photo: Szarvas Orthodox Jewish prayer room at Kossuth L. utca in 1985. Jews lived in Békés county since the 18th century. In 1768 three Jews in the village of Vari (Gyulavari). From the end of the 18th century the first Jewish communities were founded in Vari,Dévaványa and Békésszentandrás. Jewish population in 1836 was 542 Jews and in 1870, 6255. From the 1850's to WWI, a a great number of Jewish institutions were built including Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, prayer-houses, mikvahs, schools and Chevra Kadishas (Békéscsaba, Gyula, Orosháza, Szeghalom, Békés, Szarvas, Battonya and Sarkad). From 1941, forced labor, ghettos, and/or the concentration camps of Bekescsaba and Szolnok was the fate of many. Others were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Strasshof. 5,000 Békés County Jews died in the Holocaust . 2000 survived of whom very few returned to the area. The Békés County Jewish community now is very small and is concentrated in Békéscsaba where a new synagogue was built. [February 2009] [February 2009]
NEOLOG Cemetery: Caretakers of the Neolog cemetery are Mihály Janurik and Mihály Storka, Szabadság street 6-10. III/8. The large and still active cemetery with around 300 gravestones is on Partizán Street, including the caretaker''s house and mortuary. The cemetery is under renovation.[March 2009]
Cemetery: An effective maintenance plan was negotiated between the HFPJC and some neighbors to ensure the long-time preservation of the restored cemetery. In September. the use of a patch of cemetery grounds for planting will stop. Source: Toby Mendlowitz, Assistant Director. HFPJC, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., [July 2004]
ORTHODOX cemetery: The large cemetery on Liszt Ferenc Street 1 has a concrete wall. Well-kept with 150 gravestones, a Holocaust memorial, a caretaker''s house and a local caretaker, te last funeral took place in the 1960s.[March 2009]