US Commission No. ROCE-0113 -
The cemetery is located at Silindru, 3770, com. Simian, judet Bihor, Romania, 4726 2203, 284.1 miles NW of Bucharest and 20 km from Sacuieni. The alternate names are Erselend (Hungarian.) Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Mayor Balazs Jozsef, com. Simian, jud Bihor
- The Jewish Community of Oradea, Mihai Viteazu Street no. 4, 3700 Oradea, Romania, tel. 0040-59-134843 (132587)
- The Federation of The Jewish Communities of Romania, Sfintu Vineri Street no. 9-11, sect. 3, Bucharest, Romania
- Interested: "Dr. Moshe Carmilly" Institute for Hebrew and Jewish History, Universitatii Street no. 7-9, room 61, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Director: Ladislau Gyemant, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Caretaker with key: Ketz Carol, Silindru No. 187
The 1880 Jewish population by census was 55 and was 45 in 1900. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the Oradea ghetto and on May 23, 25, 28-30, and June 1-5, 27 were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Orthodox cemetery was established in end of 19th century. Last known burial was inter-war period.
The rural/agricultural flat land, separate but near other cemeteries, has no sign or marker. Reached by a public road, access is open with permission. A fence with a gate that locks surrounds the site. Approximate pre-WWII size is unknown. Approximate post-WWII size is 32 x 24 m. 20-100 stones are visible. All gravestones are in original location. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is good all year.
No special sections. The oldest known gravestone dates from end of 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, sandstone, and slate flat shaped, smoothed and inscribed, and carved relief-decorated common gravestones have Hebrew and Hungarian inscriptions. The local Jewish community owns the property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent property is local cemetery. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop.
The never vandalized cemetery maintenance has been re-erection of stones, patching broken stones, cleaning stones, and clearing vegetation by local non-Jewish residents in 1994-1995. Current care is regular unpaid caretaker. No structures. No threats.
Ursutiu Claudia, Pietroasa Street no. 21, 3400 Cluj-Napoca, tel: 0040-64-151073 visited the site and completed the survey on 2 July 2001 using the following documentation:
- Recensamantul din 1880. Transilvania(1880 Transylvania Jewish Population Census.) coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj 1997.
- Recensamantul din 1900. (1900 Transylvania Jewish Population Census) coord.: Traian Rotariu, Cluj, 1999
- Recensamintul general al popula]iei din 29 decembrie 1930, ( The General Census of the population from december 29, 1930), vol. II, Bucuresti 1938
- Carmilly-Weinberger, Moshe. History of the Jews of Transylvania (1623-1944), Bucuresti, 1994, in Romanian
- Recensamantul general al populatiei Romaniei din 29 decembrie 1930, vol. II (The General Census of the Population of Romania from 29 December 1930, vol. II), Bucuresti, 1938
- Recensamintul general al populatiei din Romania din 7 ianuarie 1992 (The General Census of the Population of Romania from January 7, 1992), vol. I, Bucuresti, 1994
- Coriolan Suciu, Dictionar istoric al localitatilor din Transilvania (The Historical Dictionary of Localities in Transylvania), vol. I-II, Bucuresti, 1967
- Otto Mitelstrass, Historisch-Landeskundlicher Atlas von Siebenburgen, Ortsnamenbuch, Heidelberg, 1992
- Microsoft Auto Route Express 1999
Claudia and Adrian Ursutiu interviewed Ketz Carol, 30. 06. 2000, Silindru. [January 2003]