The Jews in Oradea

Greetings,

I just finished reading the book Bonhoeffer, a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer written by Eric Metaxas.  It is an excellent read and the author does a wonderful job of capturing the complexity and depth of Bonhoeffer's life.  I have described the book as both powerful and sobering as it traces Bonhoeffer's life as a pastor, theologian, academic, and spy up until the time of his execution two weeks before the end of World War II.  It is extremely difficult for one to dismiss the concept of evil when reading about the atrocities done to those deemed "undesirable" in the eyes of Nazi Germany.  The reading of this book coincided with two other activities in such a way that makes one believe it was not simply a coincidence.

Cristina, our tour guide 

Orthodox synagogue with bullet holes

Shortly after we arrived, one of the students offered to give us a historical tour of Oradea.  She is in the process of trying to develop her skills as a tour guide and what better audience than a couple of green Americans who are very accommodating with broken English.  Cristina took us to several of the typical tourist attractions of Oradea, but she also took us to one of the old Jewish neighborhoods in the middle of town.  She then proceeded to tell us a bit of the story of the Jewish community in Oradea.

As I may have mentioned before, the country of Romania that we know today basically came into existence after World War I with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and other local treaties.  These treaties unified the three large regions known as Transylvania, Moldova, and Wallachia.  Prior to this time, Transylvania, and thus the city of Oradea, was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  But, since they were on the losing side of the war, the A-H Empire lost significant chunks of land as a result of the Treaty.  Thus, the majority of the residents of Oradea after the war ended were of Hungarian ancestry.

The Jewish community had long been a part of Oradea.  At the turn of the 20th century, under the rule of the A-H Empire, they became a thriving community.  They continued to thrive after World War I under Romanian rule and the community grew to about 25,000 people at the outbreak of World War II in 1940.  During World War II, Romania sided with the Allies.  When Hitler conquered Austria and Hungary, he "gave" Transylvania back to the Hungarians as a token of his appreciation for their continued alliance with the Nazi regime.  Thus, Oradea was under Nazi rule and occupation during the first part of the war.  It was during this time that walls were built in the city in order to house the Jews into their own ghetto.  Soon, most of these Jews were deported to concentration camps and exterminated.  Very few remained.  Those that did remain were soon "freed" by the westward march of the Soviet army.  Unfortunately, their fate was not much better under Soviet rule than it had been under the brief reign of the Nazis.  Though they were not sent to concentration camps, the Soviets simply marched them into the streets and shot them.  They would usually shoot every other person so that the "lucky" ones could eyewitness the death of their loved ones.

Reformed synagogue

It has been estimated that there were upwards of 30,000 Jews living in Oradea at one point in time with about 60 synagogues.  Today, there are roughly two active synagogues and a few other buildings that used to be synagogues that are either derelict or being renovated for civic purposes.  The pictures on either side show one of the active synagogues that has recently been renovated.  In the courtyard is a memorial to the Holocaust victims.

Holocaust Memorial

Several weeks after our tour with Cristina, Cheryl and I were having lunch with a couple of our students.  One of the students named Adrian told us of his summer internship with Asociatia Tikvah (Association of Hope).  This is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote understanding and remembrance of the Holocaust and its victims and for basic human rights.  Adrian worked on their website and also did some research on some of the stories of the survivors.  He shared some very interesting stories about those in Oradea that tried to assist the Jews during this tumultuous time.  One such story involved trying to convince the German authorities that there was a typhus epidemic within the Jewish ghetto.  In this manner, the people with "typhus" would be transported outside the ghetto, and thus have a greater chance of escape.  It also meant that very few Germans would be willing to enter the ghetto to check up on any conspiratorial plans.

A few did escape the city, but the problem was in what direction to go.  Going west meant moving toward Germany.  Going north or east meant moving toward Russia.  The fate of the Jewish people in Moldova (Eastern Romania) was simply a different method of extermination.  Going south was the safest route, but the Balkan region had not been a safe haven for any ethnicity, let alone Jews, for centuries.

Although we will never be able to empathize, all three of these "events" helped us to better sympathize with the plight of the Jewish people, and to a lesser extent, the plight of the Romanian people in general.  It is simply not something that Cheryl and I have to think about, have to deal with, or are even exposed to during our daily lives in Holland, Michigan.  Perhaps two of the lasting takeaways from this experience will be a greater sense of gratitude and a greater longer for justice.  The first of these was cemented even further during our FaceTime conversations on Thanksgiving Day.  It was probably the first taste of being homesick as we watched the family celebrations but were unable to participate in the food or fellowship.  It reminded us to have the attitude of the writer of Psalm 118:24, "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."  May this attitude be yours during and after the Holiday season.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom