US Commission No. ROCE-0114 -
The cemetery was located at Simian, 3769, judet Bihor, Romania at 4729 2206, 284.9 miles NW of Bucharest and 17 km from Sacuieni. Alternate name: Ersemlyen (Hungarian). Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Mayor Balazsi Jozsef, Simian 3769, judet 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: Kordasz Sandor, Simian No. 184
The 1880 Jewish population by census was 161 and was 128 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 the second half of 19th century. Buried there is Cohan - Katz Ignatz (1885-1940.) Last known burial was 1940.
The isolated rural/agricultural hillside 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- and post-WWII size is 500 m. 20-100 stones are visible, some not in original location. Less than 25% of the stones are toppled or broken. Location of stones removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is a constant problem.
No special sections. The oldest known gravestone dates from second half of 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble and sandstone 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 and orchard. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized during WWII. Maintenance has been patching broken stones, cleaning stones, and clearing vegetation by local non-Jewish residents in 1970. 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 29 June 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 Kordasz Sandor, 29. 06. 2000, Simian. [January 2003]