• Memorial to the Jewish Martyrs of the Holocaust
In 2002, a memorial in the south Hungarian town of Tolna was dedicated to its murdered Jews. The memorial also serves as a reminder of the town's former synagogue.
Image: Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Tolna is a small town about 135 kilometres to the south of Budapest, not far from the Danube. In 1941, there were 205 Jews in Tolna, representing about 2.5 percent of the total population. Some of them were farmers who owned large estates. Following the schism in the Hungarian Jewish community, the small community of Tolna was part of the Status Quo Ante movement, which comprised a mix of liberal and orthodox elements. At the end of June 1944, the local authorities set up three small ghettos to which 400 Jews from Tolna and surrounding areas had to resettle. On June 29, 1944, they were deported to Paks, a town to the north, from where they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau at the beginning of July 1944.
Image: Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
About 400 Jews from the Tolna ghetto were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. The exact number of victims is not known.
Image: Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Tolna, 2002, Dedication of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
In 1947, the Jewish community of Tolna was founded anew; in 1949, it had 38 members. During the communist dictatorship, the independent community was dissolved and many Jews left Tolna. In 1959, the synagogue which hab deen built in 1906 was torn down. In 2002, a memorial was dedicated on the main town square, not far from the site where the synagogue once stood. The monument, a joint project by sculptors Gábor Gáti and István Fáskerti, is dedicated to the »Jewish marytrs of the Holocaust« and commemorates the town's former synagogue. Engraved on two obelisks are the names of Jewish victims from Tolna, the top of the sculpture symbolises the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. In front of the monument is a stone bearing the inscription »Remember!« According to the plaque, the monument was an initiative of the citizens and former residents of Tolna as well as »supporting organisations«.
Image: Tolna, 2002, Detailed view of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Tolna, 2002, Detailed view of the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: Tolna, 2002, Dedication on the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Tolna, 2002, Dedication on the memorial, Stiftung Denkmal
Name
A vészkorszak zsidó mártírjaiért állított emlékmű
Address
Szentháromság tér
7130 Tolna
Open
The memorial is accessible at all times.