Patroha Jewish Cemetery 1

There were two Jewish cemeteries in Pátroha. This cemetery was established as early as 1870, since it appears on the cadastral map of that year. The latest tombstone found in the cemetery dates to 1940. The cemetery has been fenced.

Pátroha is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. The village is located around 35km away from the county capital, Nyíregyháza. There are no sources regarding when the first Jews settled in the village, though, by the late 17th century, Pátroha had a significant Jewish community (compared to other villages in the area). In 1770, the village had 24 Jews across 4 Jewish families. At the time, the Jews worked for wineries owned by the nobles. Following the growth of the Jewish community, Jews mainly worked as traders, and some worked in small-scale industry or in agriculture.

The community belonged to the rabbinate of Kisvarda. In 1941, Pátroha Jews accounted for 107 people of Pátroha’s total population of 3,180. In that same year, the youth of the settlement were sent to forced labour battalions. The Jews of Pátroha were confined in the Kisvárda Ghetto along with Jews from the neighbouring towns. On the way to the ghetto, a crucifix served to mark the collection point for Jews before entering the ghetto. During the march to the crucifix, Jews were robbed by the local gendarmerie. By the end of May 1944, the remaining Jews of Pátroha were deported to the death camps in Auschwitz.

In 1949, only eleven Jews were still living in the settlement.