• Holocaust Memorial in Târgu Mures
Since 2003 a group of sculptures in the city centre remembers the murdered Jews of Târgu Mures and its surroundings.
Image: Târgu Mures, no date, historical view of the Great Temple, common licence
Târgu Mures, no date, historical view of the Great Temple, common licence

Image: Târgu Mures, 2012, Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon
Târgu Mures, 2012, Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon
Târgu Mures (Hungarian: Marosvásárhely, German: Neumarkt am Mieresch) is one of the most important cities of Transylvania. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire the city passed to Romania until Hungary regained the northern part of Transylvania in 1940. A Jewish community existed in the city since 1849, its members originally came from the surrounding villages. Like elsewhere in Hungary the community divided in 1870 into an orthodox and a more liberal community called »status quo ante«. Especially members of the latter group where willing to adapt to the Hungarian mainstream society. Later a strong Zionist movement emerged while there were also several Hasidic groups among the orthodox. According to the 1941 census the predominantly Hungarian Târgu Mures had a Jewish population of 5,693 out of a total of 45,000.
After the city's incorporation into Hungary the Hungarian laws pertaining to Jews immediately came into effect. Between 1940 and 1944 up to 1,500 men were enlisted for so-called labour service in the army and sent mainly to the eastern front from where only few returned.
A few weeks after the start of the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944 the systematic looting of Jewish property and the preparations for the deportation of the Jews from Târgu Mures began. On May 3, all the Jews from the city and its surroundings had to move to a ghetto which was established in an empty brick yard. The Hungarian authorities and the German SS deported the Jews at the end of May, and the beginning of June 1944 in three transports via Košice and Cracow to the extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Image: Târgu Mures, no date, historical view of the Great Temple, common licence
Târgu Mures, no date, historical view of the Great Temple, common licence

Image: Târgu Mures, 2012, Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon
Târgu Mures, 2012, Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon
Hundreds of men from Târgu Mures died as labour service men in the Hungarian army between 1940 and 1944 at the eastern front. 7,559 Jews were deported from the ghetto in Târgu Mures to Auschwitz-Birkenau, most of the were murdered by the SS by poison gas on their arrival. The total number of survivors from Târgu Mures is not known.
Image: Târgu Mures, 2012, Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon
Târgu Mures, 2012, Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon

After the Second World War Târgu Mures became part of Romania again. In 1947 2,240 Jews lived there, a lot of them originally from other regions. During the time of the communist dictatorship many Jews emigrated and in 1992 the number of the Jewish community was down to 155 members only.
The city is still home of one of the largest synagogues in Transylvania. Also known as the »Great Temple«, it was opened in 1900 by the community »status quo ante« and refurbished some years ago.
On May 4, 2003 a Holocaust memorial was dedicated in Târgu Mures. It was one of the first Holocaust memorials in Romania and is the work of the sculptor Márton Izsák. On the memorial's pedestal the words »Remember the Holocaust« are inscribed in English and Hebrew. Originally another rather controversial plaque was attached, pointing out that the crimes were committed by the »fascist Hungarian government«. The plaque wasn't mounted again after the memorial's renovation in Autumn 2013.
Image: Târgu Mures, 2012, detailed vie of the Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon
Târgu Mures, 2012, detailed vie of the Holocaust memorial, Jutka Simon

Image: Târgu Mures, 2013, The Great Temple today, Jutka Simon
Târgu Mures, 2013, The Great Temple today, Jutka Simon
Name
Memorial Holocaustului al Târgu Mureș / Marosvásárhelyi Holokauszt-emlékmű
Address
Strada Călăraşilor / Strada Morii
540320 Târgu Mureș
Open
The memorial is accessible at all times.