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My hometown is Topolcany. As I recall, it was a small town with a population of around 8000. [According to the 1921 census, 7238 people lived in Topolcany, of which 1393 were Jews]. It had a very large Jewish community, which numbered almost 3000 [according to Barkany - Dojc: Jewish Religious Communities in Slovakia, 2192 Jews lived in Topolcany in the year 1930], which was more than a third of the town's population. In those days the Jewish community was neither Orthodox [3] nor Neolog [4], but status quo ante. There were various Jewish prayer halls in town. Some were visited by devout Jews and some by the less devout. My family belonged to the less devout group. Yes, and mainly due to the fact that as far as political orientation goes, they were very leftist.
But back to my town. I remember that there was a large synagogue in Topolcany. One large synagogue, and right beside it a small one. The large one basically belonged to the status quo ante group. The little one was Orthodox. Besides this there were about eight or nine prayer halls. One prayer hall, for example, belonged to the strongly religious Agudat Israel [5]. Another of the prayer halls was named Shomre Torah [Guardian of the Torah]. That one wasn't as strongly Orthodox, but all rituals, commandments and prohibitions were observed.
The town's rabbi was distinguished Mr. Weiss. He was very wise and also very distinguished in appearance. So we had our own dayyan in town. He was responsible for taking care of disputes among Jews. Because Jews had autonomy to the degree that they could handle certain disputes within the scope of their own religious community. This man was immensely wise and tolerant. All I know about him is that he lived in Topolcany until 1944, then they deported him and he died. I can't forget to talk about the Jewish religious community. If I remember correctly, its president was a certain Mr. Gelenyi. Among the religious community functionaries were better situated, wealthier Jews, who were able to finance the religious community. As far as I remember there was Mr. Feldenburg - a watchmaker, then Mr. Lickenbirk - a lumber and hardware merchant. That's as much as I remember about our religious community.
But back to my town. I remember that there was a large synagogue in Topolcany. One large synagogue, and right beside it a small one. The large one basically belonged to the status quo ante group. The little one was Orthodox. Besides this there were about eight or nine prayer halls. One prayer hall, for example, belonged to the strongly religious Agudat Israel [5]. Another of the prayer halls was named Shomre Torah [Guardian of the Torah]. That one wasn't as strongly Orthodox, but all rituals, commandments and prohibitions were observed.
The town's rabbi was distinguished Mr. Weiss. He was very wise and also very distinguished in appearance. So we had our own dayyan in town. He was responsible for taking care of disputes among Jews. Because Jews had autonomy to the degree that they could handle certain disputes within the scope of their own religious community. This man was immensely wise and tolerant. All I know about him is that he lived in Topolcany until 1944, then they deported him and he died. I can't forget to talk about the Jewish religious community. If I remember correctly, its president was a certain Mr. Gelenyi. Among the religious community functionaries were better situated, wealthier Jews, who were able to finance the religious community. As far as I remember there was Mr. Feldenburg - a watchmaker, then Mr. Lickenbirk - a lumber and hardware merchant. That's as much as I remember about our religious community.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Alexander Bachnar