PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact: Andras Szucs, andras.szucs.uk[q]gmail.com

21 April 2015

Remembrance Walk for the victims of the Holocaust

We are inviting members of the public to join us in our annual remembrance walk from Cserepfalu to Mezokovesd, Hungary, on 24 May, 2015, to commemorate the Jewish families of Cserepfalu, who were deported in 1944 to Auschwitz, never to return.

Cserepfalu, the idyllic village with around a thousand residents in Northeastern Hungary, was not much different seventy years ago, at least on first view. The region produces world-famous wine and the serene mountains surround several well-kept and leafy villages, where many of its older locals depend on agriculture and tourism. Despite the region’s timeless atmosphere, Cserepfalu, for a small village, has very strong online presence and several enthusiastic locals and visitors ensure that all aspects of village life are well documented. Yet there things in the past that many would prefer to keep silent about. On 18th May, 1944, Cserepfalu had nine Jewish residents. Within a month, there were none.

An ongoing research, maintained by a handful, are trying to piece together the events and determine what happened to Cserepfalu’s two Jewish families; the Groszmanns and the Schwartzs. The centuries-old Israelite community in the surrounding area counted around a thousand members before the Holocaust. Today, no such community exists. Our research so far identified 931 of Hungarian Jews from the area, deported in 1944. The Yad Vashem World Center for Holocaust Research registered thirty people who were born in the village.

On May 24 of this year, we are going to remember those who were taken from the village closely following the route they would have walked from Cserepfalu to Mezokovesd, 16 km away, where there was a large Jewish ghetto. During the walk, researcher, Istvan Balazs and Peter Toth will discuss their findings, stopping by some relevant landmarks.

Programme:

10:00am: The remembrance walk starts in Cserepfalu, outside Bukkalja Cafe visiting Memorial Room of Imre Cserepfalvi, publisher, who was born in the village. Statue of Books by Gyula Pauer, a visit to former family homes of the Groszmann and Schwartz families. WWII. Commemorative Coloumn.

10:30am: Leaving Cserepfalu.

2:30pm: Mezokovesd: visiting the place of the former ghetto at the corner of Diofa and Harsfa Streets. Remembrance.

We welcome anyone to join us in our remembrance walk.

For information about the research, visit http://cserepflau.kinja.com