The Rise and Decline of the Jewish Community of Žilina (Slovakia)

Download or read book The Rise and Decline of the Jewish Community of Žilina (Slovakia) written by Haim Gordon and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A memorial book for the town of Žilina in Slovakia; pp. 10-18 relate the fate of the Jewish community in the Holocaust. In 1939 Slovakia came under Nazi control. Jews who worked for the government lost their jobs, and the number of Jews allowed to work independently was limited. Discusses anti-Jewish measures, including "Aryanization" laws in 1940. There were ca. 3,000 Jews living in Žilina at the time, and 373 Jewish businesses, most of which were "Aryanized". In September 1941 the "Jewish Codex" was put into effect, depriving the Jews of civil rights, limiting their movement, and requiring them to do forced labor and wear the yellow star. Deportations began in March 1942, and by the end of the war ca. 2,500 Jews had been deported. Between March-October 1942 there was a transit camp in the city, run by the Hlinka Guard; ca. 26,000 Jews passed through this camp on their way to the concentration camps. The city's Jewish Committee provided aid to those interned in the camp and to Polish refugees. Only 214 Jews from Zilina returned after the war. The last 19 pp. contain a list in English of the ca. 2,500 Jews from Žilina who were killed in the Holocaust.