Romania

Interior, synagogue of Birlad. Like many synagogues in Moldava and the old Regat sections of Romania, synagogues are filled with naive folk paintings of the Holy Land. There has never been a serious attempt to document them. July, 1987 Romania Birlad

Exterior, Yiddish Theater. This is in the old Jewish quarter of Bucharest, Calea Dudesti, which once teemed with Jewish life. By the 1980s, long after Communism nationalized all the private shops, the area had been taken over mostly by Roma (gypsies). Run down and neglected, much of it was mowed down to make room for Nicolae Ceausescu's Avenue for the Victory of Socialism July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Ion Samuel on the front stoop of his grandmother's home in Satu Mare. The boy lived in Bucharest with his parents, but was visiting his grandmother, one of the last Jews to live in Satu Mare. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

Neologue (conservative) synagogue of Oradea, or Nagy Szeben to ethnic Hungarians. Once a wealthy Jewish community of some 30,000, less than 600 Jews lived there in 1987. Half that number lived there by 2000, and if you keyword search Oradea, you will find a photograph of this synagogue, taken exactly in this spotm, with the balcony caved in. The Jewish community of the city, and much of Hungary (and Oradea was part of Hungary then), split between Orthodox and Neologue (closer to Conservative) in the 1860s. This Conservative synagogue was built in 1879 along neo-Renaissance lines by David Busch, who was then the chief municipal architect of Oradea. July, 1987 Romania Oradea

The meglomanical Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was determined to create a vast rebuilding of central Bucharest. Much of the city's center was razed for The Avenue for the Victory of Socialism. If you key word search Bucharest and city scenes, you will find more pictures of this destruction, and the results that went up over the following years. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Iosef Thirer, a volunteer for the Cluj Jewish community, before a mass grave for those Iasi Jews killed during the Romanian army's pogrom (carried out with cooperation with the Germans) of July 1941. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Ida Mendel receives meals on wheels from Istvan Vas 6 days each week. When I visited her, she was in mourning for her cousin, Rabbi Sandor Scheiber, who had headed the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary for more than 30 years. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

This spectacular synagogue's alter is carved almost entirely out of wood. A nondescript building from the outside, the synagogue was built in 1834. Sculptued lions and eagles can found seen in the interior and the paintings are of the Holy Land. Bodosani is in the Romanian part of Bukovina (the rest is now in Ukraine) and the double eagle crown above the bema represents the Austro-Hungarian Empire. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Old Jewish quarter of Bodosai. Synagogue stands to left. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Preparing meals on wheels delivery in Bucharest. More than 400 meals were delivered 6 times each week to the bedridden. The project was (and is) underwritten by JDC and the Claims Conference. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Surviving family members commemorating the dead in the Jewish cemetery of Cluj. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Sunday morning Talmud Torah class in the Iasi synagogue. A dozen children attended in 1987. In the years that followed, fewer children congregated at the community center and synagogue until the late 1990s, when computers and internet hookups, coupled with religious and cultural programs created by young Romanian Jews, brought them back. The project was underwritten by JDC. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Scrapbook in the Jewish Museum of Romania of the Bucharest pogrom of fJanuary 1941, when more than 100 Jews were murdered and synagogues desecrated, burned or destroyed. January, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Chief Rabbi David Moses Rosen leads a commemoration service to those Bucharest Jews killed in an Iron Guard pogrom in Bucharest, January 1941. January, 1941 Romania Bucharest

Cow on the side of the highway in northern Romania July, 1987 Romania Roman

Non-descript from the outside,the synagogue (built in 1812-1814) in the small northern Romanian town of Harlau is a treasure, and was being lovingly maintained by the less than 100 Jews who lived there. The sanctuary was filled with naive folk paintings, and the walls were painted baby blue. The bema and the curtains were a lucious burgandy, and iron work was painted gold. July, 1987 Romania Harlau

Non-descript from the outside,the synagogue in the small northern Romanian town of Hirlau is a treasure, and was being lovingly maintained by the less than 100 Jews who lived there. The sanctuary was filled with naive folk paintings, and the walls were painted baby blue. The bema and the curtains were a lucious burgandy, and iron work was painted gold. July, 1987 Romania Harlau

Streeet scene, Bucharest. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

The cemetery in Suceava July, 1987 Romania Suceava

A grave in the Suceava Jewish cemetery in which RIF (Rienes Juedisches Fett) had been buried. Many Jews were convinced that the Nazis made bars of soap out of dead Jews; there are several such memorials in Romania. This is greatly disputed by historians. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

Holocaust memorial in Siget. Unusual for Romania, the memorial was in the center of town and not in the Jewish cemetery. July, 1987 Romania Siget

Entry gate to the Iasi Jewish cemetery July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Memorial for Bibi Braunstein, who was killed by fascists during World War Two. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

In the foreground, a Sephardi style Jewish tombstone, in the Iasi Jewish cemetery. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Classroom in the Oradea Jewish community center,where a dozen children and teenagers learned Hebrew each week. By 2002, there were even more children coming to the Jewish community-- around 30 -40. July, 1987 Romania Oradea

Talmud Torah class on a Sunday morning in Bucharest, where around 40 children studied in 1986. When the community made Sunday school classes with computers and games and more modern teaching methods, they attracted nearly 70 children on a weekly basis. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

In the synagogue of Cimpulung Moldovenesc July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

Holocaust memorial in the Oradea Jewish cemetery. This once wealthy resort town was occupied by the Hungarians during WW2, and the majority of its Jews were sent off to Auschwitz in 1944 July, 1987 Romania Oradea

Holocaust memorial in the Cluj cemetery. Most Jews here were deported to Auschwitz in 1944, during the Hungarian occupation. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Istvan Vas, an ethnic Hungarian (Catholic) works for the Cluj Jewish community and delivers 16 meals each day by bicycle. In the 1980s, the Romanian Jewish community was delivering some 1,600 hot meals daily throughout the country. By 2002, Istvan Vas had retired, but 20 people were receiving hot meals daily. The program was supported by JDC, the Claims Conference and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Interior of the well kept synagogue of Siget (the Vizhnitzer Klaus Temple). The building was erected in 1885 and remodeled several times. While only handfull of Jews remained in the city in the 1980s, the synagogue was well maintained. Head of the community then was Dionisiu Barony and he was assisted by Frida Fogel. Even in 2002, the synagogue was still well maintained. July, 1987 Romania Siget

Synagogue in Tulcea. Built in 1888, it was under renovation in 1987. There were but 100 or so Jews then and around 60 in 2002. Isac Gofman, president of the community, told me that 10% of the town was Jewish before the Holocaust-- around 1800 Jews. He said that in 1987, there were 80 Jews in the city, and 70 of them were over 70 yrs old. Seven died last year. The year before, in 1986, 3 younger families left for Israel. During the war, Mr Gofman said, he had to clean the streets in a labor brigade. 48 Jewish men did forced labor, and 47 returned. After the liberation in August 1944, Mr Gofman said, the man who ruled over the city for the Antonescu regime was hunted down and beaten to death. July, 1987 Romania Tulcea

Detail of the Birlad synagogue. Note the naiive folk paintings of lions on the wall on either side of the bema. Few Jews lived in the city when I visited in 1987. Iosef Epstein, the president, told me, "we are emigrating-- to Israel and to the cemetery." He was especially proud of how well the synagogue was kept. July, 1987 Romania Birlad

Under a menorah with the Hebrew inscription, "songs of children," the choir of Bacau waits to perform at their Hanukkah concert. 649 Jews lived there in 1986, 343 lived there in 2001, according to JDC, which still operates a soup kitchen for the community. In 2001 there was 1 Jewish child under 5 and none between 6-10 yrs old. December, 1986 Romania Bacau

88-year-old Sabina Rosenberg with her students in her Oradea home. A survivor of Bergen Belsen, Rosenberg taught German at home starting in 1946 and continued to do so until 2001. See Centropa Reports: Teaching German after Auschwitz, for a profile on Sabina. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Edo Basch lights the menorah in the Timisoara synagogue. Around 1200 Jews lived in the city in 1987, and JDC reports that 725 lived there in 2001. The community is especially active because of Rabbi Naumann, who in 1998 was 86 yrs old. It was he who insisted ordering computers for the youth center, as he felt this would attract Jewish students, which it did. December, 1998 Romania Timisoara

The communities of the Banat, the western most edge of Romania are comprised of Oradea, Arad and Tiimisoara. With less than 1,500 Jews between them, they remain in constant touch with each other: all run kosher soup kitchens, have youth group activities and lively Hanukkah concerts, like this one in Timisoara. December, 1998 Romania Timisoara

Mr Freund pours plum brandy at the Hanukkah party in the Oradea community center after the concert. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Members of Oradea youth choir singing at Hanukkah party. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Synagogue interior, Oradea. More than 30,000 Jews once lived in the city. In 1999 there were less than 300. Still, this was a lively and committed community with all social welfare activities functioning. Two synagogues remained in community hands. One, the Neologue (or Conservative) shul was in sad repair, but this one, the Orthodox, was still maintained. It was built in 1890. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Hanukkah concert int he Oradea synagogue. Oradea had the best youth choir in the country at that time. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

After the Hanukkah concert in the Oradea synagogue. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

December, 1987 Romania Arad

High school students from the non-Jewish high school about to perform a concert on Hebrew songs for the Arad Jewish community. There were no longer enough Jewish children for a choir. December, 1998 Romania Arad

Viktor Rosenzweig lights the Menorrah at the Hanukkah concert in the Oradea synagogue. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Youth choir in Oradea, Romania, singing at the Hanukkah concert December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Gyuri Vilan, who led the Jewish youth choir of Oradea, at the Hanukkah concert. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Rabbi Ernst Neumann, 84 years old, delivers a Hanukkah greeting in the Timisoara synagogue. Of the three 'large' communities in western Romania (Oradea, Arad, Timisoara), only Timisoara still had a rabbi. January, 1970 Romania Timisoara

Synagogue interior, Oradea. Built in 1890, this is the Orthodox synagouge, and is still used by the community. It was in relatively good condition. March, 1998 Romania Oradea

___, a violinist with the Oradea symphony, and Juri ----, lead the Oradea youth choir in the Hanukkah concert. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Gyuri Vilan leads the youth choir in the synagogue, which is filled to capacity for the Hanukkah concert. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Hanukkah concert in Oradea, Romania December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Juri leads the Hanukkah concert in the Oradea synagogue. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Hanukkah concert, Oradea January, 1970 Romania Oradea

At the Hanukkah concert in Oradea. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Mr Koppelman, head of the Oradea community, with his honored guest, Rabbi _____, who came in from Bucharest to speak at the event. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Frying donuts for the Hanukkah party in the community center. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Aunt Rosie (or Roszi neni in Hungarian) Jakab, the 93 year old kosher food supervisor of the Arad community kitchen, oversees food preparations. I made a 20 minute documentary on this community for ABC News Nightline. The tape may still be available for order on ABC News Nightline's website. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Hanukkah concert in the Bacau Grain Merchant's synagogue. It is the only one left out of 22. This synagogue was built in 1899. December, 1987 Romania Bacau

Hanukkah concert in the Bacau Grain Merchant's synagogue. It is the only one left in the city, out of 22. This synagogue was built in 1899. December, 1987 Romania Bacau

Hanukkah concert in the Bacau Grain Merchant's synagogue. It is the only one left out of 22. This synagogue was built in 1899. December, 1987 Romania Bacau

Dinner served to community members and those on Rabbi Rosen's Hannukkah tour. Every year the Rabbi and his entourage of Romanian, Israeli and other guests would visit at least 12 communities in the 8 days of Hanukkah. In the center is Mr Brill, who led the community. I believe he told me his children lived in Boston. Note the tiny candle in the grand old brass candleholder. Indicative, perhaps, of Romanian Jewry-- not what it was, but still active. December, 1987 Romania Bacau

This is Mr Brill, head of the community. Founded in the 16th century, there were 649 Jews, he told me, in 1987. He was proud of the fact that the community maintained a kitchen, youth club, and taught the young Hebrew (in this room). December, 1987 Romania Bacau

The musical group from the Iasi synagogue traveled to Bohusi to perform for Hanukkah in 1987. Someone had thrown a firebomb into the synagogue a few months before but damage was minimal. In recent years, Rabbi Rosen's annual Hanukkah tour skipped Bohusi, but not this time. He told me he wanted to express his concern for the tiny commuinty and its synagogue. December, 1987 Romania Bohusi

Bema in the Bohusi synagogue. This was once a famous rabbinical court. No longer. Forty Jews lived in the town in 1987 and all of them were elderly. December, 1987 Romania Bohusi

Mezuzzah and entry way to the Suceava synagogue. There were once 10 synagogues in the city. Seven remain but only one is in use. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

Afternoon service in Suceava, Romania. The small community still maintained two minyans daily in 1987. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

Afternoon service in Suceava, Romania. The small community still maintained two minyans daily in 1987. December, 1987 Romania Suceava

Interior detail, synagogue in Cimpulung Moldovenesc. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

I'm not sure when this synagogue was built. It stands in the center of the town, and this is a view of its side. The entrance faces a verdant, well maintained garden. Few Jews lived in the city in 1987. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

There were two remarkably well maintained synagogues in Cimpulung Moldovenesc, even though there were less than 100 Jews in the city when I visited in 1987. This is the smaller synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

Interior of Iasi synagogue. Built in 1670, it is the oldest in the country. There were once over 100 synagogues and 55,000 Jews in this city. This synagogue is quite elaborate, and is filled with paintings and metal work. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

nterior of Iasi synagogue. Built in 1670, it is the oldest in the country. There were once over 100 synagogues and 55,000 Jews in this city. This synagogue is quite elaborate, and is filled with paintings and metal work. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Sunday morning Talmud Torah class in the Iasi synagogue. Back in 1987, there were still 1200 Jews in the city. By 2001, there were still nearly 700, and the community provided a full and varied cultural and religious life for its members. By 2001 the children were studying on computers, and linked to a central server in Bucharest. This was supported by JDC. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Grave in the Suceava Jewish cemtery. Note that the row of tombstones stops here. Like all of Eastern Europe, the cemeteries ran out of Jews-- who were either murdered in concentration camps or left afterwards. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

Interior of the Suceava synagogue. Iacob Kaufman, head of the community in 1987, told me this was this was the only synagogue still in use, and they had two daily prayer services. Note the naive folk paintings on the far wall. Mr Kaufman, a retired economist, told me there were 310 Jews in the city. 40 had left for Israel the previous year. 8,000 Jews lived in the city before the war; most were murdered, he said. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

70 yr old Rabbi Elias Rohrlich. He was the rabbi, kosher slaughterer, teacher. His 6 chidlren were in Israel and he very much wanted to leave. "Only who will do my work if I leave?" He told me the community fed 85 people every day. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

A half timbered synagogue in Dorohoi under reconstruction. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Detail, synagogue interior of Bodosani, which, as far as I saw, was the most elaborate synagogue in the country. It wa built in 1834. When I visited in 1987, there were 349 Jews, the vast majority of them elderly. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

This handsome synagogue was designed by Budapest-based Lipot Baumhorn, who built over 23 synagogues around the turn of the century and into the 1920s. This was completed in 1901, when Brasov, a lovely city tucked intothe base of the Carpathians, was the southeastern most edge of the Austro Hungarian monarchy. This synagogue is elegant and understated. Badly damaged during the 2nd world war, I am not sure what it originally looked like, although it maintains all of Baumhorn's trademark styles. July, 1987 Romania Brasov

Isadore Kaufman, a retired pharmacist, was the head of the Iasi community. He is delivering an address at the Hanukkah concert. December, 1987 Romania Iasi

On the left, Iosef Thirer, who worked for the Iasi community, and his grandson. Hanukkah concert, 1987. December, 1987 Romania Iasi

Hanukkah concert in Iasi's synagogue, the oldest in the country (1670). Some 1200 Jews lived in the city in 1987; around 700 in 2001. December, 1987 Romania Iasi

Lighting the menorah in the Iasi synagogue. December, 1987 Romania Iasi

Hanukkah concert in Iasi's synagogue, the oldest in the country (1670). Some 1200 Jews lived in the city in 1987; around 700 in 2001. December, 1987 Romania Iasi

Menorah in the Iasi synagogue, the oldest in Romania (1670). December, 1987 Romania Iasi

Trici Abramovici, an actress in the Bucharest Yiddish Theater. The actors performed in Yiddish, and a man with a megaphone shouted down in Romanian. Trici and her husband left Romania for Israel in 1990 July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Rabbi David Moses Rosen, a brilliant orator in at least a half dozen languages (Yiddish, Hebrew, German, Romanian, French and English were the languages I heard) during a commemoration service in the Choral Temple in July 1990. Although it was 95 degrees outside, the Rabbi spoke for more than an hour. July, 1990 Romania Bucharest

Children gahtering in the courtyard of the Choral Temple before a chidlren's Sunday school class. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Interior of the Galati Craftsman's Temple. The town sits near the Danube delta and the Black Sea. There had been 20,000 Jews in the town, but most were deported to Transnistria camps. The rest emigrated and in 1987, there were less than 100. This I learned from the 77 yr old Leon Jacobson, president of the community then. Leon Jacobsohn, the 77 yr old president of the community, told me there were 555 Jews in the city, of which, 70 were of mixed marriages. Once there were 18-20 synagogues in the city, by 1987 there was only one. Mr Jacobsohn said there were still 15 children in his Talmud Torah class. July, 1987 Romania Galati

Interior of the Galati Craftsman's Temple's daily prayer room. The town sits near the Danube delta and the Black Sea. There had been 20,000 Jews in the town, but most were deported to Transnistria camps. The rest emigrated and in 1987, there were less than 100. This I learned from the 77 yr old Leon Jacobson, president of the community then. Leon Jacobsohn, the 77 yr old president of the community, told me there were 555 Jews in the city, of which, 70 were of mixed marriages. Once there were 18-20 synagogues in the city, by 1987 there was only one. Mr Jacobsohn said there were still 15 children in his Talmud Torah class. July, 1987 Romania Galati

Craftsmen's Temple interior. Leon Jacobsohn, the 77 yr old president of the community, told me there were 555 Jews in the city, of which, 70 were of mixed marriages. Once there were 18-20 synagogues in the city, by 1987 there was only one. Mr Jacobsohn said there were still 15 children in his Talmud Torah class. July, 1987 Romania Galati

Afternoon service in the Bodosani synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Jewish cemetery ceremonial hall. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

Prayer room in the Bodosani synagogue. The huge sanctuary was used only on special occasions. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Hanukkah concert in the Bodosani synagogue. December, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Rabbi Rosen's secretary, Mrs Gany, just outside his office. I took this picture in 1985. In 2001 she was still working. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Memorial plaques for deceased family members in the Choral Temple in Bucharest. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Sephardi tombstones in the cemetery of Podu Illouiei. July, 1987 Romania Podu Illiauei

Caretaker's son in the cemetery. The Romanian Jewish federation worked out this arrangement: where Jews no longer lived--and in many places where they did-- they gave the extra land to a peasant farmer, who lived on the grounds and kept it clean, in exchange for letting him utilize the land that would never be used. July, 1987 Romania Podu Illaeie

Synagogue in Birlad. July, 1987 Romania Birlad

Naive folk painting on the wall of the synagogue in Birlad. July, 1987 Romania Birlad

From left: Marcel Aron, Iancu Grauer, Leon Aizac, Rorhmil Steiberg, Iosef Epstein. this group of elderly men met every day for services (with five others). "We are emigrating," Mr Epstein told me, "to the cemetery." July, 1987 Romania Birlad

Interior of the ark in the Great Synagogue of Bucharest. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

It seemed everywhere I looked in Bucharest, there was another small kosher canteen. I found 4 in operation that winter. This one was for the men and women who regularly attended the Great Synagogue. It closed not long after this visit. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Rabbi Eilas Rohrlich of Dorohoi, attending one of Rabbi Rosen's commemorations in Bucharest. July, 1990 Romania Bucharest

Few Jews lived in Targu Mures when I visited in 1987. TM is a city in Transylvania with a large Hungarian speaking minority. July, 1987 Romania Targu Mures

Dr Ernst Fried in the Orthodox synagogue in Oradea. The synagogue was Neologue (conservative). According to the Jewish federation of Romania, 26% of the city was Jewish in 1930 (20,000). July, 1987 Romania Oradea

Youth choir belting it out for an obviously pleased Rabbi Rosen. July, 1990 Romania Bucharest

Rabbi Rosen delivering a sermon in the Bucharest Choral Temple. July, 1990 Romania Bucharest

A small choir performs during the Chanukkah concert in the Tailor's synagogue in Roman. Jews had lived there since the 1500s. This synagogue was dedicated in 1898 and was one of 15 synagogues and prayer houses in the 1930s. The aron hakodesh is of richly ornamented and carved wood. Paintings of King David's tomb, the temple in Jerusalem and Samuel's tomb decorate the rooms. There is also a small wooden synagogue in Roman-- one of the last in the world-- but I couldn't find it. December, 1987 Romania Roman

Rabbi Rosen speaking during the Chanukkah concert in the Tailor's synagogue in Roman. Jews had lived there since the 1500s. This synagogue was dedicated in 1898 and was one of 15 synagogues and prayer houses in the 1930s. The aron hakodesh is of richly ornamented and carved wood. Paintings of King David's tomb, the temple in Jerusalem and Samuel's tomb decorate the rooms. There is also a small wooden synagogue in Roman-- one of the last in the world-- but I couldn't find it. December, 1986 Romania Roman

Three men entranced; one boy bored while Rabbi Rosen spoke during the Hanukkah concert in Roman. December, 1987 Romania Roman

Two friends at the Hanukkah concert in Roman. December, 1987 Romania Roman

Choir performing during one of Rabbi Rosen's festiveevents. July, 1990 Romania Bucharest

During the Hanukkah concert in Suceava. The city had but one functioning synagogue and 336 Jews in 1987. Head of the community then was Iacob Kaufman. Once there had been a dozen synagogues and 8,000 Jews. Of the 336 Jews, most were over 60 and the young were emigrating. December, 1987 Romania Suceava

During the Hanukkah concert in Suceava, I went up into the women's gallery, which was rarely used. December, 1987 Romania Suceava

Sabine Rosenberg in her Oradea home. She gave German lessons privately at home as soon as she returned home from Bergen Belsen in 1945. See Centropa Reports; German after Auschwitz January, 1999 Romania Oradea

January, 1999 Romania Oradea

Aunt Rosie's Kitchen was the ABC Nightline I made on this remarkable 93 yr old woman, who worked in the kosher kitchen in Arad, a small town on the western edge of Romania. ABC News may still have the video available. Check their website. March, 1999 Romania Arad

Ibi, the chief cook in the Arad kosher kitchen, which was rebuilt by Claims Conference and JDC funds. June, 1999 Romania Arad

March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Synagogue interior of the cavernous neologue temple in Arad. The synagogue was in need of repair, but there were no funds to do the work. Clearly, this synagogue, built in the 1840s, was a point of pride for a then-wealthy community. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Afternoon prayer service in the Oradea synagogue. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Afternoon prayer service in Oradea. Felix Koppelman, head of the community, is inthe rear. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Morning prayer services, Oradea. There were few cities in Romania with twice daily prayer services, but this was one of them. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Morning prayer services in Oradea. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Cemetery in Oradea. This Hungarian speaking Jewish community was almost obliterated during the Holocaust. 20,000 Jews here made up 25% of the population. Less than 600 were there in 1999, but the community was still a spirted and proud one. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Hamantashen at the Purim part in the Oradea synagogue. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Reading the megillah during Purim services in the Oradea synagogue. The synagogue, Moorish in style, was built by the Orthodox community in 1890. It is identical to the Satu Mare synagogue. some 30,000 Jews lived in Oradea (Nagy Szeben in Hungarian), but most were deported by the occupying Hungarian army and the Germans in spring 1944. Some 350 Jews lived in the community when I took this picture. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

The Jewish community's kosher kitchen was serving around 75 people daily in Oradea in 1999. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Miklos Schonberger, 90 yrs old, was deaf and blind. Once his wife died, he moved into the Arad Jewish old age home, located above the community kitchen. June, 1999 Romania Arad

88 year old Sabine Rosenberg and her students in her Oradea home. See Centropa Reports, German after Bergen Belsen. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Sabine Rosenberg teaching German at home. See Centropa Reports: German after Bergen Belsen March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Resident of the Jewish old age home in Arad, Romania. There were but 12 residents in 1999. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Resident of the Arad, Romania, Jewish old age home. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Gyuri Vilan was the leader of the Oradea Jewish youth choir, the best in the country, if not all of Eastern Europe. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Reading the Megillah in the Oradea synagogue during the Purim service. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Reading the megillah during the Purim service in the Oradea synagogue. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Aunt Rosie Jakab, 93 yr old kosher food supervisor of the Arad kosher kitchen, at her desk in the community. I made an ABC Nightline about Aunt Rosie. Perhaps the ABC News Nightline website still offers it for sale. September, 1999 Romania Arad

The Arad kosher kitchen employed 7 people to cook for 40, and they ran the best kosher kitchen in all of Eastern Europe. September, 1999 Romania Arad

The Arad old age home held Friday night and Saturday morning services on a regular basis for those who lived in the home as well as members of the community. September, 1999 Romania Arad

Transylvanian landscape March, 1999 Romania

the Oradea kosher kitchen, which was open to all community members (the poor ate free but did their transactions behind closed doors, so that no one ever knew who was on the dole). March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Arad kosher kitchen, which fed around 40 people daily. March, 1999 Romania Arad

Miklos Schonberger, 90 yrs old, was deaf and blind. When his wife died, he was brought to the Arad old age home, where he led services every Saturday morning in the 12 months, from his arrival until his death. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Lunch time in the Arad Jewish old age home. Down to a dozen residents, the home should have been closed, but JDC decided to keep it running, since displacing the 12 would have been too traumatric. Of course, those 12 have since been replaced by another twelve... June, 1999 Romania Arad

Reading the Megillah in the Oradea synagogue during Purim. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Jewish cemetery. March, 1999 Romania Arad

Holocaust memorial in the AraJewish cemetery. Arad was just outside the border of Hungarian-occupied Romania, and it's Jews were not deported. The vast majority surived the war intact, although some were conscripted into labor brigades, and those living in other parts of the country met much worse fates. March, 1999 Romania Arad

Miklos Schonberger, 90 yrs old, was deaf and blind. He was a resident of the Arad Jewish old age home and led prayer services each week. June, 1999 Romania Arad

The synagogue of Arad was built by a once wealthy community, many of whom were textile manufacturers. When erected in 1827, it was built in a neo classic style. With less than 200 Jews living in the city in 1999, it was all they could do to keep the place dusted. Ionel Schlesinger, the energetic head of the community, was trying hard to restore the sanctuary. June, 1999 Romania Arad

The synagogue of Arad was built by a once wealthy community, many of whom were textile manufacturers. When erected in 1827, it was built in a neo classic style. This is a view of the organ, one of the largest in western Romania. With less than 200 Jews living in the city in 1999, it was all they could do to keep the place dusted. Ionel Schlesinger, the energetic head of the community, was trying hard to restore the sanctuary. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Arad Jewish cemetery. Note the grave in the foreground, with a tennis racket and electrical cables. March, 1999 Romania Arad

Aunt Rosie Jakab, kosher food supervisor of the Arad kosher kitchen. March, 1999 Romania Arad

Newly arrived resident of the old age home in Arad. The woman had severe mental problems, and had had them since she had been interned in Auschwitz. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Delivering meals on wheels. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

When Ionel Schlesinger took over the Arad Jewish community, he brought with him several new ideas: one of which was an open house each week for community members to come by for tea and coffee. For community members who thought they were only invited if they needed something, this was a welcome change. June, 1999 Romania Arad

Eva Loewinger was the director of the soup kitchen, a job she took over after the death of her husband. August, 1999 Romania Arad

The Citidel synagogue of Timisoara. All the synagogues of western Romania-- in Oradea, Arad and Timisoara--which were once part of the Austro Hungarian Empire, share certain characteristics: they are monumental in scope, rich in detail, classicist in form, and optimistic as to the place of their community members in society. Timisoara once had 10,000 Jews. Few were deported during the war, but most emigrated to Israel afterwards. There were less than 600 in 1999 when I took this picture, although the 84 year old rabbi Naumann, who ran the community, helped create an active and involved community life. August, 1999 Romania Timiosoara

A commemoration service in the Arad Jewish cemetery for family members killed during the Holocaust. Jews in Arad were not deported, but family members living elsewhere in Romania were killed, and around 10% of the Jewish population, who had been conscripted into forced labor battalions, were killed during the war. August, 2000 Romania Arad

August, 1999 Romania

Peter, who suffers from life long mental problems, is a ward of the Arad Jewish community. A commemoration service in the Arad Jewish cemetery for family members killed during the Holocaust. Jews in Arad were not deported, but family members living elsewhere in Romania were killed, and around 10% of the Jewish population, who had been conscripted into forced labor battalions, were killed during the war. August, 2000 Romania Arad

During the 100th anniversary of the Ploesti synagogue. October, 2001 Romania Ploesti

At the 100th anniversary of the Ploesti synagogue. On the left, the mayor of the city, center is Professor Nicolae Cajal, president of the Jewish Federations of Romania and the vice president, Ion Sorin. October, 2001 Romania Ploesti

During the 100th anniversary of the Ploesti synagogue: from left to right: Cantor Iosef Adler, Rabbi Menachem Hacohen, the acting chief rabbi and Rabbi Eliezer Glantz, who assists him. October, 1999 Romania Ploesti

In the 1980s, there were few activities for Jewish children in Romania, other than choir practice and Talmud Torah. No longer. Under the aegis of Sandra Segal and JDC, the community now has a myriad of programs for children of all ages. This is the Sunday school in the Strada Popa Soara facility, , and it was run by the very able young Sorin Rosen. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

The kosher kitchen on Strada Popa Soara still serves around 100 people each day, around half of what it served 15 years before, when I first started shooting in Romania. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Sandra Segal, the person most responsible for making the youth programs of the Romanian communities more responsive to the needs and aspirations of its members. Sandra attended JDC's Buncher workshops. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Adrian Gueron, who joined the community only after his father died, was helping with the computer systems. He realized that there were no interactive programs that all Jewish youth in Romania could use, and set about developing them. That way, young people in Arad, Bucharest, Dorohoi and Iasi can all study the same programs, download the same games, and maintain a closer contact with each other and their heritage. Adrian learned how to create such programs at a Buncher program at JDC. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Paul Schwartz is in charge of creating programs that will bring Jewish adults back into the community. Schwartz was frustrated that all community programs seemed to be for children or the elderly. He has created a lecture series, cutlural programming and informal get togethers. What started as 20 members has now reached 400. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

In the Ronald S Lauder school in Bucharest. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

In the 1980s, there were few activities for Jewish children in Romania, other than choir practice and Talmud Torah. No longer. Under the aegis of Sandra Segal and JDC, the community now has a myriad of programs for children of all ages. This is the Sunday school in the Strada Popa Soara facility, and it was run by the very able young Sorin Rosen. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

In the 1980s, there were few activities for Jewish children in Romania, other than choir practice and Talmud Torah. No longer. Under the aegis of Sandra Segal and JDC, the community now has a myriad of programs for children of all ages. This is the Sunday school in the Strada Popa Soara facility , and it was run by the very able young Sorin Rosen. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Rabbi Eliezer Glantz, left, Iosef Adler, cantor, at the commemoration service of the Ploesti synagogue. October, 2016 Romania Ploesti

Rabbi Menachem HaKohen, right, and cantor Iosef Adler of the Bucharest Choral Temple, at the commemoration service of the Ploesti synagogue. October, 2001 Romania Ploesti

Two young Lubatitchers, who were visiting Bucharest synagogues to repair their Torahs. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

In the Ronald S Lauder school in Bucharest. Some 200 children attend daily, eat a kosher lunch, and learn Jewish traditions, Hebrew and receive a full secular education. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

wo young Lubatitchers, who were visiting Bucharest synagogues to repair their Torahs. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Franca Oprescu, the Bucharest Jewish community's director of social welfare, in the Rosen Old Age Home with ______. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

____, a patient in the Rosen old age home. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Franca Oprescu, the Bucharest Jewish community's director of social welfare, in the Rosen Old Age Home with ______. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Bernice Stambler, director of the Jewish Museum of Romania. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

In the 1980s, there were few activities for Jewish children in Romania, other than choir practice and Talmud Torah. No longer. Under the aegis of Sandra Segal and JDC, the community now has a myriad of programs for children of all ages. This is the Sunday school in the Strada Popa Soara facility , and it was run by the very able young Sorin Rosen. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Graves of Jewish soldiers from Bucharest who died fighting for Romania in World War One. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

(See: Centropa Reports, Malaparte Took This Road). When Kurzio Malaparte was the Italian vice consul in Iasi, his landlord was taken from the house and put on a train, where he suffocated. Malaparte found the train in Podu Illeiie. This plaque, in the Bucharest Jewish cemetery, is for Malaparte's landlord. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Courtyard of the Bucharest Choral Temple. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Even with an extreme wide angle lens, I could not fit all of Nicolae Ceausescu's Palace of the Republic into my picture. It is reportedly smaller only to the Pentagon. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Interior of a painted church in Borsana, a village in the northwestern Romanian county of Maramures. July, 1987 Romania Borsana

the famous painted monastery of Suceitza in northern Romania July, 1987 Romania

Boy and his dog January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

The 'happy' cemetery, where the deceased have hand carved and painted wooden grave markers and on each is a funny poem about their lives. January, 1970 Romania Siget

the famous painted monastery of Suceitza in northern Romania July, 1987 Romania

In Maramures county, in northwestern Romania July, 1987 Romania Borsana

Small wooden church in a village in Maramures, a section of Romania in the northwest that is one of the loveliest in Europe. July, 1987 Romania Borsana

In the office of the station master of the Bucharest train station. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

City scene July, 1987 Romania Oradea

Dr Iulian Sorin, left, chief of the Bucharest community medical division, speaking with the director of the Martin Balus Old Age Home, Dr Charles Crupariu. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Hanukkah concert in synagogue in Piatra Naemt. At the time, the city had but 250 Jews, but there was a community kitchen, a youth choir and a meals on wheels program for the elderly. The synagogue was filled with naive folk art paintings. A printed program in English stated “Each Hanukkah, distinguished guests from all over the world attend our Hanukkah concert and plays.” A small wooden shul next door was preserved as the Baal Shem Tov prayed there once. December, 1987 Romania Piatra Naemt

The Great Synagogue in Satu Mare, Romania. Home of the Satmar sect of Orthodox Jews, less than 200 Jews (none of them Orthodox) were living in the city in 1987. This synagogue was buiilt in the latter half of the 19th century. The Jewish community in Oradea must have been very impressed, since they built almost a clone of it in their city in 1890. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

Satu Mare synagogue, which lay in sad repair in 1987. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

Synagogue in Birlad, Romania, on the Danube delta. less than 150 Jews lived there in 1987. July, 1987 Romania Braila

Interior of synagogue in Birlad. In 1987, with less than 100 Jews living in the city, the synagogue was still kept up with loving care. Folk paintings decorated the walls-- something that was done throughout Romania-- and which has never been properly photographed and preserved. July, 1987 Romania Birlad

Synagogue in Cluj, Romania. This synagogue is named for the Deportees of World War Two. It was destroyed during the Holoaust. Rebuilt in the 1980s, this neo-Gothic synagogue built at the turn of the century serves a largely Hungarian-speaking community. Nicolae Kertesz, head of the community in 1987, told me there had been 18,000 Jews before the war. Starting with the Hungarian takeover of northern Transylvania, Jewish men were conscripted into labor brigades on the Russian front. Then came the deportations in June 1944. Only 1,500 Jews returned. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Interior, Cluj Deportees' synagogue. Rebuilt in the 1980s, this neo-Gothic synagogue built at the turn of the century serves a largely Hungarian-speaking community. Nicolae Kertesz, head of the community in 1987, told me there had been 18,000 Jews before the war. Starting with the Hungarian takeover of northern Transylvania, Jewish men were conscripted into labor brigades on the Russian front. Then came the deportations in June 1944. Only 1,500 Jews returned. July, 1987 Romania Cluj, Koloszvar, Klausenberg

Talmud Torah class in Iasi. The city once boasted 55 synagogues on the Street of Synagogues alone. Some 8,000 Jews were murdered in a pogrom of July 1941 (read Malaparte’s “Kaput”). In the 1980s, Iasi, which had but 600 Jews, had a soup kitchen, day care center for the elderly, youth club, talmud torah classes and meals on wheels program. By the year 2001, with 400 Jews in the city, all these programs continued to function. A computer club has been added and was attracting some 40 high school and university students. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Marcu Segal giving bar mitzvah lessons to Sorin Rotner in the Bucharest Choral Temple. During the Communist era, few Jewish communities in Central/Eastern Europe taught Hebrew, nor would families chance having bar mitzvahs, in fear their sons would not be allowed into university. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Simon Caufman, a retired pharmacist, stands on the mass grave in the Iasi Jewish cemetery, where a minimum of 8,000 victims of the July 1941 pogrom are buried. See Kurzio Malaparte’s ‘Kaput,’ for a gruesome description of the pogrom. December, 1986 Romania Iasi

Binca Salzburg’s grave. Jewish cemetery of Bucharest. January, 1970 Romania Bucharest

Radu Held, 17 years old, studies piano in Bucharest. In the 1980s, more than 50 Jewish youth congregated in the community center each week for choir practice. Radu has since moved to Israel. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Rabbi David Moses Rosen and his wife, Emily, in the Piatra Naemt synagogue during a Hanukkah performance by the children’s choir. Mrs Rosen died in 1993 and Rabbi Rosen died in 1994. December, 1986 Romania Piatra Naemt

Lupu Gutman, a retired film editor, in the Popa Soara Street kosher kitchen in Bucharest. Some 400 people ate there daily in the mid 1980s. The number was halved by 2002. Kitchen is supported by JDC and the Claims Conference. December, 2016 Romania Bucharest

Inside the Jewish community center in Cluj, Romania, or Kolosvar, as it is known to native Hungarian speakers. Most older Jews in Cluj speak Hungarian as a mother tongue, dating to the time the city was the Hungarian-speaking capital of Transylvania during the Austro-Hungarian period. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

In the foreground lies the rubble that had once been the Bucharest Sephardi synagogue. It stood in the path of Nicolae Ceausescu’s Avenue for the Victory of Socialism. In the distance stands a smaller synagogue, which became the Jewish Museum of Romania. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Rohrmil Drimer and his wife Gita. Drimer was the schoicket (kosher slaughterer) for 32 families in nortwestern Romania. He traveled four days a week to service them. He lived and died in the same village in Maramures, Botiza. His wife died in 1990 and he died in 1993. Their son had moved to Israel in the early 1980s. When I asked him why he worked so hard for so few people, he answered, “numbers don’t count. People count.”Drimer told me that he had grown up in the next village of Borsana. “We had 578 Jews then. On Saturday not a shop was open in our town. I was deported to Auschwitz. My number on my arm is A 53840. 30 Jews returned after the war.” July, 1987 Romania Botiza

Interior of the Great Synagogue in Bucharest. This was the first major prayer house of the Ashkenazi in Bucharest, and was opened in 1847. This barrel vaulted sanctuary was painted in four shades of blue. Rarely used, it eventually was turned into a Holocaust Museum. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

A shipment of tombstones from a small town outside of Bucharest were brought to the Bucharest Jewish cemetery for safe keeping. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Jewish cemetery in Bucharest. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

In the Bucharest Jewish cemetery, the gravestone of the apparently musical Bugici brothers January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Interior of Bucharest’s Jewish community poly-clinic, which operated free of charge to elderly community members. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Gravestones of Jewish soldiers who died fighting for Romania in World War One against the Germans. December, 1986 Romania Iasi

The Bughici brothers’ grave. Two were killed in the Iasi pogrom of July 1941. December, 1986 Romania Iasi

Jewish cemetery in Suceava, a city in northern Romania near the Ukraine border. Suceava is considered to be in Bukovina. Some 100 Jews lived in the city in the 1990s. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

JDC supported poly clinic in Bucharest. January, 1970 Romania Bucharest

Resident of one of two JDC- supported old age homes operating in Bucharest during the 1980s. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Jewish cemetery of Podu Ilieui. As described by Kurzio Malaparte in his book, Kaput, Jews in Iasi were herded onto trains and then driven out into the countryside without food or water. Most suffocated. They were buried in this small town, where the trains came to a halt. Note the bunker like mass grave below the monument. The cemetery was kept clean by a peasant farmer who lived on the grounds. No Jews had lived in the town for decades. July, 1987 Romania Podu Ilieui

Synagogue in Targu Mures, Romania. Once a center of Hungarian-speaking Jews, few were left when I visited in 1987. I took this photograph in the synagogue. The man’s name was Gruen. July, 1987 Romania Targu Mures

Butcher in theJDC supported kosher kitchen in Bucharest, where some 400 people were served daily in the 1980s. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Resident of the Moses and Amalie Rosen Old Age Home in Bucharest. The home had a capacity of some 200 in the mid-1980s. Pre 1998, elderly Jews in Eastern Europe who survived the Holocaust were not eligible for German restitution and the financial burden fell to JDC and the Claims Conf. By 2001, the home had 120 residents, and some were paying their own way because of restitution. The National Fund for Victims of Naitonal Socialism helped rebuild the home. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Synagogue interior, Satu Mare, which had recently been refurbished. By 1930, Jews made up 21% of the town (11,000). This synagogue was built in 1927 and is in excellent shape today, save for that ugly modern chandelier, which looks like it was sent in from a shopping mall in the US. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

Detail. Interior. Synagogue in Satu Mare. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

Memorial for victims of the Struma in the Bucharest Jewish cemetery. During World War Two, Romania allowed several ships of Jews to load on the Black Sea and travel to Turkey and/or Palestine. The Struma, with perhaps 600 passengers aboard, was not seaworthy. It was turned away from Istanbul by the Turkish authorities and sunk off the coast. The majority of its passengers drowned. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Soup kitchen in the Eforie Nord Jewish community summer villa, on the Black Sea coast. July, 1987 Romania Elforie Nord

Peasant woman with milk can in Maramures county. July, 1987 Romania Maramures

Rohrmil Drimer’s cat. Drimer and his wife were the only Jews in Botiza, a village near Siget. July, 1987 Romania Botiza

Meals on wheels delivery in Cluj. Some 45 people were receiving home care in the mid 1980s. Istvan Vas, an ethnic Hungarian, is delivering lunch to Ida Mendel, 81 yeard old. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Girl and her grandfather at the Choral Temple before a concert. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Two girls with Pepsis in the Choral Temple courtyard, before a concert. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Kosher food supervisor inthe dining room of the Jewish community summer villa at Eforie Nord. July, 1987 Romania Eforie Nord

Cook and child at the Eforie Nord Jewish summer villa. July, 1987 Romania Eforie Nord

A Jewish cemetery I found on the highway between Cimpulung Moldevenesc and Gura Humorului, in northern Romania. I think it belonged to Gura, where Jews no longer live. July, 1987 Romania Gura Humorului

Mezuzzeh on the doorpost of a home in the old Jewish quarter of Cluj. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Jewish cemetery of Podu Iloaiei. By 1987, when I visited it, there were no Jews living there. I had come to trace the path of Kurzio Malaparte and his book, Kaput. See Malaparte in Centropa Reports. July, 1987 Romania Podu Iloaiei

In the Jewish cemetery of Bucharest. Here was a section of uniform gravestones for those Bucharest Jews killed during the Holocaust. While most Bucharest Jews were forced out of their houses and lost their jobs, not many were deported to the Romanian/German run camps in Transnitria. The one great exception was the pogrom of January 1941, and these graves are dedicated to its victims. Wily Neiderman was killed there; his brother (plaque below) was deported from Bucharest to Transistria, where he was murdered. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Standing in the Jewish cemetery of Botiza, a small village in the hills of Maramures (NW Romania), Father Dancus holds the journal of his predecessor, Father Berbecaru, who wrote of the deportation of the village Jews in June 1944. See Centropa Reports: A Sadness in the Town. July, 1987 Romania Botiza

Holocaust memorial in the Dorohoi cemetery for those Jews murdered in the Holocaust. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Cemetery run out of Jews: throughout Central and Eastern Europe, cemeteries, which had been planned to hold many thousands of graves, often look like this. Since most of the Jews were killed, and the majority of those remaining having left after the war, the Romanian Jewish federation gave over land to caretakers. In exchange for them having land to cultivate, they would oversee and protect Jewish cemeteries. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Books with the name of G-d written in them cannot be burned or destroyed. Orthodox Jews bury them, as is being done here in Dorohoi. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Resident of Balus Jewish old age home in Bucharest. More than 500 Jews lived in relative comfort in Jewish community run homes, and they were not to be compared with non-Jewish run homes in Romania. Funding came from JDC and Claims Conference December, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Designed by Lipot Baumhorn, the synagogue of Brasov, in Transyvania, remains in excellent condition. It was built in 1901. Baumhorn, who lived in Budapest, designed 23 synagogues around the turn of the century. Some of those synagogues still stand, and are now in 54different countries. Less than 500 Jews lived in Brasov in 1987. Around 250 remain there today. July, 1987 Romania Brasov

Johannes Rosenthal, foreground, was head of the Jewish community of Targu Mures when I visited there in 1987. Before the war, Rosenthal told me, 8,000 Jews lived in the city. In 1987 there were 420. 60% were over 60 yrs of age. There were 11 children under 5 years old, and 18 between 6 and 10. Four children studied in the Talmud Torah. The synagogue was built in 1898. July, 1987 Romania Targu Mures

Small prayer room, Satu Mare synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

Jewish cemtery of Podu Ilaiei. No Jews lived in the town in 1987, and the cemetery was kept clean by a resident caretaker. July, 1987 Romania Podu Ilaiei

Resident of the Jewish old age home, Martin Balus, in Bucharest. The home has since been closed. December, 1987 Romania Bucharest

800 - 900 Jews lived in Cluj in 1987. 18,000 lived there before 1944. Nearly all were deported to Auschwitz by the Hungarians, during the period of Hungarian occupation of northern Transylvania. 1,500 returned. Half of the 900 in 1987 were over 65. Istvan Vas is delivering a hot meal to Frida Grünberger. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

12 year old Adrian Abamovici. I was told by Adrian’s father, Suhar Abramovici, an Ob-Gyn specialist, that before the war, 3,000 Jews lived in the city. In 1987 there were 47. All Jews were deported during the war to Transistria. Adrian was the sole Jewish boy in the town and was preparing for his bar mitzvah. The family was preparing emigrate. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung-Moldovenesc

Jewish cemetery in Cimpulung Moldovenesc, northern Romania. Gravestones were in Hebrew, German (from the time Cimpulung was part of Austrian Bukovina) and Romanian July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

Before a concert in the Choral Temple in Bucharest. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Mr. Vintila, manager of the Athenee Palace Hotel, on a balcony overlooking the Atheneum Philharmonic Hall. The Athenee was, during the 1920s and 30s, one of the great hotels of Eastern Europe. Several books were set in it, including The Long Balkan Night by Leigh White, The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning, and Headquarters Budapest by Robert Parker. By the 1980s the hotel was quite rundown, but the Hilton took control in the late 1990s and restored it. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Interior of the Neologue (or Conservative) synagogue of Oradea. The city, once primarily Hungarian, was a spa town and boasted some 21,000 Jews (according the Bucharest Federation Documentation book “Remember” published in 1985) lived in the city and environs in 1940. 13,000 remained unaccounted for after the war. The synagogue rapidly deteriorated after I took these pictures. The Jewish community of the city, and much of Hungary (and Oradea was part of Hungary then), split between Orthodox and Neologue (closer to Conservative) in the 1860s. This Conservative synagogue was built in 1879 along neo-Renaissance lines by David Busch, who was then the chief municipal architect of Oradea. July, 1987 Romania Oradea

Three generations at the Jewish summer villa at Eforie Nord. July, 1987 Romania Eforie Nord

Isac Gofman, president of the Tulcea Jewish community, in a small apartment being used as a prayer room while the synagogue was being repaired. Gofman told me 10% of the town’s population of 18,000 was Jweish. In 1987, there were 80, of whom 70 were over 70. Eight emigrated to Israel in 1986 and 7 died. During the war Gofman had to clean streets and 48 Jews were in labor brigades. By and large, they were not treated so horribly, he said. July, 1987 Romania Tulcea

Sunday morning at Talmud Torah class in Bucharest. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Jewish cemtery in Suceava, in northern Romania. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

Preparing meat in the community kosher kitchen in Bucharest January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Around 400 people ate each day in the kosher kitchen on Strada Popa Soara in Bucharest. Some ate for free, others paid a full price, but all transactions were done behind closed doors so that when elderly friends met for lunch, no one knew who was paying and who was not. The kitchen was sponsored by JDC and the Claims Conference. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Peter Ötvös in the canteen of the Cluj Jewish community center, where some 200 meals were prepared daily, either for home delivery or for those who came in. NIcolae Kertesz, head of the Cluj Jewish community, told me in 1987 that 400 of the 800 Jews in town were over 61 yrs old. there had been 7 births in the past five years and 15 were leaving for Israel that year. In 2002, the Jewish population of Cluj was listed as 400. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Harry and Eva Mairovici in their Cluj apartment. Please see Centropa Reports/Romania Journal/Cluj.Harrya nd Eva were deported during the war. Eva was a victim of Dr Mengele’s medical experiments and could not have children. Harry was deported to several camps and ended the war in a work camp in Vienna. Harry was a composer. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Waiting for the concert to start, 3 community members wait in the courtyard of the Choral Temple. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Bernice Stambler, director of the Jewish Museum of Romania. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

A Wartburg in the old Jewish quarter of Bucharest. January, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Two Roma (gypsy) women and dogs on the street in the old Jewish quarter of Bucharest. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Aby Faerstein and Belijain Raluca at the Jewish summer villa. Aby, who was studying engineering, married and moved to Israel. Am not sure where Belijain is. July, 1987 Romania Eforie Nord

From left to right: Marcel Aron, Dr Iancu Graur, and Leon Aizic. 5,000 Jews lived in Birlad, they told me, before 1940. Most of those went to Israel after the war, but others had been deported to Transistria and were killed there. Some Jews from Birlad were also on the ill fated ship, the Struma, which sunk off the coast of Turkey during the war. “We emigrated to the cemetery and to Israel,” Mr Aron said. Less than 100 Jews lived in Birlad in 1987. July, 1987 Romania Birlad

The meshgiah (kosher food supervisor) Mr. Pickle, stands behind a woman whose name I forget. They ran the kosher soup kitchen of Timisoara, and I took this picture in early January 1990, less than 2 weeks after Nicolae Ceausecu had been murdered. During the night of the revolution, December 22, 1989, I had driven into Timisoara in hopes of finding a Hanukkah party. I found a revolution instead. January, 1987 Romania Timisoara

Memorial in the Bucharest Jewish cemetery for those killed in the pogrom of January 1941. It was during an attempted putsch by Horia Sima’s Iron Guard against General Antonescu that Guardists murdered over 100 of the city’s Jews, many of them in unspeakable ways. See Centropa Reports/Romania/Leigh White for an excerpt of how the Bucharest pogrom was carried out. January, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Rosie Jakab, 93 years old, was the meshgiah (kosher food supervisor) of the Arad kosher kitchen and old age home. She worked until she was 95 years old, when she died. I made a 20 minute ABC New Nightline in December 1999 called ‘Aunt Rosie’s Kitchen.’ March, 1999 Romania Arad

Synagogue interior of a town with only 47 Jews in 1987. On the far wall, I found an Austrian flag that had been painted onto the wall before 1918. Most prayer books in the room were in German, and they all had prayers blessing Emperor Franz Josef. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

Aron Ha Kodesh in the synagogue of Cimpulung Moldovenesc July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

Peter Fischer, of the Bucharest Jewish social welfare association, delivers a hot lunch 6 days each week to Olga Hauswasser. Ms Hauswasser was 88 years old in 1986. She died the following year. Peter Fischer died from a fall in 1995. December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Tzeddakah (charity) box in the synagogue. 8,000 Jews lived in the town pre war. 420 lived there in 1987, of those 60% were over 65 yrs of age. This I was told by Johannes Rosenthal and Bernath Sauber, who ran the community then. July, 1987 Romania Targu Mures

Morning service in a prayer room in Iasi. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Morning prayer service in Iasi. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Samu Braila, the kosher food supervisor of the Bucharest kosher kitchen, at his morning prayers. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Lining up for bread in Bucharest December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Chief Rabbi David Moses Rosen in his Bucharest office. A highly controversial figure during his rein as Romania’s chief rabbi (1948-1994), he created the single most comprehensive social welfare program for needy Jews anywhere in Europe-- east or west, while providing the possibility for young and old to lead a dignified Jewish life. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Scene in Jewish cemetery in Bucharest. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Nicolae Kertesz, 91 years old in 1987. See Romania/historical reports for details.Kertesz told me, “These 2 feet walked 10,000 kilometers. In forced labor I walked to the River Don in Russia. I waslked home, was deported in 1944 to Bergen Belsen and survived a death march. Dr Kertesz died in 1990. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Small prayer room of the Bodosani synagogue. Itw as very well kept, even though there were but 369 Jews in the city when I visited. Before the war, there were 2,800 Jews. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Rabbi Rosen greets a Romanian Orthodox priest during a service in Bucharest. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Peter Fischer, center, and the crew of his meals on wheels truck, which delivered more than 45 hot meals six days each week. A total of 400 meals were distributed throughout the city and the program was sponsored by JDC/Claims Conference December, 1986 Romania Bucharest

Gravestone at the edge of the Dorohoi cemetery. The cemetery is clearly quite large, but the Holocaust and emigration saw to it that it will never be filled. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Dr Ernst Fried, president of the Jewish community of Oradea. Once a proud and wealthy community, fewer than 600 Jews lived there in 1987. Two synagogues functioned then, one of which had fallen into sad repair by 1999. Dr Fried brought his wife to Budapest in 1988, where I visited him in the Jewish Hospital. She died that year and he died a year later. July, 1987 Romania Oradea

Dionisiu Barony at his desk in the Siget Jewish community center in Maramures county, northwestern Romania. In the year I visited, in 1987, Mr Barony told me there were 158 jews there. 13 had left in 1986, 5 were leaving that year, and 8 were slated to leave in 1988. The last bar mitzvah was in 1985, there had been one birth in nearby Satu Mare, and three deaths in the first 6 months of 1987. 19 people received social welfare help from JDC. Elie Wiesel was born in Siget. July, 1987 Romania Siget

On what was once the Street of Synagogues, one remains-- the oldest. It was built in 1580, Odette Blumenthal told me. It had been damaged by fired and rebuilt several times, the first in 1762 and the last in 1977. Odette told me there is evidence of Jews in Iasi dating back to the 1460s, 50 years after the town was founded. The first performance in Yiddish took place in Iasi in 1876, written by Avram Goldfaden. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Afternoon service Bodosani. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Trici Abramovici, an actress in the Bucharest Yiddish Theater. Ms Abramovici moved to Israel in 1990. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Jewish cemetery in Suceava, in Bukovina July, 1987 Romania Suceava

Holocaust memorial for the deported in Siget. July, 1987 Romania Siget

Elias Rohrlich, who served as a rabbi in Dorohoi. This town in Bukovina was the last of the predominately Yiddish speaking communities. Rohrlich, who some told me was not a rabbi, told me: I am 70 yers old. All six of my chilren live in Israel. I would like to join them, but I serve Dorohoi, Bodosani and other towns. I am a rabbi, a schoicket, a moyal, a hazan-- they get a lot for their money, no?” He went on to say, “we have had only four mixed marriages in the past few years. Our cantina feeds 85 people each day, 10 of whom eat at home and we deliver. We have 154 members of the community. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Leon Dermer, manager of the kosher kitchen in Dorohoi, a town in northern Romania, in Bukovina. January, 1970 Romania Dorohoi

Two boys outside the community center in Dorohoi, where they were waiting for their hebrew lessons with Rabbi Rohrlich. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Rabbi Rosen at a reception in his honor with the Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox church. July, 1990 Romania Bucharest

Professor Saragea, director of the Moses and Amalie Rosen Old Age Home in Bucharest, with one of his nurses. The home is supported by JDC and the Claims Conference. Pr Saramagea was an Endochronologist and deputy minister of Health. His wife, who ran the Rosen home with him, was a noted microbiologist. The Rosen home had 210 patients when I took this picture. With ever shrinking budgets, the National Fund for Victims of National Socialism in Austria helped fund the home in 2001. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Kitchen team and meals on wheels crew. The Jewish Federation of Romania ran a $4.5 million budget in in the 1980s, supplied primarily by JDC and Claims Conference. Some 20,000 Jews were looked after, while providing steady employment for hundreds of non-Jews throughout the country. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Interior the the Siget synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Siget

Before a concert in the Bucharest Choral Temple. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Interior, Targu Mures synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Targu Mures

Hanukkah concert in Bacau, Romania, a small town in the Carpathian mountains. 649 Jews lived there in 1986 when I took this picture. Rabbi Rosen would often visit 12 Jewish communities in 8 days of Hanukkah. December, 1986 Romania Bacau

Lighting the Menorah in the Arad synagogue. December, 1998 Romania Arad

Classroom in Choral Temple in Bucharest. June, 2001 Romania Bucharest

Leon Dermer, left, was the manager of the Dorohoi kosher kitchen, which fed around 85 people daily, and delivered 24 meals to the elderly at home. "We have 336 members of our community," Dermer told me, "and we send out 336 birth day cards and a bottle of wine for the old ones every Purim. That way, they know they are not forgotten." Dermer told me that 46 Jews left for Israel in 1986 and he expected the number would be about the same that year. "We have 27 children studying in Talmud Torah, and they are all schver arbieters!" July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Synagogue in Bodosani. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Aizak Segal, head of the Harlau community, and Betty Goldenthal. Before the war, there were 2800 Jews in Harlau, Segal told me, and 7 synagogues. "We were evacuated when the front came through here during the war." Segal spent 6 months in forced labor, and after the war, most of hte Jews left. In 1987, there were but 40 Jews in the town, and three of those were under 40 years of age. July, 1987 Romania Harlau

The Great Synagogue of Harlau. Non-descript on the outside, like most Romanian synagogues in Moldavia and Bukovina, inside it is a treasure: red velvet drapes, blue painted walls, and everywhere: naive folk paintings of the Holy Land. January, 1970 Romania Harlau

Sabine Rosenberg at the Hanukkah concert in the Oradea synagogue. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

At the Hanukkah concert in the Oradea synagogue December, 1998 Romania Oradea

At the Hanukkah concert in Oradea. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

three Tzeddekah boxes in the entranceway of the Oradea synagogue. Donations can be targeted for the cemetery, the sick, the care of the synagogue. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Viktor Rosenzweig, 14 years old, and the youth choir of the Jewish community, at the Hanukkah concert. December, 1998 Romania Oradea

Eva Loewinger, manager of the Arad kosher kitchen, with Ion Sorin, vice president of the Jewish Federation of Romania, during the Hanukkah dinner. December, 1998 Romania Arad

The synagogue of Bohusi was once a famed rabbinical court. By 1987, there were but 40 Jews in the town, which lay in the Moldavian district. December, 1987 Romania Bohusi

Waiting for afternoon minyan in the Suceava synagogue. In the center is Iacob Kaufman, a retired economist and head of the community. July, 1987 Romania Suceava

Dr. Suhar Abramovici in the synagogue of Cimpulung Moldovenesc. Dr Abramovici told me there were 3,000 Jews in the city in years past, but in 1987, there were but 47. Of those, 40 were over the age of 70, which meant Dr Abramovici, his wife and two children made up most of the balance. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

The bema of the Great Synagogue of Cimpulung Moldovenesc. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

This is part of the small Jewish museum of Iasi, a city that once had 55,000 Jews and over 100 synagogues. Avram Goldfaden founded Yiddish theater here. July, 1987 Romania Iasi

Betty Coren, foreground,was a patient in the Jewish old age home in Dorohoi. The home has since closed. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

Tzeddakah box in the entranceway of the Brasov synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Brasov

The Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox Church listening to Rabbi Rosen's speech in the Bucharest Choral Temple July, 1988 Romania Bucharestq

Clocks set to prayer times in the small prayer room of the Galati synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Galati

Isac Gofman, head of the Tulcea community, in the makeshift synagogue they were using while the Great Synagogue was being restored. Gofman told me there were once 1800 Jews in Tulcea. In 1987 there were 80, of whom, most were over 70. July, 1987 Romania Tulcea

The Bodosani synagogue. July, 1987 Romania Bodosani

The Great Synagogue of Harlau July, 1987 Romania Harlau

Interior of the Great Synagogue of Harlau. The walls were painted bright blue, and colorful, naive folk paintings of the Holy Land decorated the interior. July, 1987 Romania Harlau

Lenka Samuel, seated on her summer dining porch, with Ida Neni and Elonka Neni (Neni means Aunt in Hungarian), the two servants that had been working for her family since the late 1930s. Lenka, a widow, was one of the 276 Jews living in the town in 1987. She told me 100 of them were intermarried. Lenka also told me that there were 20,000 Jews in Satu Mare before the war. In 1940, the region was ceded to Hungary, and in 1944, some 160,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. Of those, around 100,000 returned home. Lenka said only 3,000 Jews returned to Satu Mare. July, 1987 Romania Satu Mare

One of the very few Holocaust memorial I saw in Romania (outside a Jewish cemetery), this was in the center of town. The sign says 38,000 Jews were deported to the Nazi camps, that they were libearated by the 'glorious Soviet Army,' and that the crimes were conducted by the Facist-Hitlerite Imperialists. July, 1987 Romania Siget

Hanukkah concert in the Bodosani synagogue. Since there were not enough Jewish childen in the town, the Iasi community sent over its choir. December, 1987 Romania Iasi

Hanukkah concert in the Bodosani synagogue. Since there were not enough Jewish childen in the town, the Iasi community sent over its choir. December, 1987 Romania Bodosani

Bodosani synagogue during the Hanukkah concert. December, 1987 Romania Bodosani

A choir line: the children's choir about to rehearse in the Bucharest Choral Temple. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

Interior of the Bucharest synagogue. Built in 1867 in the Moorish style, the architects were Enderle and Frewal, who modeled it on the Tempelgasse synagogue in Vienna, which was destroyed in 1938. The Choral Temple was the country's primary prayer and ceremonial hall. December, 1985 Romania Bucharest

Rabbi Rosen delivering a speech in the Bucharest synagogue. Built in 1867 in the Moorish style, the architects were Enderle and Frewal, who modeled it on the Tempelgasse synagogue in Vienna, which was destroyed in 1938. The Choral Temple was the country's primary prayer and ceremonial hall. July, 1987 Romania Bucharest

A man holds up a photo of the founding members of the Tailor's Synagogue in Roman, which was opened in 1898. October, 2016 Romania Roman

Mr Freund, general manager of the Oradea Jewish community, at his desk. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Interior of the Conservative Zion Synagogue of Oradea. Part of the ceiling has collapsed, and vandals had desecreted the interior. The Jewish community of the city, and much of Hungary (and Oradea was part of Hungary then), split between Orthodox and Neologue (closer to Conservative) in the 1860s. This Conservative synagogue was built in 1879 along neo-Renaissance lines by David Busch, who was then the chief municipal architect of Oradea. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Sabine Rosenberg in the community kitchen in Oradea. At 88 yrs old and a childless widow, she did not need to depend on the community for free food, only companionship. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Another cemetery run out of Jews. After the community purchased a vast plot of land for its new cemetery in the late 1880s, it planned to bury an ever growing community. That did not happen. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

The Orthodox synagogue of Oradea was built in 1890 along Moorish lines. It is identical to the one in Satu Mare. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

One of the synagogues given up by the community and sold off. Having gone from nearly 30,000 Jews to around 600 meant the community could hardly afford to keep up all its properties. This synagogue, which I have not yet shot from the outside, is in art deco style. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

The Arad synagogue was built on neo classical lines in the second half of the 19th century, after the split in Hungarian Jewry between the Orthodox and the newly formed Neologue. With the addition of the organ and the removal of the reading podium from the center of the sanctuary, we can readily identify this synagogue as Neologue. The building stands inside a courtyard of buildings owned by the Jewish community, where the offices and youth club still stand. The organ is one of the largest in western Romania. The synagogue was not used for more than a decade, until 1999, when Ionel Schlesinger, head of the community, had it dusted off and used, on occasion, for concerts of Jewish music. Around 500 guests would attend, only a handful of them were Jewish. Perhaps ABC News Nightline still offers for sale Aunt Rosie's Kitchen, the 20 minute documentary I made on this community. It aired on Dec. 15, 1999 and this synagogue is featured in it. June, 1999 Romania Arad

In the office of the Timiosara community. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

A community member dons his coat after having lunch in the Oradea Jewish community center. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Miklos Schoenberger, deaf and blind at 90 yrs old, at the end of Saturday morning services in the small prayer room in the Arad old age home. Glasses of plum brandy wait on the table. June, 1999 Romania Arad

In the Arad Old Age Home, where only 12 Jews were living in 1999. JDC refused to close the home becase this would have been cruel to the residents, but debilitating, emotionally, to the tiny Arad community. June, 1999 Romania Arad

In the community kitchen of the Oradea Jewish community, where around 40 people ate daily in 1999. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Choir and dance practice in the youth club of the Oradea Jewish community. Oradea had one of the most active youth groups in the country, and certainly the best choir. More than 40 Jewish youth congregated weekly in the community center. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

In the Oradea community kitchen. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Meals on wheels recipients in Oradea. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Meals on wheels recipient in Oradea, Romania March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Meals on wheels recipients in Oradea. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Interior of the Zion Synagogue of Oradea. Built in 1878 by David Busch, the city's chief architect, this was one of the first synagogues built in greater Hungary (then) for the Neologue, or Conservative, sect. While many of the Orthodox synagogues being built in what is now western Romanis were constructed in the Moorish style (Satu Mare, Oradea, Dej, Carei), this is a fine example of neo Renaissance architecture. The Zion synagogue was in the very center of the city, directly along the river. Nearly 30,000 Jews lived in Oradea then. By 1999, only 13 years after my previous visit, the building had fallen into sad repair. It was no longer used at all, but plans were afoot to restore it. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Interior of the Moorish style Orthodox synagogue of Oradea. The synagogue is still used by the community today. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

You get on my nerves, reads this sign in the office of the Oradea Jewish community center. March, 1999 Romania Oradea

Clara is sorting bed second hand clothes from a shipment sent to Arad's Jewish community by a church group in Holland. More than a century ago, Arad's synagogue had been built by textile merchants. July, 1999 Romania Arad

Rabbi Ernst Neumann. Well into his 80s, Rabbi Neumann continued to lead his community. August, 2000 Romania Timisoara

Office workers in the Jewish community center of Timisoara, Romania. Less than 600 Jews lived in the city in 2000, but the community was far more responsive to members needs' then than in years past. They added a youth club with internet access and computers, which drew upward of 40 young people every week. August, 2000 Romania Timisoara

At the commemoration service in the Jewish cemetery for Jews killed in the Holocaust. July, 2000 Romania Arad

Gym class in the Ronald S Lauder day school in Bucharest. In the late 1990s, the Lauder Foundation opened the first Jewish day school in Romania in decades. By 2001 over 120 children attended and they planned to add a grade each year, all the way up to 12th. October, 2001 Romania Bucharest

The Shas Hevra Temple of Cluj. It was built in 1922, at a time when the community was expanding rapidly. Ruth Ellen Gruber told me in 2002 that the synagogue had been turned into a furniture store, and every trace Jewish identity was removed. July, 1987 Romania Cluj

Entrance to the Great Synagogue of Targu Mures. An imposing building set back from the street in its own garden, the synagogue remained in good repair, even though few Jews remained to care for it. It was built by Lipot Baumhorn. July, 1987 Romania Targu Mures

Fany Goldhamer, 90 years old, in the Dorohoi old age home. She was dying of cancer. She told me her father had once been a wealthy distiller. July, 1987 Romania Dorohoi

The Abramovici family at home. Both parents were doctors, and the children were the only young ones in the community, which had but 47 members when I visited in 1987. July, 1987 Romania Cimpulung Moldovenesc

The Zion Temple in Oradea. Built in the 1870s, it was designed along neo Renaissance lines by David Busch, chief architect of the city then. July, 1987 Romania Oradea

The Vishnitzer Klau Temple, built in 1885, in Siget. The building has neo baroque, Moorish and gothic elements to it. July, 1987 Romania Siget

Entrance to the synagogue in Arad, Romania. September, 2001 Romania Arad

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Date: December, 1985
Country: Romania
City: Bucharest