Tuzser Jewish Cemetery Two

There were two Jewish cemeteries in Tuzsér. This cemetery was established as early as 1902, since the oldest tombstone found in the cemetery dates to that year. The cemetery remained in operation until at least 1941 – the year in which the latest tombstone was erected. The cemetery has not been fenced.

The first mention of Jews in Tuzsér was recorded in the 1747 census and by 1836 37 Jews were living in the village. The number of Jews in the village later decreased, and in 1880 Jews accounted for 82 people of the village’s total population of 1,060. By 1941, only 55 people of the village’s population (2,019) were Jews. The Jews of Tuzsér worked as stillmen, retailers, and draymen, and later as craftsmen, smallholder farmers, horse traders, and merchants. The community joined the Orthodox community of Mándok in 1885. In 1941, the Kewish youth of Tuzsér were drafted into forced labour. In mid-April 1944, the Jews were forcibly gathered in the synagogue with a minimal supply of food and clothes. After Passover, Hungarian policemen arrived and transported them to the Kisvárda Ghetto on the carriages of other locals. The Jews were not permitted to take any of their possessions and their houses were closed with red wax seals. At the end of May, they were deported to Auschwitz. Only about 10 people returned after the war, some of whom were saved and hidden by their Christians friends. By the beginning of 1949, only 3 Jews remained in Tuzsér.