The Csorna Israelite Penny Society

Peaceful small-town Jewish everyday life in Hungary

Research work submitted to the “Their destiny, our history” student contest

By Orsolya J. Kozalk, Regina Sinkai and Luca Orosz

Sopron SzC Hunyadi János Technical Highschool, Csorna

Supporting teacher: Balázs Szalay

This student contest was launched by the Jewish Roots in Győr Public Charity Foundation, 2023-24

We would like to present the cultural life of the Jews of Csorna (a small Hungarian town 30 km from Győr) in the period between the two World Wars through the activities of the Csorna Israelite Penny Society. (Csorna lies 30 km from Győr – editor).

The beginning

The Society was founded in 1903 for charitable purposes. (The Csorna Museum presents on its website the development of the town’s social institutions up to the present day. It mentions the early Chevra-Kadisha Society and the Israelite Women’s Society of Csorna, founded in 1893, but unfortunately does not speak about the Israelite Penny Society – editor)

The aim of the Society was to help and support Jewish children and brides in Csorna with scholarships and the bride’s coffer. These activities were financed from the annual contributions of the members and patrons, from the donations of non-members, and from the proceeds of various soirees and balls.

A society had to meet certain criteria. These and other formalities were set out in the “Statutes” of the organisation. The Society was made up of Founding, Ordinary and Associate Members. Founding Members donated a minimum of 25 crowns, while ordinary Members had to pay a minimum of 20 pfennigs a month, or more if they wished. Associate Members donated 2 crowns a year.

During the first World War, the income dwindled and there were problems maintaining the Society. Members tried to build up a new financial base. They did this by providing cultural entertainment for the public at large of Csorna. Every year, new performances were presented, which were so popular that the Society was able to survive on the income so generated.

"During the World War, the Israelite Penny Society of Csorna took its part in duties that were obligatory for every good Hungarian and every patriotic association. [...] The sources of income were very scarce, because the income generated by the earlier events and cultural programmes was not enough, and it could not even secure its budget. [...] The funds dried up, and the members of the Society, together with the members of the other social associations of Csorna, took part in the reception of the military trains and later of the trains of the wounded soldiers. [...] They made winter clothing for our soldiers who had taken part in the war. They took care of [...] the needy relatives of our fellow citizens who had been wounded in the war [...]" ("In memory of the 25 years of the Israelite Penny Society of Csorna", book published by the printing house Rábaközi Nyomda és Lapkiadó Vállalat), László Schwarcz, secretary, Csorna, 2 December 1928)

Society Performances

The most successful performances were “The Rich Girl”, “The Divorcee”, “Mihályi’s Two Daughters” and “The Mouse of the Church” theatre pieces. Several articles about the productions were published in various local newspapers and all of them gave positive feedback.

"The Rich Girl in Csorna
Béla Szenes' highly successful play, "The Rich Girl" was presented to a packed audience on Wednesday evening at the Csorna Movie Theatre by amateur performers of the Israelite Penny Society.  The great interest was quite understandable, because in Csorna, this highly cultured municipality, for lack of a suitable venue, no actors have been performing for the last two years. So, it was only natural that everyone was eager to take the opportunity to see one of the most famous hits of the last winter season in Budapest. The audience in Csorna was thoroughly entertained. As far as the performance was concerned, it was the best that can only be given by amateurs. Mrs V. Dr Molnár impressed with her truly artistic performance and acting, while Rózsi Schwarcz played the title role with the full splendour of her imposing young beauty. But all of them, Ernő Hegedűs, Lajos Németh, Mrs V. Krausz, Lajos Polgár, Lily Herzfeld, József Berger, Jolán Goldhammer, Pali Kovács, Józsa Krausz, Lajos Berger, László Hegedűs and the smaller episodic actors contributed to the extraordinary success of the performance with their fine, well-thought-out performances. Elemér Klein deserves the highest praise for the great and tiring work of the direction and for the splendid set design." (Sopronvármegye, daily, Friday, November 24, 1922)

This play proved so successful that the donations collected during the first two performances exceeded 55,000 crowns gross. At the end of February 1926, preparations began for Ernő Vajda’s three-act comedy “The Divorcee”.  Encouraged by the success of the play, the company continued to present more and more successful presentations until the end of its existence.

Gestetner, the father of the copying mashine

Further charitable actions

After the First World War, the association was reinvigorated and added further charitable activities to its repertoire.

For example, by providing holidays for poor children in the town of Csorna. The children received a warm welcome from the locals, were fully catered for and were able to take part in many activities free of charge. In a newspaper article published in August 1927, the members of the association expressed their gratitude to the individuals who had contributed to the cause. One of them was Károly Kuti, the owner of the cinema at the time, who ensured that the children could attend film screenings without paying a fee. Not only private individuals but also other associations were happy to join in the assistance, such as the Rábaközi Sports Association.

In addition to entertaining children, attention has also been paid to their basic needs. According to another newspaper article, 15 poor school children were provided with winter clothing in December 1927. Mrs Ignác Berger, the president of the association, organised the distribution of these outfits in her own home, demonstrating the importance she attached to the care and safety of children. The clothes were tailor-made for each child. They were mostly made of woven fabrics, and new footwear was also provided. Not only the children but also their teacher was grateful for this act.

The Society also tried to take care of other than Jewish population of Csorna, for example by distributing flour. A correspondent at the time reports that this kind of activity began as winter approached. During the famine, about three sacks of flour were distributed. Of course, it all was handled with the utmost discretion, which is why we do not have much information about it. What we do know is that this was the first in a series of actions and that it was made possible by a large-scale lottery, where many of the Society patrons supported this undertaking with beautiful objects, from which the income was donated to the Society in cash.

The lottery event took place on Saturday evening, 4 December 1927, at the Krausz Café. In addition to the lottery, a tea party was also organised, with a tea and cake ticket redeemable for 15,000 crowns as the entry ticket. The lottery tickets were sold by ladies, one ticket costing 5,000 crowns.

The Society helped those in need in many areas of life, appreciated not only by the Jewish population, but also the general public in Csorna. Outstanding performances were organised, which raised the cultural standard of the town. Numerous contemporary articles report on activities undertaken and the many people the Society inspired to strive for unity and empathy during the years of its operation.

Epilogue

Balázs Szalay, local historian from Csorna, teacher at the SzC Hunyadi János Technical Highschool, Csorna, sent us the following information after the publication of this post:

The Penny Society held a successful Purim evening on 2 March 1931. The evening was peculiar as that before dancing began, the audience was introduced to several old dances, including the menuet, gavotte, mazurka, polka, waltz and the czardas. The association also organised a raffle every year. For the draw on 25 February 1933, more than 250 raffle items were collected. At that time, 1,000 tickets were issued at 20 pennies each. All the proceeds were donated to charity.

In December 1935, the founder of the association, Ignácné Berger, née Mária Klein, died. , who managed the association until her death. Besides her husband, she was mourned by three children and five grandchildren.

Before the deportations, the association had 73 members.

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Other works submitted to the student contest by the Sopron SzC Hunyadi János Technical Highschool, Csorna: “Righteous among the Nations – the Dreisziger couple” – PPT presentation; “Jewish memorials in Csorna and Jewish burial traditions” – video film

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Edited by Peter Krausz

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Additional sources (added by the editor)

Interview with Endre Berecz, Centropa

Dr Endre Berecz: Memories of the Jews of Csorna (Emlékezés a csornai zsidóság történetére), Budapest, 2006

National Film Institute