Miskolc and Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County, Hungary

Members of the Boys were born in Miskolc in Hungary and the surrounding Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County.

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

Members of the Boys were held in Nazi labour and concentration camps and used as slave labourers. They had also survived World War II in hiding or as lone children.

^{Városház Square, Miskolc, 1897.}

Miskolc is in northeastern Hungary. Jews settled in Miskolc in the 18th century. The Great Synagogue was built in 1861. It was home to three of the Boys. Magda Bloom was born in Nagyrozvagy. For more about Bodrogkeresztúr click here.

Over the course of time, the percentage of Jews of the general population became the highest in Hungary (around 20%), numbering 1,096 in 1840, 3,412 in 1857; 4,117 in 1880, 10,029 in 1910, and 11,300 in 1920.

Deportation

After the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, the Jews of the town, about 10,000 in number, were deported to the Auschwitz extermination and concentration camp; only 400 of them survived. To find out more about the camp click here.

After the liberation, Miskolc became an important transit centre for those who returned from the concentration camps.

Aftermath

The reconstituted community had 2,353 members in 1946 but dropped to around 300 in the 1970s as most left for Israel.

Visiting Miskolc and Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County

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Getting there The trains going through northern Hungary all stop in Miskolc.

Good to Know Miskolc is a key stop on the Hungarian Jewish Heritage Route in Eastern Hungary, an EU-funded initiative.

Miskolc

Synagogue

Kazinczy Street Synagogue (Great Synagogue) This is the only functioning synagogue in the region. Designed by Ludwig Förster (who also designed Budapest’s Dohány Street Synagogue), it features a unique blend of Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Moorish styles. The synagogue was rededicated in 2025 following extensive renovations. It houses marble tablets commemorating the over 10,000 local Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

Cemetery
Jewish Cemetery (Avas Hill) One of the most significant Jewish burial grounds in Hungary, with gravestones dating back to the mid-18th century. It includes a major Holocaust Memorial
designed by survivors in the immediate post-war period.

Memorial

Ghetto Memorial (János Arany Street) A commemorative plaque marks the location of the former ghetto where Jews were concentrated before deportation in 1944.

Nagyrozvagy In the home of Magda Bloom there is no trace of the Jewish community she grew up in.