BJPC Newsletter: September, 2021

The latest news from Bardejov and the BJPC is here!

2021 Art Contest Submissions

We are excited to share this year's amazing submissions to our annual Art Contest. Winners have yet to be chosen.

Please click the images below to view full size.

Bardejov Means the World:

Pope Francis visits Slovakia

On September 12th, Pope Francis made his first official visit in Slovakia during which he met with representatives of the Jewish community in Bratislava, and visited the site of a synagogue destroyed by the communist government in 1960.

Slovak Jews suffered one of the harshest persecutions in Europe. Of the 89,000 Jews in the country in 1940, some 69,000 were killed in the Holocaust. Currently, there are only 5,000 Jews living in Slovakia representing just 0.1 percent of the population.

Against a sobering backdrop of the Holocaust memorial on Rybne Square, the pontiff stated that God's name was dishonoured; alluding to the anti-Jewish laws and practices applied by the Slovak regime and headed by the Catholic priest Jozef Tiso, a Nazi ally.

The pope’s speech follows the Slovakian government’s apology last Wednesday for the terrible "Jewish Code" that stripped Slovakian Jews of their human and civil rights.

Read the full article by EuroNews

Sketches of Jewish Heritage:

The Davidovic’ova Family from Bardejov

in the words of Descendants of the Davidovic'ova Family

A photo of a Hashomer Hatzair group in Bardejov in 1936 with my mum and one of her sisters! The same photo that we have at home!

Regina is the young woman seated on the right, with the white shirt, and Malvina is lying in front of her in the foreground with a ball in her hands.

Thanks to this photo, when we came to Bardejov for the first time a few years later, we met Anna, Pavol and Peter, and, again, we saw this famous photo in the Old Synagogue! My mum, Regina, born in Bardejov in 1915, managed to come to France during the war and never could go back to Bardejov after. Through this photo, she is for always in her hometown.

We learned that the family was large.

My mum had two older brothers. Dezider was born in 1900, he was caught by the Gestapo in Belgium and was seriously beaten. Maurice, born in 1905, survived in Strasbourg, France.

She also had four sisters. Helena was born in 1908 and managed to move to Palestine (Haifa) before the war. Her two youngest sisters Ruzena, born in 1919, and Ida, born in 1917, were deported from Bardejov to Naleczow, Pulawy, Lublin (Poland) on May 18th, 1942 with their mother, Estera, born in 1878 in Bardejovske Kupele. They all perished. Malvina was born in 1910 and was deported with their father Moric, born in 1872 in Bilky Bereghazi, Ukraine, from Belgium's Caserne Dossin a Malines-Mechelen Camp to Auschwitz-Birkenau on August 15th, 1942. They also perished.

Can you recognize anyone else in this photo? Please let us know if you do.

Do you have a story about Bardejov’s Heritage that you’d like to sketch for us?

Email us to be a part of the next newsletter: info@bardejov.org

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Every issue, we pick a different family story from our Memorial Book to feature in the newsletter. We do this to continue honoring the memory of our Bardejov ancestors.

Family Story Spotlight

"Fritzi Grün Neumark"

Frítzi was born in Vienna, Austria. She lived on Kellerova Street with her twin sister, Elsa and her brother-in-law, Samuel Singer. Frítzi was a teacher and artist. She drew portraits like the ones seen here of people she knew in Bardejov. Frítzi was issued an exemption and was not deported but she perished.

Portrait of Agnes Grossman (Gonda) Tomasov from September 1, 1941

Portrait of Ivan Grossmann (Gonda) from July 21, 1941

Portrait of Marta Burešová Stopeková from 1943

You may read more about Bardejov's Jewish families in our Memorial Book of Jewish Bardejov

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Bardejov Picture Book

Don't forget to send us your photos and documents for inclusion in our new publication! We are continuing to narrow down our selections for the book and would love to receive any more submissions before making our final decisions.

If you have any photos or documents relevant to our work that you’d like to share, please reply to this email or call us at 626-773-8808.

Once we have a deadline for the photo submissions, we will be sure to let you know in advance.

PLEASE SUPPORT US

Our mission is to preserve Bardejov’s Jewish Heritage, memorialize and honor Bardejov Holocaust victims, and conduct educational outreach to school and community groups to teach tolerance and diversity. The Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee relies on on the support of generous individuals like you. Please consider a donation today.

DONATE NOW!

www.bardejov.org

TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT BJPC:

If you have any friends, or know of someone who may be interested in our organization, please invite them to fill out our mailing list request form so that they can receive updates and information from us.

E-mail: info@bardejov.org; Phone: 626.773.8808;

Web: www.bardejov.org