International Jewish Cemetery Project - Romania C The cemetery is located in Cefa, 3696, judet Bihor, Romania at 4655 2144, 271.6 miles NW of Bucharest and 17 km from Salonta. Alternate name: Cseffa (Hungarian). Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Mayor Roman Ioan Sorin, Town Hall of Cefa, 3696, judet Bihor, Romania, tel. 0040-59-467186
- The Jewish Community of Oradea, Mihai Viteazu Str. no. 4, 3700 Oradea, Romania, tel. 0040-59-134843 (132587)
- The Federation of The Jewish Communities of Romania, Sf. Vineri Str. no. 9-11, sect. 3, Bucharest, Romania
- Interested: "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.
- Caretaker with key: none
The 1880 Jewish population by census was 31, by 1900 census was 45 and in 1930 was 12. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the Oradea ghetto and on May 23, 25, 28-30, and June 1-5, 27 were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery was established in second half of the 19th century. Last known burial was first half of the 20th century.
The rural/agricultural flat land, part of a municipal cemetery, has no sign or marker. Reached via other public local cemetery, access is open to all. A fence with a non-locking gate surrounds the site. Pre-WWII size is unknown. Approximate post-WWII size is 18 x 14 m. 1-20 stones are visible, some not in original location. 50%-75% of the stones are toppled or broken. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a constant problem damaging stones. Water drainage is good all year.
The oldest known gravestone dates 1889. The 19th and 20th century marble, limestone, and sandstone flat shaped and smoothed and inscribed gravestones have Hebrew and Hungarian inscriptions. Some have metal fences around graves. No known mass graves. The local Jewish community owns the property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop at the never vandalized cemetery without any maintenance or care. No structures. Security is a moderate threat. Vegetation is a very serious threat. The cemetery is completely covered by vegetation.
Ursutiu Claudia, Pietroasa Str. no. 21, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, tel: 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey on 7 July 2000 using the following documentation:
- Recensamantul din 1880. Transilvania coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1997.
- Recensamantul din 1900. Transilvania Traian Rotariu, Cluj, 1999
- Recensamintul general al popula]iei din 29 decembrie 1930, (The General Census of the population from December 29, 1930), vol. II, Bucuresti 1938
- Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
- Recensamantul general al populatiei Romaniei din 29 decembrie 1930, vol.
II (The General Census of the Population of Romania from 29 December 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 - 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 conducted no interviews. [January 2003]