The concentration camp of Reghin (Mureș-Turda County)

The Reghin camp was set up in the brick factory at the edge of town. Here, about 1400 Jews from Reghin, around 1150 from the eastern part of Mureş-Turda County, 600 from the northern part of Ciuc County (the temporary ghettoisation centre in Gheorgheni) and the 850 Jews from the ghetto of Sfântu Gheorghe (the southern part of Ciuc County) were transferred. The total number of prisoners in the Reghin camp was about 4000.

Concentration began in a hurry on 3 May, and the Jews were not allowed to take with them even the 50 kg of previously allowed baggage and some food. Dudás János was camp commander.

The factory building was decommissioned and it was possible to house only a small number of Jews in it. Others sought shelter in a few sheds with no side walls, while most remained under the open sky, in tents improvised from clothes. In the first few days, there were no places for physiological needs, it was only later that ditches were dug for this purpose. There was no drinking water in the camp, and the prisoners were initially forced to consume water from a lake with stagnant water. It was only after a few days after the concentration that water was delivered in tank trucks, but the quantity was insufficient. Due to the shortage of food and essential services, many prisoners (especially children) became seriously ill.

The 600 Jews from the northern part of Ciuc County, rounded up in the temporary ghettoisation centre in Gheorgheni, were transferred to the Reghin camp around 11 May 1944. The temporary ghettoisation centre in Gheorgheni operated in a former primary school, where conditions were inhuman, the Jews being deprived of food and water for 8 days. This ruthless treatment was ordered by the local deputy chief of police, Polánkai Géza, who prevented the local non-Jews from bringing food and milk to the Jews concentrated in the school of Gheorgheni.

The deportation of the Jews from the camp of Reghin to Auschwitz took place on 4 June 1944. The total number of deportees was 3149.