Jewish cemetery in Zvolen
Marek Páleník
Cemetery
"The stone from the wall shouts with a mighty cry of cry: Man, remember and remember that the place where you stand is the place of the martyrs"
The best deed - the highest mitzvah - is, according to Jewish law, halachas, the ones that are selfless and cannot be rewarded. This is fulfilled when the one he gives can no longer repay him. The dead cannot return anything, so visit them. graves is a sign of high nobility.
Video of cemetery
Park of the noble souls
The park was uncovered opened v pohode lepšie znieon the 9th September 2009, which is the Memorial Day for holocaust and racial violence. This day is celebrated by the all Slovaks that helped the Jews, risking their own lives in an effort to hide, feed and protect them. This Park is obviously situated in front of the Jewish cemetery and consists of Obelisk of Hope, the Path of Humility and the Wall of Honor. Jozef Klement had a major role in the construction of the park.
The wall of honor
… is covered in the names of the people who have helped the Jews during the holocaust in the years from 1939 to 1945
Obelisk of Hope
...The obelisk, which symbolizes hope and life, is made of glued 620 elliptical eight millimeters thick plates of art preparation glass. The author of the Obelisk of Hope is an artist and glassmaker [Palo Macho].
The Path of humility
…symbolically represents the victims of holocaust with pebbles in a glass coffin. The coffin is placed on railroad tracks which also symbolizes the transportation to concentration camps.
Memorial day
Saturday, January 27, 1945, the day when the Red Army liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Auschwitz-Poland. This day has become known as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The Jewish funeral
…has several regulations. The Torah Law (the five books of Moses, the Law) says that you must bury an unidentified dead person, even a criminal, with dignity on the day of death. Placing the dead in the earth (kvura in Hebrew) is one of the basic principles of Judaism. The traditions of Judaism say that a sick person should not be alone in illness or death. He is cared for by relatives or the traditional funeral fraternity of the Holy Society of Chevron Kadisha, these associations are as old as the Jewish communities themselves. Membership in the association is one of the greatest honors of the community. Because the main emphasis of Judaism is to do deeds out of love for your neighbors and out of deep respect for life, which plays an important role in confession (viduj). The last words of the deceased are usually words to his creator as a proof of faith (Šma Jisrael): "I give my soul, my soul and my body into his hands. The Lord is with me, I am not afraid. “The body of the deceased is buried on the day of death or the following day. The only reason for postponing the funeral is a holiday or Sabbath (Hebrew rest, Saturday a day dedicated to the rest of everyday activities). In the diaspora, which means location outside the land of Israel, a simple, not decorated coffin is used to bury the body. Halacha (Jewish law) forbids cremation and embalming, calling it offensive.
Jewish graves
Jewish cemeteries were established outside the populated areas of the cities. Because a cemetery is a place that causes anxiety in people.
Caring for the body of the deceased
- Burial procedure
Visit to graves
A brief history of the Jewish community in Zvolen
We can document Jews permanently settled in the Zvolen district after 1848, when at the end of the Hungarian Revolution, Jews were equalized in Hungary. First they went to smaller villages, then to the center of the region - the city of Zvolen. The situation was similar in other municipalities in the Zvolen district.
Jewish community in Zvolen after 1989
After 1989, in connection with political changes in society, approximately ten Jews from Zvolen actively participated in the activities of the Jewish community in Banská Bystrica. Gradually, Jews from Ružomberok, Liptovský Mikuláš, Turčianske Teplice and Prievidza also joined their initiative.
Synagogue in Zvolen
In the past you could find one in every major city. You can still see the cultural mark that the Jewish comunity left on Slovakia, thanks to the fact that a lot of them are still standing to this day. Unfortunately, most are either gone or repurposed. Now days they function as coffee shops, concert halls or libraries. Only seven are still used for their original purpose. You can find some of the nicest ones in Liptovský Mikuláš and Lučenec. The one in Zvolen was built in the year 1895. You can find it on Kozáčekovej ulici. It operated form the year 1896 and also consisted of a school which functioned to the year 1950. In this year the building was purchased by the city and now functions as a restaurant and a gym.
Synagogue in the past
Synagogue now
Koloman Wittman a Jew who lost everything
He was born in 1868 - He produced and sold bryndza in Zvolen until 1941, when the Slovak state took over his trade and related property on the basis of the Act on the Liquidation of Jewish Enterprises. In 1944 he was assassinated by the Nazis and Slovak fascists in the village of Kremnička. He had three daughters and one son. His daughters Alžbeta (Erzsi), Oľga and Anne were also murdered with their families by the Nazis and Slovak fascists between 1942 and 1944. Elizabeth (A. Fränkl) died in a concentration camp in Poland in 1942.
Belo Mantuano - saved a Jewish family
Town house - terraced, Forestry and Wood Museum, Námestie SNP 22. Originally a Gothic building from the 15th century. Remains of the decorated stone lining of the window openings have been preserved on the façade. In the interwar period, the house served as the seat of the school, later as a residential house of the Mantuano family. : Belo Mantuano was one of the Zvolen who helped the Jewish family. He fictitiously arranged for the general merchandise trade, the trade of his mother-in-law Ernest Spritz in 1940. In this way, he helped keep the family livelihood and saved them from deportation in 1942. Unfortunately, the family's story ends tragically. Belo Mantuano was murdered with his family in a Jewish cemetery about 11 or 12 months in 1944. The reason for this act was that Belo joined the guild during the SNP. There were several such Alarms, but according to the articles I studied, we learn about some only because they survived the war and asked for the return of property.
Sources :
https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_u%C5%A1%C4%BEachtil%C3%BDch_du%C5%A1%C3%AD
http://www.slovak-jewish-heritage.org/zvolen-park-of-generous-souls.html?&L=1
https://www.priekopnik.sk/zidovska-komunita-v-historii-banskej-bystrice-a-zvolena-2/
Books : Dejiny židovskej komunity vo Zvolene
Video/foto : I am Author
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Final thanks
Thank you for participating in such an interesting project. Special thanks go to the teacher Páleníková, who introduced me to this project. I would also like to thank Mrs. Laszlová, who helped me with the translation, and Mrs. Bošelová, who helped me grammatically. Thanks to various websites for borrowing information.
It is important that we are willing to find in ourselves the desire and willingness to get to know each other, culture with cultures. In order not to make a difference between ourselves, let us be human, because to be human is human.
"The best deed - the highest mitzvah - is, according to Jewish law, halachas, the ones that are selfless and cannot be rewarded. This is fulfilled when the one he gives can no longer repay him. The dead cannot return anything, so visit them. graves is a sign of high nobility, "