Kežmarok, Slovakia

Would you like to connect with others researching Kezmarok? Search this database and plug in "Kezmarok" in the town field.

Just a note -- while this has a wonderful collection of information, as of December 2010, there are not a lot of records for Kezmarok.

In November 2010, Madeleine ISENBERG and Mikulas LIPTAK provided a list of over 500 people who are buried in the Kezmarok Jewish Cemetery. This cemetery has been renovated and is currently in the best condition of the 700 Jewish cemeteries in Slovakia.

It's a one-stop shop!
The Jewish Records Indexing - Poland and JewishGen "All Poland Database" is a multiple database search facility, which incorporates all of the following databases: JRI -Poland, Yizkor Book Necrologies, JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF), JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR), 1891 Galicia Business Directory, 1929 Polish Business Directory, 1890-1891 New York Immigrants from Poland, Austria and Galicia, JG Discussion Group Archives, SIG Mailing List Archives and much much more.

The New York Public Library has a collection of Yiskor books, some of which are on-line and can be paged through. One can select a town from an alphabetic listing. As an example, clicking on letter "K" will result in all towns beginning with K. Kezmarok is actually listed with the spelling KESMARK. And clicking on that will give you the only book there, Toldot Yehudei Kezmarok v'hasvivaThe History of the Jews of Kezmarok and its Surroundings, by Mr. Shmuel Dov Gvaryahu-Gottesman, written in Hebrew.

15 Aug 2011: This unidentified photograph was among my father's photos.  After staring at this photo for so long, I think I finally discovered my father as a young man circled in red! In 1923, he might have been known as, Jindrich GOLDSTEIN, or Heinrich, or even Chaim, born in 1909, and he probably finished school like the others, when he 14 years old.

Does anyone recognize anyone else?  I believe all attendees at that time would have been about 24 years old.

15 May 2016: Recent contact with Alex MANDEL, whose family lived in Kezmarok, appears to have identified his uncle, Alexander MANDEL, who we confirmed was a classmate and friend of my father, Henri (Chaim) GOLDSTEIN. He is identified by the turquoise blue color.

More information to be added if we find it! M. Isenberg.

Graduates, 1921-1922, of Staats Handelsschule
Students with seemingly Jewish Names:
On the Left, 3rd row down, L to R:  Geza GLASER and Emanuel ZIEGLER;
below them, 2nd from left, Hermann WINTER (secretary);

On the Right, Julius REISZ, Geza STREIT
2nd row: Erna SZABO, Dionys LITTMAN, Josef FREI,
3rd row: Paula ROTH, Bela JACHMAN,
Skipping to the bottom, on the left Oskar KOBLER, whose poem appears in the middle of the photo,
and to the right of the school inset, that indicates some position that cannot be read,
Ferd. KLEINBERGER  and Emil KIRNER

Oskar KOBLER, no doubt like many of his Jewish classmantes, perished in the Holocaust.  He was born 7 October 1902, in Novy Bohumin (Czech Republic) to Samuel KOBLER and Malvina STEINER).  He died in Sachsenhausen in 1944.
Below are an enlargement of his photo and a "negative" view of the poem in German, transcribed, and translated into English.

The gates of the future are open to us. The doors of youth now closed. And our hopes for future life rush Uphill, without rest and unopposed. (Oskar Kobler's poem, as translated and rendered by  M. Isenberg)	Der Zukunfts Pforten stehn uns offen. Der Jugend Pforten sind nun zu, Und bergauf geht des Lebens hoffen Ein hasten ohne Rast und Ruh: Oskar Kobler

Here's a photo of the Football Team of the Hagibor Jewish Sports Club , possibly 1920.  Recognize anyone?  Hagibor in light colored shirts with Magen David's over their hearts and the word "Hagibor."  Opposing team of German Communists.

In Feb 2011, Esther Levinson of Beer Sheva, Israel sent the following message:

"I found the attached photo in 2003 at my relative's home in Budapest, whose father was named HOCHFELDER Geza (1901-1978). In this photo we see a bunch of eight men outdoors, dressed in fancy clothes and looking at the camera. Two men sitting on the left side have a pocket watch and a man standing behind has a pin in his collar jacket.

The photograph was apparently made by amateur, because there is too much "sky" and the feet of the men are "cut." At the back side of the photo there is stamp in Hungarian, which means "Hochfelder Zsigmond, amateur studio, *Kesmark*." Someone added in handwriting: "1909". My relative does not know why her father kept it and none of my relatives has ever heard about HOCHFELDER Zsigmond. Although years have passed since I found the photo, I didn’t move forward in researching it. I found in All Hungary Database entry about the death of HOCHFELDER Zsigmond, who passed away in Bratislava on 18 March 1935. According to this registry, he was born Vysoka nad Kisouca in 1884 and therefore, in 1909 he was about 25. Maybe he just passed by in Kezmarok and did not live there; or that he was living in town for a short time.

I approached Miki Liptak who kindly tried to help me. He turned my question to the local museum director but she didn't know either. I wonder if you can display the photo on your website hopefully that someone will be able to say something about group of amateur photographers in Kezmarok at the early 20 century and about HOCHFELDER Zsigmond? I would appreciate any help. "

Can you identify anyone in this photo, or do you know anything about Zsigmond HOCHFELDER?

Writing on back of photo: Z. HOCHFELDER, amateur photographer, Kezmarok.