Dej ghetto

The Dej ghetto or dési gettó was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. The ghetto was located in the city of Dés, Szolnok-Doboka County, Kingdom of Hungary (now Dej, Cluj County, Romania). In 1940, as the result of the Second Vienna Award, Northern Transylvania became part of Hungary again and was administered until October 1944; in March 1945, it was returned to Romania.[1] The ghetto was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe.

History

The Dej ghetto included most of the Jews from Szolnok-Doboka County, roughly the same area covered by Someș County prior to the war.[1] Prefect Béla Bethlen was the county's administrative chief, and at the ghettoization planning conference in Szatmárnémeti (Satu Mare) on April 26, attended by Adolf Eichmann's assistant László Endre, local representatives included: János Schilling, assistant to the prefect; Jenő Veress, mayor of Dés (Dej); Lajos Tamási, mayor of Szamosújvár (Gherla); Gyula Sárosi, chief of police in Dés (Dej); Ernő Berecki, his counterpart in Szamosújvár (Gherla); and Pál Antalffy, commander of the county's gendarmerie. On April 30, in a special meeting called and chaired by Schilling, the goals and decisions of this conference were imparted to the heads of the county's civil service, gendarmerie and police.[2]

As elsewhere, the ghettoization process started on May 3, led by Antalffy. The ghetto was among the region's most wretched, being located in the Bungur forest some 3 km from the city center, at the insistence of virulently anti-Semitic local officials. At its peak, there were 7,800 inhabitants, including the 3,700 Jews from Dés (Dej). The remainder came from the county's rural communities, with many of them initially assembled in the district seats of Bethlen (Beclean), Kékes (Chiochiș), Dés (Dej), Szamosújvár (Gherla), Nagyilonda (Ileanda) and Oláhlápos (Lăpuș). The most fortunate ghetto residents sheltered in improvised barracks, while the rest either made their own tents or stayed under the open sky. Prior to being taken to Bungur, the city's Jews were taken to three areas in the city center, where they were searched bodily for valuables.[2]

Surrounded by barbed wire, the ghetto was guarded by local police, who were aided by a special unit of forty gendarmes brought from Zilah (Zalău). One Takáts, a government agent, had supreme command. Internal administration was managed by a Judenrat composed of respected leaders of the local community. Lázár Albert was its president, and other members included Ferenc Ordentlich, Samu Weinberger, Manó Weinberger and Andor Agai. Dr. Oszkár Engelberg provided medical care, while Zoltán Singer was the economic representative in charge of provisions.[2]

Sanitary conditions were lamentable, likewise basic services and provisions. This situation was largely due to ill will from Mayor Veress and the city's chief doctor, Zsigmond Lehnár. The teams that searched for valuables were as cruel as elsewhere. Among the searchers were József Fekete, József Gecse, Mária Fekete, Jenő Takács, József Lakadár and the policemen Albert (Béla) Garamvölgyi, János Somorlyai, János Kassai and Miklós Désaknai.[2] The ghetto was liquidated in three transports: 28 May (3,150), 6 June (3,160) and 8 June (1,364), with a total of 7,674 Jews sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp.[2][3][1] A few Jews managed to escape, including Rabbi József Paneth of Ileanda, who, together with nine family members, reached safety in Romania.[2]

References
  1. "Preistoria și antichitatea la confluența Someșurilor". primariadej.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  2. (in Romanian) "Ghettoes" at the Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Museum site; accessed October 25, 2013
  3. "The Holocaust in Northern Transylvania" at the Yad Vashem site; accessed October 25, 2013
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