Nyirbator Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery of Nyírbátor was established as early as 1852, since the oldest tombstone found in the cemetery dates to that year. The cemetery, which is fenced and maintained, appears to still be in operation as the latest gravestone found in the cemetery dates to 2018.

In 1754 there were 6 Jewish families in Nyírbátor. There were 12 Jews in the settlement in 1785, 54 in 1816, 78 in 1824, 72 in 1828, 132 in 1836, and 223 in 1848. Between 1890 and 1918, the Jewish population grew to about 1,000-1,200. In 1941, during the Holocaust, 1,899 Jews lived in Nyírbátor. The community was founded around 1816 by Rabbi Simon Mandel and his five sons.

Later members of the family achieved significant economic stature. Eduárd Mandel was the founder of the city’s famous factory, BÓNI, and its predecessor. The community remained a Status Quo community after the Schism in Hungarian Jewry in 1867, though a group which founded an Orthodox community also emerged. In the late 1920’s, the Status Quo community had 3 synagogues, a well-known Talmud Torah school, a Chevra Kadisha (burial society), and a women’s association.

At that time, the chief rabbi was Rabbi Ábrahám Lemberger, and the president of the community was József Lőrinczy. On April 22, 1944, the Jews of Nyírbátor were taken to the Nyíregyháza Ghetto by chariot, and between 20-22 of them were deported to Auschwitz. After the war, 491 Jews came back to the town and re-established the Jewish community. All the Jews left the city after the revolution in 1956.