THE MEMORIAL BOOK OF PÁPA JEWRY - JewishGen

BÉLA HEGYI,
born in 1858 in Pápa, attracted attention with his first one-act opera, the performance of which
was a great success in the Tata theatre of Count Eszterházy. His songs in the Hungarian style
were very popular. Several of his operettas are characterized by an abundance of melodies.
KÁROLY GOLDMARK,
a world-famous composer, whose opera The Queen of Sheba was included in the repertory of
opera houses all over the world, was born in Keszthely, nevertheless, his life was connected to
Pápa. His father Ruven Goldmark, the chazan of the Keszthely Jewish community, married the
daughter of the Pápa chazan, so the great composer often came for a visit to see his relatives in
Pápa, the family of bookseller Nobel.
Not only composers and musicians were inspired by the love of music. Jewish parents in
Pápa readily provided musical education for their daughters, who learnt to play the piano. Piano
teachers Mrs. Lendler and Elza Neumann taught many girls to love music.
AVRI SEKEL
son of our co-religionist Mihály Székely of Pápa won himself a distinguished place among
contemporary Israeli artists. In 1945, he set out from Pest to bring 40 boys and girls to Kibbutz
Matzuba. In addition to being an enthusiastic member of the beautiful kibbutz near the Lebanon
border and its chief gardener, he became an internationally recognized artist, whose pictures
attracted due attention at exhibitions in Brussels and Paris.
The drawing on the cover of our memorial book attests to his masterful skills as well.
(The sad news of his death came while this memorial book was about to be printed.)
JÓZSEF BEKE,
born in Pápa in 1867, was an engineer. He designed the bridge over the Danube at Győr, a major
project. Several of his bridge construction plans were published in Hungarian, German, and
American technical journals. In recognition of his work, he was made a ministerial councillor.
SIEGFRIED SINGER,
born in Pápa, was a chemist at the Swedish Nobel factory. Later he became the managing director
of the Central de Dinamit in Paris.
MAX REINITZ,
born in 1851 in Pápa, was an economist. He was a legal adviser for the Austrian Centralboden
Bank, and an economic editor of the Freie Presse.
Writing has always been a part of Jewish skills. The first Jewish periodical in Hungarian
was published in Pápa in 1847, edited by Rabbi Lipót Lőw, entitled
MAGYAR ZSINAGÓGA (HUNGARIAN SYNAGOGUE)
ZSIGMOND SINGER,
born in 1850 in Pápa, became a famous journalist. He worked for the Neue Freie Presse, a widely
circulated German daily, and was the editor-in-chief of the Pester Lloyd. In recognition of his
work he was appointed a member in the Upper Chamber of the Hungarian Parliament in 1912.
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