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Kurt
Metzer, February 2007. |
Jews in Bohemia and Moravia |
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Jewish sights of Bohemia and Moravia : guide book by Jirí Fiedler with an introduction by Arno Parík. (Prague: Sefer, 1991. 224 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.) It is available from Amazon.com for just $12.95 plus shipping. ISBN 80 900895 0 X This guide book, which has been borrowed from University College,
London for me, was originally given to me by my mother, now 94 and
not in good mental health. But I lost my copy. It contains a great
deal of historical detail which cannot be found elsewhere. At present
there are perhaps 15,000 Jews in the Czech Republic, less than a tenth
of the number pre-1938, which had a history of more than 1,000 years.
Prague has a state Jewish museum and many synagogues as well as a
famous cemetery. As this is a major tourist attraction, it will be
preserved. But the other towns and villages may well lose their Jewish
relics. Of special interest to my family are Humpolec, where my great
grandfather Adolf Susicky had a pub (Inn) and Jihlava (Iglau) where
my mother had her secondary schooling and Gustav Mahler, the composer,
grew up. But nearly 150 communities, with history and architectural
detail, are described altogether. The casualty rate of the Holocaust
was much greater than in Germany and Austria because there was less
opportunity to emigrate. The history is fascinating because there
was much less antisemitism over the 1,000 years for various reasons,
and there are famous figures like Maharal (Rabbi Judah Loew) associated
with the Golem legend. |
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