US Commission No. ROCE-0373
Alternate Hungarian name: Felsosz cs. Located in Maramures County at 4726 2402, approximately 13km from Tirgu Lapus and 42.6 kilometers SE of Baia Mare. Cemetery is just visible on the crest of the hill on the left of the road approximately 100m before the village sign for Suciu de Sus. Access is via a public road across the road from the village sign.
- Responsible for site: Comunitatea Evreilor (Baia Mare), Str. Somesului Nr. 5, 4800 Baia Mare, Jud. Maramures, Romania. Tel: (40-62) 211-231 and Comunitatea Evreilor (Bucuresti), Str. Sf. Vineri 9-11, Bucuresti, Tel: (40-1) 157-441.
- Caretakers: Gavril and Lucrecia Pop, address available from Jewish Community in Baia Mare.
The cemetery in Suciu de Sus (Felsoszucs) is cared for by Mr. and Mrs. Gavril and Lucrecia Pop, who have been authorized by the Jewish Community as caretakers since about 1990. Someone came from the Jewish community at that time and cleared the cemetery area (which was overgrown). The present fence and gate were also erected around that time. The Pops regularly clear vegetation from the site and use the space as an orchard. The cemetery is within sight of the Pop's house. There appears to be little danger of further theft of stones. Weather erosion is a problem. Most of the inscriptions on stones are illegible. There appears to be some confusion about the location of this cemetery. The list from the Baia Mare community shows a cemetery in Suciu de Jos (about 5km away), with a Mr. Gavril Pop as caretaker. However, we asked a number of the residents in Suciu de Jos about a cemetery; and they all referred us to Suciu de Sus where we found the site described here.
The cemetery location is rural (agricultural), on a hill, and separate but near other cemeteries. The Orthodox cemetery approximately 500m away on the same hill. No sign or marker. The site is accessed by turning directly off a public road and is open to all. The cemetery has a fence and a gate that does not lock. Present cemetery size is 302mx2 (B. Mare list), on-site approx. estimate - 30x50 meters. Number of gravestones in cemetery, regardless of condition or position is 24 with broken or toppled and 6 leaning. Stones probably were removed from the cemetery and incorporated into roads or structures. Vegetation and water drainage are not a problem. The limestone and sandstone tombstones and memorial markers are flat-shaped, smoothed and inscribed in Hebrew. The owner is the national Jewish community. The cemetery is now used for an orchard. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential, very near houses with adjacent gardens, orchards, and pastures. Compared with 1939, the area is probably still the same. The cemetery is visited rarely by private visitors. The cemetery was vandalized between 1945 and ten years ago. Maintenance has been the fence erected in 1990 by the Jewish Community of Baia Mare and clearing of vegetation. Care: seasonal clearing of vegetation by the regular caretaker. No structures, weather erosion as the only threat.
John DeMetrick and Christina Crowder, (formerly of Cluj, they have no further information), completed this survey on 17 April 2000 using a list of cemeteries known by the Jewish Community in Baia Mare. They visited the site on 5 April 2000 and interviewed Mrs. Lucrecia Pop.