi

Rachel

o Shimon

o Itah

o Chava

Goldstein

Aryeh Leib

Gittel

o Leah

o Yosef

o Ruth

o Raizel

Green

 

Esther

o David

o Avraham

Green

Max

Valska

o Chana

o Erno

Green

Yosef

 

 

Gross

Natan ben Wolf

Henya

o Malka

Grossberg

 

 

o Chaim ben Avraham

o Shlomo ben Avraham

Grossberg

Sh. David

Golda

o Esther

Grossman

Lazer

Ethel

 

Grossman

Solomon

Ilona

o children

Grünberg

Harav Hagaon Simcha Natan Grünberg

his wife

o Sons & daughters

Grünwald

Eliyahu Ze'ev

Malka

o Yitchak Yaakov

Grünwald

Gustav

 

 

Hammerschlag

Dov

Gittel

o Aidel

o Feige

o Frist

o Tzeitel

Hammerschlag

Heinrich

wife

o children

Hammerschlag

Yitzchak

Esther

o Oscar

o Victor

Hecht

Natan

Frieda

o Ephraim

o Yitzchak

o Avraham

o Sarah

o Chana

o Roza

Herbst

 

Chana

o Zvi

o Yehoshua

o Malka

o Mindel

Hershkovitz

Shimon

 

 

Hertz

Artur

Marta

o Lenka

o David Shimon

Hochhauser

Baruch

Golda

 

Hoenig

 

Raizel

 

Hoenig

Yosef Aryeh

 

 

Holtzer

 

Yetti

o Zvi

o Malbin

Holtzer

Artur

Frieda

 

Indich

Reuven

Mindel Chana

o Shlomo

o Ruti

Indig

Eliezer

Sarah

o Dov

o Shmuel

o Magda

o Aryeh

Janovitz

Dov

Elka

o Ella

o Wilma

Janovitz

Leib

Chana

o Children

Kahan

Mendel

Irene

o Moshe

o Gizi

Kallus

Avraham Yitzchok

Hinda

o Shoshana

o Shmuel

o Aryeh

o Perl

o Simcha

o Aharon

Katz

David

Mittel

 

Katz

Yitzchak Aizik

Esther Gittel

o Rivka

o Chaim

o Eliezer

o Dvorah

o Shmuel

Kaufteil

Moshe

Kreindel

o Dr. Leopold Desider

o Aranka

o families

Keller

Yechezkel Shraga

Golda

o children

Klausenstock

Artur

Olga

o Son

Klein

Shlomo

Tzvia

o Hugo

Klein

Yosef

 

 

Klein

Yosef Herschel Zisskind

Sara

 

Kleinhandler

Yosef

Cecilia

o daughters

Kolber

Benjamin Zvi

Rachel Devorah

o Breindel

o Mindel

o Chaya

o Chaya's husband

o their son Yaakov Mordechai

Kummer

Yehuda

Miriam Gittel

 

Korngold

 

Chana

o Ziesel

o Simcha

o Yitzcok

o Avraham

o Yosef

o Zvi

Kornhauser

 

Anna

o Shmuel

Kornhauser

Moshe Yehuda

Ilonka

o chilren

Kornhauser

Shlomo Gedalyahu

 

o family

Kornhauser

Yehoshua

 

 

Kornhauser

Zvi Shimon

Tovah

o Gedalyahu

o Shmuel

o Naftali

o Simcha

o Shlomo

o Ilonka

o Sarah

o Perl

Kovacs

Yaakov

 

o Yehudit

Kraus

Avraham

Raizel

o Dov

Kunstlinger

Yehoshua

Esther

o Akiva

o Mordechai

o Rachel

Lenz

Aharon

Wife

o Alexander

o Zusha

Lorber

Yitzchak

Bella

o Mordechai

o Aryeh

o Natan

o Yisroel

Lustgarten

Yaakov

Rasha

 

Mangel

Zelig

Feige

 

Meller

Moshe

Ilona

o Yaakov

o Aharon

o Yitzchak

o Aryeh

Mendel

Zvi

 

 

Morgenbesser

Moshe

Mary

o Son

Morgenbesser

Peppi

 

o Grandaughter: Tomi

Narcissenfeld

 

Regina

 

NeugrÖschel

 

Chana

o Daniel

o Ruth

NeugrÖschel

Avraham Moshe

Helen

o Yitchak

o Eliezer

Offenberg

Moshe

 

 

Pahmer

Mordechai

Shoshana

o Avraham

o Yaakov Dov

Perlroth

 

Sara

o Chana

o Hinda

Reich

 

Rivka

o Natan Netta

Reich

Max

 

o Family

Reich

Zalman

 

o Eliahu

o Shmuel

o Ethel

Reichman

Shimon

Rivka

 

Riemer


Corrections to listing on memorial provided by Yoav Deutscher, 27 Nov 2016

Moshe

Sarah

Yaakov

Mordechai

Chaim Leib

Yeshayahu

Metel (Mathild),

and her children:

Shifra, Bebi, Leah

Riess

Alexander

Yolan

o Zoltan

Ronai

Mano

Yetti

o Margit

Rosenbaum

Leo

Devorah

o Natan

o Moshe

o Shaul

o Bono

Rosenblum

Yosef

Pesil

o Children

Rosenzweig

Meir

 

o Moshe

Rosenzweig

Shlomo

 

o Moshe Zvi

Rotter

Dr. Solomon

Elsa

 

Roza

Meir Raphael

Chana

o Zecharyah Alter

Rozman

 

Berta (nee Lagur)

 

Rozman

Aharon

Perl

o 3 children

Rozman

Yaakov Dov

Chaya

o Yehuda

o Moshe

o Aryeh

Salomonn

Shlomo

Chana Perlrott

o Bezalel

o Yisroel

Schleichkorn

Shlomo

Tamar

o Chana

o Daka

o Moshe

Schloss

Elimelech

 

o Yechezkel

o Kalman

o Aryeh

o Chaim

Schloss

Yosef

Taube

o Ze'ev

o Shmuel

o Kalonimus

o Leib

o Bluma

o Lieba

o Esther

Schlossman

Shimon

Esther

o Andor

o Ermin

Schoen

Yisachar Dov

Mirrel

 

Schoenfeld

 

Ita

o Pessel

o Gissia

o Aryeh

o Eliezer

o Yeshayahu

o Mordechai

o Elka

Schorr

Ephraim

wife

o children

Schorr

Shimon

wife

o Children

Schultz

Zvi

Bluma (nee Perlrott)

 

Schwartz

 

 

o family

Schwartz

 

Malbin

o Tzimat

o Selma

o Geller

o Ilonka

o sisters from the Grossman family

Shapira

Aharon Yaakov

 

o Daughter

Seinvel

 

Chaya

o husband David

Seinvel

 

Malka

o husband David

o 5 children

Seinvel

 

Gittel

o Husband Hershel

o 2 children

Seinvel

Aryeh

Chana

o Shmuel

o Rachel Leah

Seinvel

Ben Zion

Shaindel

o 4 children

Seinvel

Eliezer Moshe

Raizel

o Aharon

o Baruch

o Yosef

o Avraham

Seinvel

Menachem

Henya

 

Seinvel

Pinchas

 

 

Seinvel

Yisroel Avraham

Milah

 

Seinvel

Yisroel Baruch

Shaindel

o Yoel

o Eliezer

o Meir

o Mordechai

o Hinda

Seinvel

Yitzchak

 

o Aidel

Seinvel

Ze'ev

Gittel

o Leah

Springer

Yisroel

 

o Rivka

o Rachel

o grandson Avigdor

Stern

Yosef

Tzila

o Eliezer

o son-in-law Yaakov

Stiller

 

Rozanna

o Ilsa

o Trude

Strebinger

 

Rachel bat Gitel

 

Tak

Yosef

Malkina (or Malvina?)

o Shimon

Tandlich

 

Berta

 

Treuerig

Chanina

 

o Yaakov

Vogelman

Moshe

 

o Sons

o Daughters

o grandchildren

Vogelman

Tzvi Dov

 

o Yisroel

Waldman

Shlomo

Rachel

o Moshe

o Yosef

o Bondi

Wildfeuer

Yitzchak

Esther

o Chava Tamril

o Bluma

o Shani

o Zano

Wildfeuer

Yoel

Miriam

o David

o Edith

Weiner

Shmaryahu

Yehudit

o Miriam

Weiss

Berl

Ahuva

 

Weiss

Berl

Devorah

o Lena

o Geula

o Dov

Winczer

Yitzchak

Shaindel

o Aijo

o Yaakov

o Roza

Wurm

 

Sarah

 

Wurm

 

Rivka

 

Wurm

Aryeh

 

o son

Wurm

Pinchas

 

 

Ziegler

 

Chaya

o Ze'ev

o Menachem

o Esther

o Yachad

Zipser

Aryeh

 

o Chava

Zipser

Shmuel

 

 

Zollman

 

Sarah

o her husband

Zollman

 

Golda

o her husband

o Natan

o Shaindel

Zollman

Shmuel David

 

 

Zuckerberg

Yaakov Natan

Shoshana

o Malka

o Tuvia

 



From the Archives of the State Museum at Majdanek

In May 2011, an e-mail was sent to a request records of people who were born in Kezmarok who found their fate at Majdanek. Normally, requests for information is made on an individual basis, but Marta Grudzińska made an exception and provided the following list of information. Note: Not everyone from Kezmarok is listed here because some records were destroyed, so this is what was found.

The table below is based on documents from the State Museum of Majdanek. In return, Marta requested "If you have more information, pictures and documents about Majdanek's prisoners I would be very interested."

Marta Grudzińska
Archiwum Państwowego Muzeum na Majdanku
tel. 81 710 28 60
www.majdanek.eu

List of Madjanek Martyrs From Kezmarok

Family nameFirst name
ALTMANNArthur
BERGMANNArnold
DEUTSCHIsidor
DEUTSCHEugen
DEUTSCHArmin
DEUTSCHBernat
ENGELJan
ENGELHARTSimon
FENSTERGeza
FRIEDMANNErnst
GÄRTNERWilhelm
GERHARDTAbraham
GLÜCKArmin
GOLDMANNAlex.
GOLDSTEINJosef
GRÜNEugen
HERBSTHermann
HOLLÄNDERDionis [Diorus]
INDICHMendel
JUNGHeinrich
KORNHAUSERSalamon
KORNHAUSERMoritz
KÜNSTLINGERMartin
LORBERMarkus
LORBERMarkus
RIEMERJakob
SEINVELErnest
SEINWELLZoltan
WEINGARTENWilhelm
WERTHEIMERJakob
WESTFRIEDIgnatz
WESTFRIEDDezider



 Compiled by Madeleine Isenberg
Updated 24 February 2022
Copyright © 2014-2022
Madeleine R. Isenberg
All rights reserved.

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