The area, bordered by the three rivers, the Tisza, the Bodrog and the Karcsa, was inhabited even before the Hungarian conquest, as evidenced by the excavated cemeteries. Following the regulation of the Tisza River, it became one of the towns where Hungarian Jews took up residences in the early 19^th century. Due to the river regulation, floods ceased, agricultural land increased, and the previously isolated village became accessible via regular roads. Consequently, the population of the village grew rapidly, and with it, the Jewish community, as well.

According to Elek Fényes’s geographical dictionary of Hungary from 1851, at that time, out of 2019 residents, 16 were Jews. A later written record states the following about the local Jews: “Out of 302 affected farmers, only 21 could sign the 1864 land consolidation protocol by hand. Seven of them were Jews. The rest signed with two cross marks.” This source shows that Jews in the village were at least partly involved in agriculture, which indicates that not all of them were merchants. At the same time, it can be inferred that there were relatively more literate individuals among the Jews then the non-Jews. This may be attributed to Jewish religious tradition and education, with its focus on the interpretation of the Five Books of Moses.

During the 19^th century, the Jewish community increased in numbers, and by 1920, Cigánd had a synagogue as well. In 1938, the total population of Cigánd was 4,881, with 268 being Jews.

The life of the Jewish community in Cigánd, like in many other rural settlements, was abruptly ended by the Holocaust. On the 16^th of April 1944, Jewish families were gathered in the village, and three days later, they were transported to the Sátoraljaújhely ghetto. From there, their transport trains – following the pattern seen in numerous other locations across the country – headed to Auschwitz, where most were murdered on arrival.

The majority of the Cigánd Jews, a total of 228 individuals, lost their lives as victims of the Holocaust, and they therefore have no graves in the Jewish cemetery. Out of the 82 survivors, many did not stay in Cigánd, seeking new homes in the capital or other Hungarian towns, as well as abroad, in countries such as Canada, the United States, and Israel.

Jewish cemetery and Holocaust memorial
(Cigánd, Petőfi utca 85., GPS: 48° 15′ 20.06″ N 21° 53′ 15.71″ E)

According to locals, there were several Jewish cemeteries in the town, but the only one remaining is the one which now lies in the schoolyard. The cemetery was in use until 1940, and currently, it preserves about 60 tombstones. The older cemetery exists now only in the memories of the locals, as the tombstones were removed during the construction of the Tisza dam.

Seventy years after the Holocaust, on June 9, 2015, the municipality of Cigánd, with the participation of Jewish and other civic organizations, erected a memorial monument in the cemetery dedicated to the martyred Jews. The sculpture, created by sculptor Sándor Czigándy Varga, commemorates the Jewish community of Cigánd with a depiction of a menorah.

PHOTOS:

1., 2., 3., The cemetery.
4. The Holocaust memorial.