Klyucharki [pronounced Klu-char-key] was part of the Kingdom of Hungary (11th century - 1918 and 1938-1944) with the village name of Várkulcsa in the Bereg megyé (county) and Munkácsi járás (district), next part of Czechoslovakia (1918-1938) with the village name of Klucsárka in the Podkarpatská Rus (province), then part of the Soviet Union (Ukraine) (1945-1993) with the village name of Kljuĉárky and since 1993 known as Klyucharki in the Mukachevskiy (Mukachivs'kyy) rayon (district) and the Zakarpats'ka oblast (county) of Ukraine.
Other variations of spelling/names found for Klyucharki are: Kluĉárky, Kljucsarki, Klyucharky, and Pavsino. In Yiddish, Klyucharki was referred to as Klecharkis.
Klyucharki is located about 4 miles SW of Mukacheve.
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~ Zakarpats'ka oblast, Ukraine ~
Map: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
permission for use on this shtetl page given.
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NOTE: Clicking a link will open a new page.
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The first Jews probably settled in Klyucharki early in the 19th century. The population of Klyucharki in 1877 was 592 made up of Hungarians, Rusyns and Jews and comprised the following religions: Roman Catholic (76); Greek Orthodox (461); Reformed (1); and Jewish (54). In 1877, the Jews of Klyucharki attended the Uj-Dávidháza synagogue.
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In 1944, Klyucharki was still a small village of only a couple streets, bordering the main road from Mukacheve to Chop (Csap), the border crossing point to Hungary. By this time, the village was home mainly to Hungarians, Germans (Schwabs), some Czech and Jewish families numbering approximately 120 people.
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Today, Klyucharki is a rather large village of about 2,500 inhabitants with a large number of Hungarians, Ukrainians, Russians or Ruthenians. Most of the Germans (Schwabs) and Czechs have gone back to their countries. A great number of the Jews of Klyucharki were murdered in the Holocaust and no Jews live there today.
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~ Palanok Castle ~
Photo: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
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The name Klyucharki (and, earlier, Várkulcsa) means "Keys to the Castle" as the village is located just west of Palanok Castle (photo below) near Mukacheve (Munkács) where the keys to the castle were kept.
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| Briefly, the founding cornerstone for Palanok Castle was laid sometime in the 14th century. Through the centuries, the castle served as a residence to many people. The extremely revered Hungarian patriot, Prince Ferenc Rakoczi, lived there, as well as his mother, Ilonya Zrini and was a residence of the Koriatovych family for almost 200 years. It, then, was used as a prison and agricultural college; today, it is a museum. The castle was surrounded by a deep ditch that contained a high wooden fence called "Palanok" and that is why it was given the name of Palanok. There is a room in the castle set aside for Jewish history from the Mukacheve area and to remember all of the Jews who were murdered in Auschwitz. |
In April 1944, all of the Jews living in Klyucharki were rounded up and marched to the ghetto in Munkács where they were interned for a month and a half. The Germans then moved everyone from the ghetto to a brick factory outside of town from which they were forced into cattle cars and transported by train to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The photo to the right is that of the Munkács ghetto.
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NOTE: Klyucharki was located in the Gendarmerie District VIII (Kassa). Ghettoization of the countryside Jews from the villages occurred during the period of April 16-28, 1944; deportations to the Auschwitz concentration camp occurred between May 15 and June 7, 1944. The 1944 Kassa list of Death Trains details the number of Jews deported and the stations of departure. (Kassa is present-day Košice, Slovakia.)
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Klyucharki was under the jurisdiction of the Munkás Rabbinate and by 1944, had a synagogue, mikva, kosher butcher, and Cheder (or Cheider), a religious school for its Jewish families living in the village. The Klyucharki synagogue measured about 7 x 15 meters, had a low ceiling with about 8 vertical windows and a mikvah (or mikveh), measuring 4 x 5 meters, and about 2 meters deep. When the Soviets came, they used the abandoned Klyucharki synagogue for offices. The Jews of Klyucharki were usually buried in the Stare Davydkovo cemetery (refer to the map below).
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~ General Map of Klyucharki c. 1944 ~
Map: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
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~ Stare Davydkovo Cemetery ~
(also known as Rakoshin Cemetery)
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The Stare Davydkovo cemetery is located northwest of Klyucharki, bordered by a high wall and previously reached by crossing a bridge from Nove Davydkovo, but today it can be reached from the Mukacheve/Uzhhorod highway. Following are photos of the cemetery entrance and a tombstone (Matzeva) and below is a link to additional photos.
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If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, once the program starts, click the "Fly to" tab and copy and paste the coordinates below into the space provided. Then click the search button to "fly there."
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48°27'41.81"N 22°37'11.70"E
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~ Cemetery Area / Partial View ~
Photo: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
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While Klyucharki had only a lay leader, a Rabbi was invited to officiate for High Holiday services. This was a vibrant village with farmers, craftsmen, salesmen, traders, etc. and the children of each family had their work, too, such as getting up early to hitch the horses to the wagons, feed the horses, make deliveries of milk and then be back in time to go to school.
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Religion played an important part in their day-to-day lives and all were Orthodox Jews. Most spoke Hungarian, Czech, Ukrainian, Russian and Yiddish, the language of the home and commerce. In fact, many non-Jews of the area also spoke Yiddish to conduct business in the area surrounding Munkács.
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~ Early Village Homes of Transcarpathia ~
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The homes of our ancestors in the village were those typical of the Transcarpathian Region; either thatched or shingled roof, some made out of logs. They had one or two rooms, with the second room used as a living or work area for the homeowner. If you have any photos showing a home of Klyucharki, HERE to contact me. Below is a link to view the different types of homes, etc.
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NOTE: Clicking a link will open a new page.
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~ Klyucharki Today ~
Photos: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
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Klyucharki in the distance from Palanok Castle
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| Village of Palánka in the foreground |
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(Click the photos below to view a larger image.)
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Mukacheve - Chop (Csap) Highway
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Efroyim Fischel KATZ property
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Mukacheve - Chop (Csap) Highway
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~ Klyucharki Jewish Families ~
List of Families: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
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As best remembered, following is a list of the Jewish families that lived in Klyucharki until being marched to the Munkács Ghetto in April 1944, with notations of their fate or their survival, if known.
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DISCLAIMER: The spelling of the family and individual names that follow are as best remembered, and in a couple cases, only the number or approximate number of children is stated and their names are not recalled. If you have any additions or corrections for the families listed below, HERE to contact me.
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NOTE: Listed alphabetically by family name, then by father's first name.
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- Click HERE to download the above list of Klyucharki Jewish families. (.doc )
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~ Klyucharki Jewish Family Photos ~
Photos: Copyright © 2008 by Family Descendants;
Permission granted for use on this ShtetLink page.
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Below you will find photos of families that once lived in Klyucharki. In most cases, the photos you see survived the Holocaust only because they were mailed to relatives in the United States and elsewhere. If you have any family photos of the Jewish families from Klyucharki, HERE to contact me.
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(Click the photos below to view a larger image.)
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Efroyim Fischel and Rachel (née MARKOVIC)
KATZ Family
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Left to right: Marton (Max) KATZ, Solomon (Sam) KATZ, Menehert (Emanuel) KATZ, Efroyim Fishel KATZ, Chai Zelda KATZ, Vilnos (Willie/William) KATZ, Rachel (née MARKOVIC) with Brucha KATZ, Rose KATZ and Ester Matil KATZ
(Five children not pictured) |
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Smiel Lieb and Perl (née HERSHKOWITZ)
KATZ Family
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Front row, left to right: Mordechai Yankel KATZ, Rachmeal (Rudolf/Milu) KATZ and Joseph (Yosie Alter) KATZ
Back row, left to right: Peral (née Hershkowitz) with Ruchel (Rachel) KATZ and Smiel Lieb (Samuel) KATZ
(Three children not pictured) |
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Preparing jam in backyard of the SPIEGEL house
c. 1930
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Left to right: Icik Mose SPIEGEL, Charne SPIEGEL, Eszter (née KESZTENBAUM) SPIEGEL, Josef Leib SPIEGEL and Magda SPIEGEL
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SPIEGEL Family
1927
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| Left to right: Magda SPIEGEL, Josef Leib SPIEGEL, Hani (née FARKAS) SPIEGEL and Arnold SPIEGEL |
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Magda and Arnold SPIEGEL
15 October 1932
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~ Klyucharki Holocaust Survivors ~
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Below are links to personal stories by survivors of the Holocaust from Klyucharki. If you have a personal story to share by a survivor of the Holocaust from Klyucharki, HERE to contact me.
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NOTE: Clicking a link will open a new page.
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- Fritzie (Frida) (Weis) Fritzshall, b. 1931 in Klucsárka, Czechoslovakia
- Rudolf (Milu) KATZ
, b. 1927 in Klucsárka, Czechoslovakia
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~ Jewish Communities Near Klyucharki ~
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Listed below are towns and villages in close proximity to Klyucharki, some with their own ShtetLinks page on JewishGen.
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NOTE: Clicking a link will open a new page.
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- Barkaso, Ukraine (Bakarszó, HU) (8 miles SW)
- Berehove, Ukraine (Beregszász, HU) (14 miles S)
- Chabanivka, Ukraine (Bačsava/Bacsó, HU)
(4 miles NNW)
- Chynadiyovo, Ukraine (Bereg-Szentmiklós, HU) (9.5 miles ENE)
- Mukacheve, Ukraine (Munkács, HU)
(4 miles NE)
- Nove Davydkovo, Ukraine (Uj-Dávidháza, HU)
(3 miles NNW)
- Stare Davydkovo, Ukraine (Ó-Dávidháza, HU)
(2 miles NNW)
- Strabicovo, Ukraine (Sztrabicsó, HU) (6 miles W)
- Uzhhorod, Ukraine (Ungvár, HU) (21 miles NW)
- Velikiye Luchki, Ukraine (Nagylucska, HU) (4 miles W)
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~ Archive Information ~
Photo: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
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Berehove (Beregszász, HU) is where "some" pre-1946 archives for Klyucharki are located. Berehove is the only city in the Transcarpathian area of the Ukraine where most of the residents are Hungarian and Hungarian is the prevailing language. There are two Hungarian schools and the clocks in Berehove are set to the same time as in neighboring Hungary (1 hour behind Ukraine). Berehove is a border crossing point to Hungary that is never as busy as the Chop (Csap) border crossing.
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(Click the photo below to view a larger image.)
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Berehove Archive
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The Berehove archive is located just off the main Heroïv Square, across from the church. Below is contact information for the archives pertaining to Klyucharki. If you learn of any changes, HERE to contact me.
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| Important: Written authorization from the Archive Director in Uzhhorod is required for the workers at the Berehove archive to research anything. Also, remember that when the workers research census records, the census only contains who was living in the house on the date of the census. Anyone married and living elsewhere will be on the census report for a different town or village. |
State Archive of Zakarpattia Region -
Uzhhorod
14-A Mynais'ka St.
88005, Uzhhorod
Tel.: + (380312) 2 35 49, 2 06 10
Fax: + (380312) 2 35 49
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State Archive of Zakarpattia Region -
Berehove
4-A Heroïv Square
90200, Zakarpattia Region,
Berehove
Tel.: + (3803141) 2 32 10 |
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~ Archive Holdings for Surrounding Towns/Villages ~
Sources: GENERAL RECORD LISTS compiled by Louis SCHONFELD,
CIVIL and SYNAGOUGE RECORDS from Civil Registry Office
compiled by Ukraine Researcher Alex DUNAI.
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The following is a partial list of holdings.
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B=Births - M=Marriages - D=Deaths
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~ Books on Ancestral Life ~
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Below are miscellaneous books of genealogical and/or historical interest. If available, I have included the Library of Congress Catalog Card or ISBN Number to assist you in requesting them from your inter-library system.
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~ Miscellaneous Documents ~
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Below are miscellaneous documents with genealogical or historical interest. If you find a link of interest to all or if you find a broken link, HERE to contact me.
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NOTE: Clicking a link will open a new page.
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~ Useful Links ~
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Below are miscellaneous links with genealogical or historical interest. If you find a link of interest to all or if you find a broken link, HERE to contact me.
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NOTE: Clicking a link will open a new page.
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This page is hosted at no cost to the public by JewishGen, Inc., a non-profit
corporation. If you feel there is a benefit to you in accessing this site,
your JewishGen-erosity is appreciated.
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Compiled and Created by: Marshall J. KATZ
with assistance from:
Rudolf (Milu) KATZ, b. 1927 in Klucsárka, Czechoslovakia
Anton SEKERESH Family (residents of Klyucharki)
Photo: Copyright ©2008 by Marshall J. KATZ
and
JewishGen members/descendants of Klyucharki Jewish families:
Marshall J. KATZ, USA
Henry SCHWARTZ, USA
Amos Israel ZEZMER, France.
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Updated: 07 Dec 08
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Copyright ©2008 Marshall J. KATZ All rights reserved.
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