THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN ARAD. This English edition was sponsored by KORNIS GÁBOR in memory of Baba and Ernő Kornis. 1 Hereby we do express our thanks to those who collaborated and contributed to the editing of this book: Dr. Josif (Nicolae) Schönfeld from Israel, (deceased) for authoring the introduction; Toma Garai English Primer. Prof. Eugen Glück from Arad (Romania), for gathering the material and writing chapters 3, 4, 5, 6; George Kovács (Eichner) from Israel, for gathering the material and writing chapters 1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11; Avraham (Stefan) Krausz from Israel, for supplying the material used in chapter 8 (about the orthodox community); Prof. Géza Kovách from Arad (Romania), for collecting the material for chapter 12; Eng. Johannes (Ivan) Waldmannn from Germany, for processing and organizing the material; Dr. Toma Gordon (Ujhelyi) from Israel for emending the material. Translated from the original Hungarian and Romanian by Henry C. Tausk M.D. *** We do express our gratitude to: the Jewish Community of Arad and especially its president ing. Stefan Löwinger (deceased in the meantime), the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania and especially to the historian Lia Benjamin, the direction of the Library of the Romanian Academy, the Yad Vashem Institute, the Archives of the World Zionist Organization, the Strohlitz Foundation contiguous to the Haifa University, and furthermore to the following persons: Haim Wurzel (deceased in the meantime), dr. Ladislau Haber (deceased in the meantime), David Dov, Ernest Lasner (Horesch), Gheorghe Bérczi (deceased in the meantime), Moshe Glanz (Zohar) (deceased in the meantime), Josif Sinai (Szegfü), Pavel Brimbram Béla (Efraim) Mandel, Francisc Kelen (for a number of photographs) and to all of those who, albeit not mentioned here, contributed invaluably to the creation of this book. The following committee members contributed in the editing of this publication: Dr. Gordon Thomas, Hirsch George, Ianculovici (Mayer) Lili, Khayat (Berg) Aniko, Marton George, Salamon Uri (Otto), Schwarz Jano, Zimmermann Karcsi. 2 Table of contents. Preface - written by Dr. Josif Schönfeld. English Primer - written by Toma Garai 1. Arad - reality and nostalgia. 2. Reflections on the Jewish presence in the Arad area, by Eng. Johannes (Ivan) Waldmann. 3. The start of the Jewish presence in Arad. 4. The Jewish Community of Arad; socio-economic and religious aspects before 1848. 5. Rabbis, prominent personalities and community institutions during the XVII-th to the XX-th centuries. 6. Facets of the existence of the Jews in Arad during the period between the democratic revolution of 1848 and the First World War (The period of 1848 - 1914). 7. The Jewish people of Arad in the period between the Two World Wars (1918 - 1939). 8. Details from the history of the autonomous orthodox community in Arad (1904-1940). 9. The Jews of Arad in the shadow of the Holocaust (1940 - 1944). 10. 1944 - a year of change and paramount endangerment. 11. The Jews of Arad in the period following the war. 12. The economic and cultural life of the Jews in Arad after the year 1919. 13. Index of notes and references. 14. Addendum. 3 Preface At last the concept of crafting an enduring legacy, concerning the history of the Jews in Arad is getting realized. It was preceded by long years of cogitation and labor, expectations and disappointments. The noble thought emerged for the first time at a crowded gathering of immigrants from Arad living in Israel, back in the early fifties. On that occasion, our late friend Mordechay Rössel, talked over the past. It was 250 years ago, when a handful of Jewish people settled in the historic city of Arad, on the shores of the River Maros. They did evolve into a large community, equally eminent in religious, educational and cultural activities. Rössel, a popular publicist, concluded his poignant remarks as follows: "We are the last generation witnessing the material and spiritual growth of that distinguished community. Its honored values beholden to civilization, were evident even during the tragic years of the Holocaust. Lamentably, in the end everything became a prey to the destructive communism. The beautiful memories riveted to our native city and the happy nostalgia of our fading youth must be reclaimed from the haze of oblivion". These words had mobilized the audience. Those present on that occasion, offered spontaneously their far-ranging collaboration. The positive reverberations crystallized not only in supportive words, but in active cooperation too. Mordechay Rössel started to receive valuable historic texts, as well as numerous interesting illustrations. In his compulsive manner he toiled to compile and organize the precious documentation. It took years of hard work until it seemed that sufficient material had been gathered in order to start our tale. We felt that before starting to compose anything, we should consult the newspaper editor Dezsö Schön and Prof. Zwi Kaddari. At issue were some details concerning the general course of the memorial book. Mordechay Rössel had placed most of the material in a huge bag, and he set out one morning for that meeting. He had other errands too for his kibbutz Nir Etzion, and was carrying additional bags. Upon his arrival to the designated meeting place with his friends, he discovered that one of his bags was missing. Unfortunately it was the one with the priceless material concerning the history of Arad. His desperate efforts to locate the bag, through all possible channels, were in vain. This excellent man, became almost depressed as a consequence of the loss. After a while he took heart and thought of starting again from scratch. We all tried to encourage him and sustain his confidence. Sadly, Rössel was no more the same man. Troubled by health problems he persisted in continuing both his kibbutz work and public activities. His heart was overstressed, he did suffer an infarct and passed away soon after. With the tragic departure of Rössel, the idea of creating a memorial book became extinct. The idea was resurrected in the minds of our friends on the occasion of the festivities commemorating the 50-th anniversary of the Jewish Lyceum of Arad. Subsequent to the enormous success of the event we did realize that the prominent alumni of Arad are indelibly connected to the mutual past. Thomas Gordon and his congenial colleague Alfred Friedland, started to mobilize the participants of that gathering. The first meeting took place at the Gordon's home, and thus the hallowed organizational and editorial work was started. The present creation is the fruit of that activity. We offer it to everybody linked in a memorable way to the common past and our present existence. --------------------------------------------------- 4 Akin to the melodious sounds of a harp plucked in the depths of the ocean, we can hear echoing the wonderful teachings of the great Arader mentors of the past. It looks as if we almost could catch a glimpse of the glittering immortal images of our pastors, through the mist of times bygone. They were the originators of the religious structures in our former community. Foremost is AARON CHORIN, who was instrumental in erecting the imposing synagogue. He created a renowned educational system, where irrelevant of their creed, consecutive generations received exemplary schooling. He introduced gratifying innovations in the liturgical service, increasing the appeal of religious life. By the same token he was careful to preserve the ancient holy traditions. His worthy successor JAKAB STEINHARDT, was prominent amongst the contemporary spiritual leaders of Judaism, due to his theological erudition and cultural profile. He emerged as a representative of his colleagues, being a valued advisor to the minister of the emancipation, the baron Jozsef Eotvös. Towards the end of the XIX-th century Dr. SÁNDOR ROSENBERG was active in promoting interdenominational cooperation. His untimely death lead to the elevation of Dr. LAJOS VÁGVÖLGYI as chief rabbi of the Jewish community. He was famous for his oratorical gifts, expanding his teachings with equal ease in the Hungarian, German and Rumanian languages. The Jews of Arad participated in public life, well before the 1848 revolution. They were active in all aspects of cultural, artistic, journalistic, commercial and industrial endeavors. Amongst the many conspicuous personalities, the name of the financier ÁRMIN WALLFISH is preeminent. Due to his transposing skills, the masterworks of Hungarian language became accessible to the German speaking citizens. He was a continuing collaborator to the German press of neighboring Temesvar. Additionally he did translate into Hungarian the French narratives of Jules Janin. His father, the merchant PÁL WALLFISH, was the outstanding president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Arad, in addition to being a well-known and respected journalist. He was furthermore active in fostering musical projects. Dr. SÁNDOR WEISS was well known for his notable surgical career, being at the same time a master of the violin. His consort KLARA HERZFELD was an extremely popular piano performer. The Jews were well represented in the ranks of the press too. The educator LEO JAJTELESZ popularized the ideas of the Hungarian national uprising in a German publication, the paper "Der Patriot". By the same token LIPOT ROZENBERG, the clerk-secretary of the Jewish community of Arad was chief redactor of the "Arader Zetitung". He too was promoting the spirit of the fight for the Hungarian freedom. Dr. MIKSA ROZENBERG was one of the most prominent jurists of the legal profession. He represented the municipality in the dealings with the British Morgan Telephone Company. His associate Dr. LIPOT KELL, was highly esteemed even by the Rumanian authorities when they came into power after the war. Dr. MOZSI STEINHARDT, the grandson of the late chief rabbi, was a widely respected legal authority. His expertise was often solicited, whenever complex official transactions were implemented.