Medgyesegyháza () is a town in
Békés County
Békés (, , ) is an administrative division (county or ''vármegye'') in south-eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád-Csanád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Hajdú-Bihar. The capital ...
, in the
Southern Great Plain
The Southern Great Plain ( ) is a statistical ( NUTS 2) region of Hungary. It is part of Great Plain and North (NUTS 1) region. The Southern Great Plain includes the counties of Bács-Kiskun, Békés, and Csongrád-Csanád. The region is in the ...
region of south-east
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
.
Geography
It covers an area of 64.32 km
2 and has a population of 3558 people (2015).
History
The Jews in the city
The Jewish community in the city was established in the second half of the 19th century and most of them were engaged in the
grain trade
The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...
.
The synagogue was built in
1870
Events
January
* January 1
** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England.
** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed.
* January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...
and the community had a Jewish school.
In
1942
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
, young Jews from the city were sent to forced labor and sent to the front of
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, where the Hungarians fought alongside the Germans. Four townspeople were killed.
In
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
, after the Germans entered Hungary, all the local Jews were rounded up and finally transferred to
Békéscsaba
Békéscsaba (; ; see also #Name, other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, the capital of Békés County.
Geography
Békéscsaba is located in the Great Hungarian Plain, southeast from Budapest. Highway 44, 47 ...
. Most of them were taken to the
Auschwitz extermination camp.
After the war, 20 survivors returned to the town. The community was reorganized, but many dispersed within a short time.
Politics
The current mayor of Medgyesegyháza is
Dr. Béla Nagy (Independent).
The local Municipal Assembly has 6+1 members divided into this political parties and alliances:
Twin towns – sister cities
Medgyesegyháza is
twinned with:
*
Kolárovo, Slovakia
References
External links
* in Hungarian
Populated places in Békés County
Slovak communities in Hungary
Jewish communities in Hungary
{{Jewish-hist-stub