Latest project developments appear in Project Update

Since May 2001, we have met, interviewed and filmed many people in Oradea, of different backgrounds, ages, professions and religions. Mostly, we've been posing questions. What do they know about the Jews that once made up a third of the city? Given the urgent challenges and struggles of the day, is there value in focusing time, energy and money on events that took place sixty years ago? Can preserving the past help secure the future?

Our efforts have crystallized around three interrelated projects.

A new memorial -- a gift to the city by the Lempert Family Foundation and the international community, to be erected in or near a small municipal park which played a prominent role in tragic events including the deportations.

A feature documentary -- in development, a 60-90 minute program interweaving the story of the Jewish community, past and present, with the story of the effort behind memorial.

A multilingual, multimedia educational program -- in the early planning stages, a program of educational materials for children and adults concerning the past and present of Oradea's Jewish Community, in Romanian, Hungarian and English. This website represents the beginnings of this program.

Our network.

In pursuing these projects, we have been fortunate to involve talented people in different disciplines, either as volunteers or as paid contractors.

We have a four-person steering committee working to move the memorial process along in Oradea and in Bucharest. Our representatives in Oradea consist of part-time contractors, including a project manager, a translator and a videographer.

We have communicated and stayed in contact with many people in Oradea, whose good will, support and cooperation will be essential to the success of these projects. They include top city and county officials, church leaders, artists, educators, physicians, journalists, Roma (Gypsy) leaders as well as many individuals in the Jewish community.

We have benefited from the expertise of renowned historians in the U.S. We have been guided by established documentary makers and are consulting with them, and we have ready access to writers, Web site and multimedia specialists.

We have access to many individuals and families in North America, Israel and Europe with direct ties to the city, its Jewish community, and to each other.

Can renewing the memory of a once-prominent community help inspire and improve the lives of those living there generations later?

Working on a grass roots level, we appreciate your interest and would be happy to welcome you into our network as an active volunteer.

Please write to us at info@oradeajc.org