Ghetto of Satu Mare (Satu Mare County)

The Jews of Satu Mare, approximately 13,250 in total, were relocated to the ghetto between 3 and 6 May 1944. In addition, the Jews from Carei (which operated as a temporary ghettoisation centre) and from the surrounding towns were also relocated here, with the final figure of those concentrated in the ghetto in Satu Mare totalling approximately 18,800. According to these numbers, the ghetto of Satu Mare comes in second in northern Transylvania, following the transfer of the Jews from Carei and the surrounding areas.

The ghetto was located in the town centre, in areas predominantly inhabited by Jews. The centre of the ghetto was located on the current Strada Martirilor Deportați (Deported Martyrs Street, called Báthory Street during the Hungarian Occupation). Overcrowding was significant in the ghetto, with 10-15 people crowded in a single room, while others were even placed in cellars, attics, or barracks. The commander of the ghetto was Sárközi Béla, chief of the Satu Mare police. Under his leadership, an investigative and torture unit operated in the ghetto, consisting of plainclothes gendarmes.

The deportation of the Jews from the Satu Mare ghetto to Auschwitz took place between 19 May and 1 June 1944 in 6 transports. The dates of the deportation from Satu Mare were: 18 May (3006 people), 21 May (3300 people), 25 May (3336 people), 28 May (3306 people), 29 May (3300 people), 31 May (2615 people).