Czechia (Czech Republic)

CHECHIA
(also known as the CZECH REPUBLIC)

Formerly Bohemia and Moravia--Czechoslovakia.

Also see Slovakia

"Cemetery team battles elements to record Czech Jewish ancestors" by Pavla Kozakova notes that a prospective convert started a website to help people track their Czech Jewish ancestry. "As part of this effort, Jaroslav Achab Haidler has combed dozens of Jewish cemeteries in the Czech regions of Bohemia and Moravia in order to compile a complete record of burial sites." An English translation is expected. Supposedly, 340 Jewish cemeteries exist in the Czech Republic.

story. Source: E. Randol This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. [October 2002]

Czech Heritage Action Initiative (CHAI) is working on the restoration of Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic. CHAI is a non-profit organization led by Lisa Feder of Deerfield, IL that works with the Czech Federation of Jewish Communities. The Federation includes ten local Jewish communities in the Czech Republic. CHAI projects include the restoration of Jewish cemeteries in Sušice, čáslav and Velké Mezíríci. [May 2010]

US Commission Overview Report "The Condition and Preservation of Czech Jewish Cemeteries", p 73, and history of the Jewish Community of Czech Republic (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia. [February 2009]

CZECHIA - THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

JewishGen's Austria/Czech research [February 2009]

Most Jewish communal structures were destroyed during Nazi occupation and the 40-year Communist regime or received only minimal care. After November 1989, Jewish monuments are in the possession of the ten Jewish communities, or municipalities, societies, organizations or Protestant churches. See details of restorations throughout the Czech Republic. [February 2009]

list of burials. Go to the "List of Cemeteries" and look for those that include the word "Zidovsky,"the Czech word for "Jewish." As an example, the Jewish burials for the town of Vamberk appear to have hundreds of entries, some dating back to the period before Jews had hereditary surnames. Click on an individual and the exact date of death and sometimes the date of birth are displayed. comparable site for Slovak burials with far fewer Jewish burials.

updated on February 19,2009:

• Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic
  (Federace židovských obcí v České republice)
  Maiselova 18 110 01 Praha 1 Tel: 224 800 824 Fax: 224 810 912 Skype:  federace863 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view

• General information about Czech cemeteries in Czech. Google Translate site. [September 2011]

• Jewish Community Brno (Židovská obec Brno)
  tř. Kpt. Jaroše 3, 602 00, Brno, ČR
  Tel: +420-544 509 606 Fax: +420-544 509 623 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  English index

• Jewish Community Děčín (Židovská obec Děčín)  
  Žižkova 4
  405 02 Děčín
  Tel: +240/412 531 095 Fax: +420/412 531 095
  

• Jewish Community Carlsbad (Židovská obec Karlovy Vary)
  Bezručova 8 P. O. Box 160 360 01 Karlovy Vary Tel / Fax: +420/353 220 658 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  

• Jewish Community Liberec (Židovská obec Liberec)
  Rumjancevova 1/1362 460 01 Liberec Tel.: +420/485 103 340 Fax: +420/482 412 190 

• Jewish Community Olomouc (Židovská obec Olomouc)
  Komenského 7 772 00 Olomouc Tel / Fax: +420/585 223 119

• Jewish Community of Ostrava (Židovská obec v Ostravě)
  Tovární 15 709 00 Ostrava Tel: +420/596 621 354

• Jewish Community Plzeň
  (Židovská obec Plzeň)
  Smetanovy sady 5 301 37 Plzeň Tel.: +420/277 235 749, +420/377 223 346 Fax: +420/377 223 348, +420/277 235 749

• Jewish Community of Prague
  Maiselova street 18, Josefov, 110 01 Prague 1
  Tel: +420 224 800 812-13  Fax:+420 222 318 664

• Rabbinate of Prague: Tel:+420 224 800 849 Fax:+420 222 318 664 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Jewish Community Teplice (Židovská obec Teplice)

• Lipová 25/333 415 01 Teplice Tel: +420/417 538 209

• This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Židovská obec Ústí nad Labem)

Moskevská 26 400 00 Ústí nad Labem Tel: +420/475 208 082
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

"Apart from a few exceptions, Jewish cemeteries are in the exclusive ownership of Jewish communities. Out of more than 400 Czech and Moravian Jewish cemeteries, around 70 were destroyed during the Nazi occupation and the post-war period. More than 330 Jewish cemeteries and approximately 25 Jewish sections in municipal cemeteries have been preserved at least to a certain degree. Management of 159 Jewish cemeteries is the responsibility of the Prague Jewish Community. Building work is being carried out at 84 cemeteries - i.e., construction and repairs of walls, raising of damaged tombstones, and repairs to cemetery buildings, ceremonial halls and mortuaries. Memorial exhibitions have been installed in a number of ceremonial halls - for example, in Benesov, Pardubice, Dobruska, Zamberk, Ckyne, Rakovmk, Drevikov and Petikozly. In other places cemetery houses are used as caretaker flats (Miada Boleslav, Havlickuv Brod, Hermanuv Mestec, Turnov and Branys nad Labem).  Since 1990, renovation and reconstruction work at 34 cemeteries managed by the Prague Jewish Community has been fully completed, renovation work has been mostly completed at 40 cemeteries, while conservation work has at least been initiated at the remaining cemeteries. Other communities are also expending considerable amounts on the renovation of Jewish cemeteries, but at least 50% of costs are borne by the  state or the relevant local authorities. A recurrent problem is that of anti-Semitic vandalism, which manifests itself in the defacing of Jewish cemeteries. This has recently involved the defacing of the old cemetery in Libochovice (1992), the overturning of tombstones in Golcuv Jernkov (1995) and Svetia nad Sazavou (1997), the spraying and defacing of tombstones in Hradec Kralove (1996), and of the Jewish memorial in Trutnov (1998) on the anniversary of the Crystal Night Pogrom. / In Moravia a total of 46 Jewish cemeteries are managed by the Jewish Community in Brno. 11 cemeteries were fully renovated by 1997 and building work is continuing on the renovation of cemeteries in Brno, Dolm Kounice, Mikulov, Miroslav, Straznice, Lomnice, Jihiava, Veike Mezinci, Holesov, Jemnice, Slavkov and Boskovice. Ceremonial halls were renovated in Treble, Uhersky Brod, Bzenec and Podivin, where an exhibition on the history of the local Jewish community was installed. The Jewish community in 0lomouc looks after 10 cemeteries, to date has carried out repairs to Jewish cemeteries in Olomouc, Pferov and is continuing with the renovation of the cemetery in Usov, Sumperk and Tovacov, where an exhibition devoted to the history of the local Jewish community and burial customs was installed in 1997. 1998 saw the completed reconstruction of the Olomouc Ceremonial Hall. / More rapid progress in renovation projects is hindered by a lack of funds, both on the part of Jewish communities and their partners. In view of the state of the Czech economy, greater support from the state and local authorities cannot be counted on in the immediate future. Neither is it possible for Jewish communities to expend significantly greater amounts on renovating their cemeteries and monuments than to date. In addition, the Jewish Museum in Prague receives no state support, which means that it has to cover most repair and reconstruction work from its own taxable income." January 1999   Ph.D. Arno Parik Source [February 2009]