Retkozberencs Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery of Rétközberencs was established as early as 1882, since it appears on the cadastral map of that year. The latest tombstone found in the cemetery dates to 1940. The cemetery is currently part of the municipal cemetery.

Formerly known as Berencs, the village was renamed Rétközberencs in 1898. The name Berencs first appeared in written documents in 1289, though the site has been inhabited for approximately 5000 years. The first records of a Jewish presence in Rétközberencs dates to 1836, when 5 Jews lived in the village. The community grew slightly and by 1880, Jews accounted for 39 people of the total population of 524.The community belonged to the rabbinate of Kisvárda. The Jews of Rétközberencs worked in various occupations, such as stillmen or farmers.

In the interwar period, Miklós Stern, Lajos Grünbaum, and Lipót Steinberger worked and lived in the village as stillmen. József and Irén Klein were the owners of the Veres-ranch. Miklós Windt worked as a farmer. Jenő Glück and his wife grew tobacco and sugar. In 1941, Jews accounted for merely 16 people of the total population of 1,451. In April 1944, the Jews of Rétközberencs were deported to the Kisvárda Ghetto and then to Auschwitz.