Where They Came From

To the beginning of the 19th century

Ruthenia had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary since the rule of Stephen I, the first Christian King of Hungary who died 1038. Documents confirm the presence of Jews in this region from the first half of the 17th century. Later, survivors of the Chmielniki massacres (1648) fled Poland to Hungary, and some of them settled in Ruthenia.

Almost the only occupations open to Jews at this time were the milling of grain, the manufacture and sale of beer and spirits on the estates of noblemen and limited agricultural endeavors. Incomes were meager and Jews were compelled to pay heavy taxes (many levied only on Jews) to the owners of the estates and the government. Nevertheless, many Jews prospered and the Jewish population continued to increase, to the dismay of the authorities (in 1745 the central government ordered the expulsion of Jews from the Marmures district).

In general, landowners and noblemen were pleased to have Jews on their estates and frequently defended and protected them down thru the ages (a cousin, Dov Richter - dry-goods salesman and Gabbai of the Big Synagogue of Sollos - escaped Nazi clutches with the help of his friend, the local estate-owner, Baron Farrani). The Jews were industrious, hard working, intelligent and educated; they paid their taxes promptly and, in an emergency, could always be squeezed for more. These selfsame traits - and the preference they brought - gained them the enimity of the local populous which was frequently ignited to hatred by Church policy and the fanaticism of ignorant local clergymen.

From early 19th century thru WW I

After the Frankist crisis, Rabbis from beyond the Carpathians began to arrive and teach in the villages. Hasidism reached the Jews of the region and its influence remained strong to the time of the Holocaust. The Hasidim adhered to the 'zaddikim' of Galicia and Bukovina, mainly the Hassidic courts of Kosov, Vizhnitsa, Zhidachov and Belz. During this period the influence of Moses (Hatam Sofer) Shrieber was felt as his orthodox followers began to take Rabbinic office in the communities of the region (it seems likely that my great grandfather, R'Yacov Richter,came to the region in this manner) As a result, at the time of the schism in Hungarian Jewry (1868-69) most Jews of Karpatho-Rus remained orthodox.

In public debates at that time in Hungary the question of emancipation of the Jews was raised. Many Christian leaders supported granting equal rights to Jews on the condition that they try to integrate - in external and cultural aspects, at least - with the Christian population. In this period, too, a good deal of anti-semitic criticism against the Jews of Karpatho-Rus was voiced; largely based on their rapid natural increase and their economic role within the general population. In 1897 the Hungarian Govt authorized investigation of the impoverished social and economic conditions of the inhabitants. The Investigator - an Irishman by the name of E. Egan (1851-1901) an expert on agriculture - submitted anti-semitic conclusions and sought economic descdrimination against the Jews. His conclusions were the basis of widespread violent anti-Jewish agitation expressed in articles by publicist Miklos Bartha (1845-1905) and later (1901) published as 'Kazar Foldon' (In the land of the Khazars). It was republished in 1939 as a manual for the persecuting the Jews of the region.

From WW I to the treaty of Trianon

When WW I began, Count Isvan Tisza was premier of Hungary. For the first two years of the war, Tisza managed to uphold the internal system and kept the country to its international course.

(Many Jews of the region were conscripted into the Hungarian Army including my father Alex and his brother Joseph Richter, who received a battlefield commendation)

Minority governments (June 1917 to Oct 1918) struggled with increasing difficulties while agitation grew. The country began to listen to Count Mihaly Karolyi, leader of a faction of the Party of Independence, who said that independence from Austria, repudiation of the German alliance and peace with the entente - combined with social and internal political reform and concessions to the nationalities - would safeguard Hungary against all dangers.

When it became clear that the war was lost the opposition took the offensive. Popular demonstrations demanded the appointment of Karolyi as premier. To save bloodshed the king yielded and Karolyi took office at the head of a coalition government. The king renounced participation in affairs of state; parliament was dissolved and a Republic was proclaimed with Karolyi as provisional president. The appointment was confirmed on Jan 11th 1919; but with continued military setbacks unrest continued to spread.

It was at this time that Bela Kuhn (said to have been a Soviet agent of Hungarian-Jewish origin) representing a coalition of Social Democrats and Communists siezed power (March, 1919). Kuhn failed to gain support among the Allies and his dictatorial internal policies alienated the bourgoisie. When promised support from, Communist Russia against Romania failed to materialize Kuhn was forced to flee (August, 1919) and the Romanian army occupied and looted Budapest.

From the treaty of Trianon to the Munich Accord

As a result of the treaty of Trianon (1920) Ruthenia was separated from Hungary and became the third province (added to Bohemia and Moravia) of the new created Czechoslovak Republic; while Transylvania, including the Southern Half of Ogusca county containing the villages of Halmi and Tur-Terebesh (Turulung), became part of Romania.

The Jews rapidly adapted to the democratic ways of the Czech Republic. According to its constitution, the Jews were a national minority. They took part in politics and municipal life and in many towns they were represented on the municipal councils; they even succeeded in sending a deputy to the Parliament in Prague.

From the economic and social aspect this period was characterized by extensive activity and development. A particular phenomenon of the region was the large Jewish agricultural population. Two thirds of the Jews lived in villages and many of them were engaged in agriculture. Their economic situation differed little from that of their Christian neighbors. The region was poor and there were many unemployed in the towns and villages. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee established important institutions for the assistance and relief of the Jews of the region.

From the Munich to the present

The Munich Agreement (1938) split Czechoslovakia into three parts. One of them, Karpatskia Ukraina, briefly maintained independence (October 1938 - March 1939). It was taken over by Hungary and as parts of the region were annexed anti-Jewish persecution was initiated. From Spring of 1944 Hungarian fascists and German Nazis collaborated to concentrate the Jews in ghettos and then deport them to death camps (according to his daughter Edith, when Joseph Richter - dressed in his WWI uniform and medals - was being led from the Szollos Ghetto for transportation to Auschwitz, a longtime christian neighbor taunted him, calling out: "it's too bad they can't get at your Commie brothers also"). Ghettos had been set up in Mukachevo, Khust, Uzhgorod, Szollos, Beregovo and other places. After deportation to the camps had been accomplished, one of the most flourishing, variegated Jewish populations in eastern Europe was effectiviely eradicated.

After WW II Czechoslovakia returned to pre-1938 borders. The province of Karpatho-Rus was, with the approval of most of its local population (which as a result of the Holocaust, was largely devoid of Jews), ceded to the USSR. It is estimated that 10-15 thousand Jews of the region (of more than 100 thousand) survived the Holocaust. Many of these did not return to their former homes and became displaced persons. When Carpathia was ceded to the USSR, many more left for Czechoslovakia, most of them settling in the Sudeten area which was depleted of its German population.