The Jewish Architectural Heritage Foundation is a non-profit, Staten Island, New York-based corporation which assumes responsibility for maintaining, restoring, renovating and building Jewish heritage buildings and monuments on a global scale. It has 501(c)(3)tax-exempt status.
The organization's work is philanthropic in nature, and is focused on restoring and erecting Jewish public buildings and holy sites. Many of its activities are planned in disadvantaged communities, serving to benefit members of all faiths and creeds and promoting inter-racial tolerance and understanding of local heritage. Currently, its focus is set on projects within Romania and Hungary.[1]
The old synagogue of Simleu Silvaniei was erected in 1876. In May/June 1944, the area's Jewish population was forced out of their homes into the brutal Cehei ghetto and from there packed into cattle cars and transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Over 160,000 Jews from the region perished.[3] Of those few remaining Jews who survived the Holocaust and remained in Romania, the last Jewish family emigrated from the region during the mid-1960s, while the country was still under Communist rule. The loss of its congregation left the Synagogue to fate, decaying silently over time.
JAHF launched a vigorous campaign driving the restoration project forward. Its efforts contributed to raising funds to complete construction, establishing educational criterion, and supported pedagogical training for the regional school systems. The Museum now functions as an educational hub and essential resource for Holocaust Education in the region. Guided tours tailored to students are offered daily, The museum centerpiece is the synagogue originally built in 1876.[4]
Şimleu Silvaniei Multicultural Holocaust Education and Research Center
Şimleu Silvaniei Multicultural Holocaust Education and Research Center
In the Spring of 2008, the Museum inaugurated the annex to the Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Museum: the Şimleu Silvaniei Multicultural Holocaust Education and Research Center. The facility is now used to host lectures and seminars about the Holocaust, with programs geared to students, teachers and academics. The teacher program encourages and helps teachers to sensitively incorporate the subject of the Holocaust into their curriculum, a discipline sorely lacking in Romania's school system. JAHF is devoted to maintaining operations at the Holocaust Education and Research Center and is a financial supporter of its pedagogical activities.
Cehei Ghetto Memorial
Marker at the site of the makeshift Cehei Ghetto, a former brickyard owned by a local Jewish Family
The Jews of Sălaj County were concentrated in the Klein Brickyard of Cehei, in a marshy and muddy area about three miles from Şimleu Silvaniei. At its peak in May 1944, the ghetto held about 8,500 Jews. Among these were the Jews from the communities in the districts of Crasna, Cehu Silvaniei, Jibou, Şimleu Silvaniei, Supuru de Jos, Tăşnad, and Zalău. Since the brick-drying sheds were rather limited, many of the ghetto inhabitants were compelled to live under the open sky. The ghetto was guarded by a special unit of gendarmes from Budapest and operated under the command of Krasznai, one of the most cruel ghetto commanders in Hungary.[5]
As a result of torture, malnutrition, and a totally inadequate water supply in the ghetto, the Jews of Sălaj County arrived at Auschwitz in such poor condition, so that an unusually large percentage were selected for gassing immediately upon arrival. The deportations from Cehei were carried out in three transports between May 31 and June 8.[5][6]
Although built structures no longer exist on the site of the former brickyard, the Jewish Architectural Heritage Foundation has set up signposts commemorating the events that took place at what is now known as the Cehei Ghetto. Organized tours frequently visit the site, as scheduled by the Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Museum JAHF is currently negotiating the procurement of an authentic cattle car that was used to transport Jews to the death camps, for a permanent exhibit at the site of the former ghetto.[7]
Nuşfalău Memorial
Nuşfalău Holocaust Memorial designed by Wapniak
The Jewish Architectural Heritage Foundation is planning on the construction of a Holocaust Memorial designed by Architect Adam Aaron Wapniak on the site of the old Nuşfalău Synagogue, directly adjacent to an existing War memorial. The barren site reflects the absence of the town's former Jewish population. Embracing dichotomous design; the steel tracks represent the grotesqueness of the Holocaust, as well as the temporal journey of the Jewish people. Resembling a flower, the breach in the tracks is emblematic of incidents of persecution and repression—all the while rising forth, blooming like a lotus.[8]
The Jibou Cemetery Restoration Project
JAHF has funded the Restoration of the Jewish Cemetery in Jibou, Romania—and has contributed to the care of other outlying cemeteries in the region. Typical tasks include straightening or righting fallen tombstones, inscription reparation and landscaping of these holy sites.
Holocaust documentation
The Jewish Architectural Heritage Foundation has also completed a number of video documentaries, noting the personal accounts of individuals from around the Șimleu Silvaniei area. One documentary (currently in editing) features Elly Gross as she walks through the town of Simleu Silvaniei, giving an account of the Jews who once walked in its streets.
Sister organizations
Asociata Memoralia Hebraica Nuşfalău
Gallery
Dedication Ceremony at the Opening of JAHF's Flagship Project, the Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Museum
Simleu Silvaniei Holocaust Education and Research Center
Sălaj County is a county (județ) of Romania, located in the north-west of the country, in the historical regions of Crișana and Transylvania. It is bordered to the north by Satu Mare and Maramureș counties, to the west and south-west by Bihor County, and to the south-east by Cluj County. Zalău is the county seat, as well as its largest city.
Șimleu Silvaniei is a town in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania with a population of 13,948 people. It is located near the ancient Dacian fortress Dacidava.
Cehu Silvaniei is a town in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania. Four villages are administered by the town: Horoatu Cehului (Oláhhorvát), Motiș (Mutos), Nadiș (Szilágynádasd), and Ulciug (Völcsök).
The events of the Ip massacre escalated in the early hours of 14 September 1940, in Ipp,, Northern Transylvania. After two Hungarian soldiers died there in an accidental explosion, rumors spread that they had been killed by Romanians. After another incident the Royal Hungarian Army, influenced by the rumor, indiscriminately massacred around 150 ethnic Romanians in the nearby locations and surrounding areas.
Hodod is a commune of 2,914 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Crișana, Romania. It is composed of four villages:
Ileanda is a commune located in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of thirteen villages: Bizușa-Băi (Büdöspataka), Bârsăuța (Kisborszó), Dăbiceni (Kisdoboka), Dolheni (Ilondapatak), Ileanda, Luminișu (Szakadás), Măleni (Kisilonda), Negreni (Konkolyfalva), Perii Vadului (Révkörtvélyes), Podișu (Csömény), Răstoci (Hosszúrév), Rogna (Kornislaka) and Șasa (Sasfalu).
Surduc is a commune in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Brâglez, Cristolțel, Solona, Surduc, Teștioara, Tihău and Turbuța.
Elly Berkovits Gross was a Holocaust survivor and author of several Holocaust related books of poetry and prose. In the 1960s, Elly emigrated to the United States, where she was a frequent invited speaker at museums and schools around the country. Gross died on October 24, 2022, at the age of 93
The Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Museum is located in Șimleu Silvaniei, Sălaj County, Romania, and was opened September 11, 2005. The museum is operated and maintained by the Jewish Architectural Heritage Foundation of New York and Asociația Memoraliă Hebraică Nușfalău, with the support of the Claims Conference, Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania, among other philanthropic and pedagogical partners.
The Cehei ghetto, also known as the Șimleu Silvaniei ghetto, was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was located outside Szilágysomlyó in the village of Somlyócsehi, Szilágy County, Kingdom of Hungary as the territory became part of Hungary again from the 1940 Second Vienna Award's grant of Northern Transylvania until the end of World War II. It was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe.
Lapiș Forest nature reserve IUCN category IV, is located in northwestern Romania, in the west of Sălaj County, near the village of Nușfalău, which is about 9 km from Șimleu Silvaniei.
The Bistrița ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was located outside the city of Beszterce, Beszterce-Naszód County, Kingdom of Hungary as the territory became part of Hungary again from the 1940 Second Vienna Award's grant of Northern Transylvania until late the end of World War II. It was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe.
The Reghin ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was located in the city of Reghin in Mureș County, Transylvania, now part of Romania but administered by the Kingdom of Hungary from the 1940 Second Vienna Award's grant of Northern Transylvania until late 1944. It was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe.
The Baia Mare ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was located in the city of Baia Mare in Maramureș County, Transylvania, now part of Romania but administered as part of Szatmár County by the Kingdom of Hungary from the 1940 Second Vienna Award's grant of Northern Transylvania until late 1944. It was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe.
The Dej ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was located in the city of Dej in Cluj County, Transylvania, now part of Romania but administered as part of Szolnok-Doboka County by the Kingdom of Hungary from the 1940 Second Vienna Award's grant of Northern Transylvania until late 1944. The ghetto was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe.
The Oradea ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was located in the city of Oradea in Bihor County, Transylvania, now part of Romania but administered as part of Bihar County by the Kingdom of Hungary from the 1940 Second Vienna Award's grant of Northern Transylvania until late 1944. The ghetto was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe.
The Gherla Synagogue is a synagogue located in Gherla in northern Romania. The building was constructed in 1903 and was in danger of collapse in 2012 when fund raising was commenced to complete structural repairs.
The Nușfalău massacre occurred in the village of Szilágynagyfalu in Northern Transylvania. It happened on 8 September 1940, when a Hungarian soldier with the support of some natives tortured and killed eleven people of Romanian ethnicity from a nearby village, who were passing through the area.
The Țigani clash was a battle that took place on 14 January 1919 in Crișeni between Romanian and Hungarian troops in the area of Sălaj County, during the occupation of a new line of demarcation in Transylvania during the Hungarian–Romanian War. The incident involved Hungarian troops of the 24th Honvéd Infantry Regiment of the Székely Division and Romanian troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division.
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