Alternate name: Homonna. 48°56' N, 21°55' E, 31 miles E of Prešov (Eperjes). . town image and town image. Alternate names: Homonna (Hungarian), Humenne (Slovak),. Homenau [Ger], HOMNE, УМЕННЕ. EastERN Carpathians. [February 2009]

Humenné is a center of one of the easternmost districts ("okres") in Slovakia. Humenné is situated on the highway leading from Poland to wine-growing regions in eastern Hungary that was used by Jewish tradesmen. Its life is rich in cultural and sports events. The town is a starting point for tourism, because there are numerous opportunities in the picturesque countryside of the East Carpathians, though this field still requires an intensification of business activities and funding. Joachim Jacob Unger, rabbi, was born here. Jews lived there since 1743 eventhough the community was founded in 1809. The cḥevra kaddisha existed from 1786. The oldest tombstone dates from 1772.  Jewish settlers from Poland arrived  in the 19th century. Jewish population: 1830/35 was 666; 1857 was 1,020; 1880 was 1,280; 1910 was 1,570 (34.8%); 1921 was 1,254; 1930 was 2,197; and 1940 was 2,172 Jews.  In Fall 1941, some Jews expelled from Bratislava settled in Humenné, making the population 2,285. In March 1942, deportation of Jews to Poland began, but in Humenné, some Jews were smuggled to Hungary. In March, entire families were deported to the Chola ghetto near Lublin. The few Jews remaining in the town were ordered in Spring 1944 to western Slovakia. Virtual Library has the detailed town history and information about the murder of survivors returning to the town and to Kolbasy in Spring 1945. In 1948-49, most of the Jews immigrated to Israel and overseas. In the 1960s, 160 Jews, many from neighboring villages, lived there affiliated with the Košice community. Both large synagogues were demolished; Jewish history.. [Mar 2013]

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

EJ, 8 (1931), 268-9; L. Rothkirchen, in: The Jews of Czechoslovakia (1968), 110-1; D. Friedmann, Geschichte der Juden in Humenne (1933); M. Lányi and B.H. Propperné, Szlovenskói Zsidó Hitközségek Története (1933), 248-58; Uj Magyar Lexikon (1960), 346.

E. Bàrkàny, L. Dojč, Židovské náboženské obce na Slovensku (1991), 411-14.

[Sarlota Rachmuth-Gerstl / Yeshayahu Jelinek (2^nd ed.)]

Wikipedia. [Mar 2013]

Pinkas HaKehilot, Slovakia (2003), p. 156: "Humenne (Homonna, Homennan)"

JewishGen Hungary SIG

ShtetLink. [October 2000]

JOWBR: Humenne

[UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [November 2017]

CEMETERY:

In November 1986, descretation of the cemetery resulted in 27 overturned 27 gravestones. In 1990, 28 Jews lived in Humenné.[Mar 2013]

US Commission No. SLCE000025:

Humenne is located N of Michalovce. The isolated suburban crown of a hill has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a broken fence and no gate. 500-5000 marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and other material 19th-20th century gravestones are in original locations. The flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, or multi-stone monuments, some with metal fences around graves, have inscriptions in Hebrew, German, and Slovak. The local Jewish community owns property used as a Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are forest. Frequently, private visitors stop. Restoration includes cleaning stones and clearing vegetation. Occasionally, individuals clean or clear. There are no threats.

Information provided by Bert Gross, Irving Stolberg and Samuel Gruber (contact through US Commission :

Humenne is located in the E part of Slovakia, N of Kosice and Michalovce. The town's present population is about 38,000, but fewer than 20 Jews out of a pre-War population of 2,300. The Orthodox cemetery is located outside of the city on a hill known as Zidovska Hora or Jewish Hill. Reached by turning directly off a public road and partly surrounded by a wire fence with a locked gate, the entrance is open by arrangement with the caretaker who has a key and maintains the site.

The 15th century cemetery preserves approximately 900 marble, granite, and limestone gravestones with Hebrew, Slovak and German inscriptions. Many are tilted, sunk-in the ground, or deliberately toppled by vandals. The older part of the cemetery is to the left as one enters, barely accessible due to long years of neglect. In the past few years, a number of former city residents now living in the U.S. and led by Bert Gross have undertaken restoration and maintenance of the cemetery. The erection of a more secure fence is planned. In March 1997, Hon. Irving Stolberg, Commission of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, visited Humenne and was very impressed by the restoration work being done. Julius Levicky, for many years the town's Cultural Affairs director, oversaw the fencing and restoration. A new stone for Mr. Gross' mother, just completed, was due for placement. The major difficulty in Humenne is the difference of opinion between the American donors to the cemetery restoration and representatives of the Slovak Jewish community over the disposition of the proceeds from the recent sale of the former synagogue in Humenne for approximately $60,000 to the National Bank. The Americans feel that most, if not all, of the proceeds should go into fencing and maintenance of the cemetery. The Slovak Jewish Community, represented by Mr. Fero Alexander, are committed to expending up to $15,000 of the money for this purpose. Starting in 1997, the care of cemetery and synagogues has been delegated to a new committee ("SOS") in Banska Bestir, under the direction of Juraj Turcan. Because the committee is entrusted with the care of all the cemeteries and synagogues in Slovakia, in addition to considerable responsibilities for the surviving Jews (especially the Holocaust survivors), committee members advocate a greater pooling of funds raised from the sale of specific properties. Commissioner Stolberg speculates that the SOS was founded to deflect some of the differences in priorities between the Central Union and overseas Jews with origins in Slovakia. [1998]

January 2009:

Map of Town

Town Humenné
	Address:	Phone:	00 421 57 786 32 18, 786 32 11
	Mestský úrad	Fax:	00 421 57 775 26 67
	Kukorelliho 34	Email:	This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	066 28 Humenné SLOVAKIA	Web:	www.humenne.sk