“In Memory of Our Brothers Who Gave Their Lives for the Sanctification of G-d’s Name in the Enemy Camps. The Jewish Community of Cluj” – Cluj, Romania, 1946. A rare booklet in support of rebuilding the ruins of the Cluj Synagogue and erecting a memorial for the victims from the Cluj Jewish communities in Romania. Accompanied by photographs of the synagogue before its destruction and after it was ruined by the Nazis, as well as a heartfelt appeal to “Our Hebrew brethren!” calling upon them to take part in restoring the sacred place. Written in four languages – Hebrew, Romanian, French, and English.
In the booklet, Rabbi Alexander Safran appeals to the public to assist in restoring the ruins and commemorating the victims:
“Support those engaged in this holy work… Do it for those who passed through fire and water for the sanctification of His Blessed Name.” The booklet includes a moving address to the public after the war: “Hebrew brethren! We, who have survived and returned to our homes after the looting and destruction by the German murderers, must recognize our duty to our nation—to rebuild our ruined institutions and establish an eternal memorial for our dear relatives whom we lost in the camps… The memory of the past obligates us all to participate in honoring our brethren who fell as victims of the most brutal persecutions in Jewish history, so that through these buildings, the generations that follow us will forever remember the sacred names of our slain.” In the middle pages, photographs of the synagogue in its former glory before the war appear, captioned: “This is how the synagogue looked before it was used by ‘the lords people’ as a warehouse, after which it took on the following appearance…” On the opposite page, photographs depict the synagogue after it was desecrated by the Nazis, with the caption: “A symbol of German culture”—”Upon their departure, they left behind the marks of German civilization, as can be seen below…” At the end of the booklet, a diagram is presented for the “Jewish Cultural Center”, which was intended to be built on the site of the destroyed synagogue as a memorial to the victims.
The grand synagogue of Cluj was designed by architect Isidor Hegner and inaugurated on September 4, 1887. During World War II, when the region was under Hungarian control and Jews were deported to concentration camps, the synagogue suffered bomb damage. Initially known as the “New Synagogue, ” after the war it was renamed “The Memorial Hall of the Exiles, ” commemorating the Jews deported to extermination camps by Hungarian authorities in Northern Transylvania who collaborated in the Holocaust of North Transylvanian Jewry. The synagogue was renovated again in 1951.
During the war, Rabbi Alexander Safran, the central voice in this booklet, was active in an underground Jewish council, working to rescue the Jewish community from persecution, deportation, and annihilation. His intervention with the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church led to the Romanian dictator canceling an order that would have forced Romanian Jews to wear the yellow badge. After the Iași massacre and the mass deportations and murders of Jews from Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia, Rabbi Safran established connections with Western diplomats, the Pope’s envoy in Bucharest, local church leaders, and Romania’s Queen Mother to prevent the deportation of all Romanian Jews. As part of his work on the Jewish Council, he worked to rescue deportees from Transnistria, bringing survivors back to Romanian territory and organizing donations of clothes and aid for refugees and forced laborers. His immense efforts helped prevent the deportation of Jews from Southern Transylvania to extermination camps and aided Jewish refugees escaping from Poland and Hungary. After the war, he continued his tireless efforts to rebuild the Jewish community in Cluj.
[8] pages. Condition: Good – very good.
