BABASESTI: Medieşu Aurit , Satu Mare County, Transylvania

Alternate name: Băbăşeşti. 47°46' N 23°06' E, 271.2 miles NNW of Bucureşti. Medieşu Aurit (Hungarian: Aranyosmeggyes; meaning "Place of the Golden Sour Cherry") is a commune composed of seven villages:

The cemetery is located in Babasesti, 3982, com. Mediesu Aurit, judet Satu Mare, Romania, 746 2306, 271.2 miles NNW of Bucharest and 21 km from Satu Mare. Alternate name: Szamosberencze (Hungarian.) Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.

• Mayor Meszaros Adrian, Town Hall of Mediesu Aurit, judet Satu Mare

• The Jewish Community of Satu Mare, Decebal Str. no. 4A, 3900 Satu Mare, Romania, tel. 0040-61-713703
• The Federation of The Jewish Communities of Romania, Sf. Vineri Str. no. 9-11, sect. 3, Bucharest, Romania
• "Dr. Moshe Carmilly" Institute for Hebrew and Jewish History, Universitatii Str. no. 7-9, room 61, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Director: Ladislau Gyemant, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• "A.D. Xenopol" Institute of History, Lascar Catargi Str., no. 15, 6400- Iasi (judet Iasi), Romania. Tel. 032/212614; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Director: Alexandru Zub.
• Key holder and caretaker: Banyai Olga, Babasesti, no. 14

The 1880 Jewish population by census was 43; by 1900 census was 24, and in 1930 was 13. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the ghetto of Satu Mare and on May 19, 22, 26, 29, 30, 31, and June 1 were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Orthodox The cemetery was established at end of the 19th century. Last known burial was 2000

The rural/agricultural flat land, part of a municipal cemetery, has no sign or marker. Reached by a public road, access is open to all. A fence with a non-locking gate surrounds the site. Approximate pre-WWII size is unknown. Approximate post-WWII size is 33 x26 m. 1-20 stones are visible. 1-20 stones are not in original location. 25%-50% of the stones are toppled or broken. Stones removed from the cemetery are probably in the farms. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is good all year. The oldest known gravestone dates from end of the 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and concrete flat shaped, smoothed and inscribed, and carved relief-decorated tombstones and multi-stone monuments have Hebrew inscriptions. No known mass graves.

The local Jewish community owns the property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are in village residential setting with houses, gardens, orchards, and pastures. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was not vandalized in the last ten years or occasionally in the last ten years. [sic] Maintenance has been cleaning stones and clearing vegetation. Current care is regular unpaid caretaker. No structures. Weather erosion is a moderate threat.

Claudia Ursutiu, Pietroasa Str. no. 21, 3400 Cluj Napoca, Romania, tel. 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey in July 2000 using the following documentation:

• Recensamantul din 1880. Transilvania coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1997.
• Recensamantul din 1900. Transilvania Traian Rotariu, Cluj, 1999
• Recensamantul general al populatiei din 29 decembrie 1930 (The General Census of the Population from December 29, 1930), vol. II, Bucuresti 1938
• Recensamintul general al populatiei din Romania din 7 ianuarie 1992 (The General Census of the Population of Romania from January 7, 1992), vol. I, Bucuresti, 1994
• Zsido Lexicon, ed. by Ujvari Peter, Budapest, 1929
• Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
• Izvoare si marturii referitoare la evreii din Romania (Sources and Testimonies on the Jews in Romania), vol. III/1-2, coord. L. Gyemant, L. Benjamin, Bucuresti, Ed. Hasefer, 1999
• Ladislau Gyemant, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Evreii din Transilvania in epoca emanciparii, 1790-1867 (The Jews of Transylvania in the Age of Emancipation 1790-1867), Bucuresti, ed, Enciclopedica, 2000
• Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localitatilor din Transilvania (The Historical Dictionary of Localities in Transylvania), vol. I-II, Bucuresti, 1967
• Otto Mitelstrass, Historisch-Landeskundlicher Atlas von Siebenburgen, Ortsnamenbuch, Heidelberg, 1992
• Microsoft Auto Route Express 1999

Claudia and Adrian Ursutiu interviewed Banyai Olga, noteworthy Jewish residents of the community [sic], Babasesti. [January 2003]