❤️Jamie Lee Curtis and Her Ancestral Synagogue: Preserving a Jewish Legacy in Hungary In the small Hungarian town of Mátészalka stands a historic synagogue whose future has become connected to one of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars — Academy Award-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis. For Curtis, this is much more than an old building. It is a place deeply connected to her family’s history and to a Jewish community that was almost entirely destroyed during the Holocaust. Her father, legendary Hollywood actor Tony Curtis, was born Bernard Schwartz in New York City in 1925. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Hungary, and the family had strong ancestral ties to Mátészalka. The town’s synagogue, built in 1857, once stood at the heart of a thriving Jewish community. Before the Holocaust, more than 1,500 Jews lived in Mátészalka. In 1944, following the German occupation of Hungary, the town’s Jewish population was subjected to persecution and deportation. Most of those sent to Auschwitz never returned. After the war, only around 150 Jews came back. Over the following decades, many left the town, and the once-vibrant Jewish community gradually disappeared. The synagogue remained, but without the community that had given it life. In 2021, Jamie Lee Curtis visited Mátészalka to attend the opening of a museum dedicated to her father. During that visit, she announced her intention to help raise funds for the restoration of the town’s historic synagogue. The vision goes beyond repairing an aging building. The goal is to transform the synagogue into a cultural and community space where exhibitions, concerts, educational events, and activities commemorating the town’s Jewish heritage could take place. In many ways, Curtis is continuing a family tradition. Her father, Tony Curtis, had also been actively involved in preserving Hungary’s Jewish heritage. During his lifetime, he supported fundraising efforts to restore the magnificent Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, one of Europe’s largest synagogues. Now his daughter is helping draw attention to a place directly connected to their own family history. The Mátészalka project has received financial and organizational support, although the restoration has not been confirmed as completed. Documents associated with the development plans refer to work scheduled through the end of 2027, but this should not be interpreted as a guaranteed reopening date. What makes this story especially meaningful is that a Hollywood actress is using her public influence to help preserve the memory of a community whose lives and traditions were devastated by the Holocaust. Restoring the synagogue cannot bring back those who were murdered or recreate the community that once gathered there. But it can ensure that their history is not forgotten. And perhaps that is the greatest significance of this effort: preserving not just a building, but the memory of generations of people who once called this place home.🙏🇮🇱 Source: The Times of Israel, Jewish Heritage Europe, and historical information published by Hungarian Jewish organizations.