• Dej Holocaust Memorial
A monument in front of the synagogue in Dej (Hungarian: Dés), which lies in the historical province of Transylvania, commemorates the approximately 7,000 Jews from Dej and surrounding areas who were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp in the summer of 1944.
Image: Dej, 2006, The monument in front of the synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
Dej, 2006, The monument in front of the synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
Dej is located in the north-west of Romania, in the region of Transylvania. Previously part of the Kingdom of Hungary, Dej was ceded to Romania after the First World War. At the end of the 1930s, Hungary increasingly laid claim to the territories it had lost. In September 1940, Transylvania was divided under pressure from Germany and Italy, and the northern part (including Dej) was incorporated into Hungary. In 1941, Dej had about 16,000 residents, about 3,700 of them were Jews. In July 1941, the Hungarian authorities deported about ten Jewish families deemed homeless from Dej to Kamianets-Podilskyi in the Ukraine, where they were murdered by SS units. In July 1942, 70 Jewish men from Dej were drafted to do forced labour in a detachment for the Hungarian army; most of them later died on the eastern front.
In March 1944, Hungary was occupied by the German Wehrmacht. In the following months, the Hungarian authorities played a significant role in helping the Germans deport the Jews residing in Hungary. On May 3, 1944, all 3,700 Jews from Dej and about 4,000 Jews from surrounding areas had to move to a collection camp. The camp consisted of a few improvised barracks and tents in the Bungur forest, and many of the inmates were forced to stay in the open. Many of the prisoners were tortured by the police and members of the Arrow Cross Party who wanted to extract information about supposedly hidden valuables. 25 people died in the camp. Between May 28 and June 8, 1944, the Jews were deported in three transports to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.
Image: Dej, 2006, The monument in front of the synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
Dej, 2006, The monument in front of the synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
About 7,000 Jews from Dej and surrounding areas were deported to Auschwitz after being held in a collection camp in the Bungur forest. It is not known exactly how many Jews from Dej and vicinity perished in the Bungur camp and in Auschwitz. About a thousand Jews returned to Dej after the war.
Image: Dej, 1947, Members of a Zionist youth organisation unveil the monument, Yad Vashem
Dej, 1947, Members of a Zionist youth organisation unveil the monument, Yad Vashem

Image: Dej, 2006, The 1909 synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
Dej, 2006, The 1909 synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
On June 4, 1947, a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust was dedicated on the square in front of the 1909 synagogue of Dej. The sculpture is the work of artist Izsák Márton. By the 1970s, most of the thousand survivors who had returned to Dej after the war emigrated to Israel.
Image: Dej, 2006, The sculpture by Izsák Márton, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
Dej, 2006, The sculpture by Izsák Márton, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold

Image: Dej, 2006, Back of the monument, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
Dej, 2006, Back of the monument, Stiftung Denkmal, Ronald Ibold
Name
Statuia Evreilor Deportaţi
Address
Piaţa Ştefan cel Mare
405200 Dej
Open
The memorial is accessible at all times.