The Sfântu Gheorghe ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was located in the city of

Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe (; or ''Szentgyörgy'' ; ; English lit.: ''Saint George'') is a city that serves as the seat of Covasna County in Transylvania, Romania. Located in the central part of the country, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between ...

() in today's

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania's 41 counties and the ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, now part of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

but administered by the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

from the 1940

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

's grant of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

until late 1944. It was active in the spring of 1944, following

Operation Margarethe In March 1944, Hungary was occupied by the Wehrmacht. This invasion was formally known as Operation Margarethe (Unternehmen Margarethe). Course of events Hungarian Prime Minister Miklós Kállay, who had been in office from 1942, had the kno ...

History

The ghetto housed Jews from the city as well as from surrounding villages in

Háromszék County Háromszék (''Three Seats''; Romanian: ''Trei Scaune'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Situated in south-eastern Transylvania, its territory is now in central Romania (in the c ...

(''Trei Scaune''), and from the southern part of

Csík County Csík (Hungarian, in Romanian: ''Ciuc'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Csíkszere ...

(''Ciuc''). Its total population was 850. The committee for deciding on its location was composed of county prefect Gábor Szentiványi, whose conduct toward the rural Jews was relatively humane; his assistant Andor Barabás; the Sfântu Gheorghe chief of police, István Vincze; and lieutenant-colonel Balla, commander of the county's gendarmerie. Together with

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

's assistant László Endre, they had all taken part in a planning conference at

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; ; German language, German: ''Neumarkt am Mieresch'') is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the list of cities and towns in Romania, 16th-largest city in Romania, with 116,033 ...

."Ghettoes"
at the Northern Transylvania Holocaust Memorial Museum site; accessed October 11, 2013 The ghettoization procedure for the Jews of Sfântu Gheorghe unfolded differently from other areas. On May 2, the police asked them to come to their headquarters at 6 am the following day, together with all their family members. One member of each family was allowed to return home, accompanied by a policeman, in order to pick up essential possessions allowed by officials. Subsequently, the Jews were transferred to an unfinished building without doors or windows. The Ciuc Jews, including those from

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt River valley. The city administers three ...

, were rounded up under orders from county prefect Ernő Gaáli; his assistant József Abraham; Miercurea Ciuc mayor Gerő Szász; his chief of police, Pál Farkas; and the city's gendarmerie commander, locotenent-colonel Tivadar Lóhr. These individuals too had taken part in the Târgu Mureș conference. The ghetto was commanded by an unidentified SS officer, and conditions were harsh. After one week, residents were transported to the Reghin ghetto.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sfantu Gheorghe Ghetto Jewish Romanian history Jewish Hungarian history Sfântu Gheorghe Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Hungary 1944 establishments in Hungary