Hajdunanas Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery of Hajdúnánás is said to have replaced an older cemetery in 1839. The oldest tombstone found in the cemetery dates to 1840, while the latest tombstone was erected in 1958. The cemetery has been fenced and includes an ohel and several Holocaust memorials.

Hajdúnánás was the oldest and most populous Jewish settlement among its neighbouring towns. In 1786, Mózes Fried was the first Jew who was allowed to lease a tavern in the city for 3 years. Dávid Fried, who was the most well-known and wealthiest merchant at the time, helped financially to build the first synagogue in 1825, which was dedicated by the famous rabbi of Nagykálló, Rabbi Eizik Taub. In 1830, the community founded the Chevra Kadisha (burial society). By 1848, 20 Jewish families lived in Hajdúnánás. In 1862, Sofer Israel Efraim Fischl (his Hungarian name was Fülöp Schreiber) became the rabbi of the community. In the same year, the old synagogue burned down. Rabbi Fischl was known as a Tzadik who devoted his life to Torah study. He was one of the last pupils of the Chatam Sofer. After finishing yeshiva, he returned to Hajdúnánás, where he served the community until the end of his life. During his service, in 1877, the community opened a Jewish primary school. In 1884, the Talmud Torah Society was founded to help to educate children. Three years later, the Gemilut Hesed Society to support the poor was established. In 1898, after the death of Rabbi Fischl, Ben Zion Halpert became the new rabbi, who served the community until 1918. In the first two decades of the 20th century, the community flourished, at which time 160 Jewish families (700 individuals) lived in Hajdúnánás.

According to Hebrew Wikipedia, in 1940, units of Jewish labour companies arrived in Hajdúnánás and were assisted by the Jewish community. By this time, there were 1,080 Jews in the city, most of whom belonged to the Orthodox community. The German army occupied Hungary on March 19, 1944. In May 1944, a ghetto was established in the city and all the city’s Jews were imprisoned there. In June, the Jews were transferred to a collection point in Debrecen and later that month were deported – some to the Strasshof camp in eastern Austria, some to Mauthausen, and some to Auschwitz.