György Szántó was a Szentendre merchant and in compliance with his testament, the prayer house and museum was created by his son in his parents’ house. The museum houses an exhibition of the life of the Jewish community before the second world war in Szentendre.
The Jewish community built a synagogue in 1850 and ten years later it already had a Jewish school. According to a 1929 survey, the sociological breakdown of the 100-200 strong Jewish community was in line with the national composition: middle-class citizens, intellectuals, mainly merchants, some farmers, craftsmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers and officials. These people were the backbone of the community, which over time became the centre of smaller neighbouring communities as well.
However, the Szentendre community also fell victim to the shoah during WW2 and the majority of the Jewish population in and around the town was deported on 30 June 1944.