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To the Memory of the Jews of Uherský Brod

Beth IsraelThe Uherský Brod Scroll 

On our bimah, encased in a lucite box on the wall, is a rescued Czech Torah, obtained by the B'nai Emunah Men’s Club in 1989. The Men’s Club paid $700 and Max Drimmer, who was Congregation president at the time, had a friend who was traveling in Europe retrieve the scroll. In a well-attended ceremony, the scroll was brought into the shul and handed from the president of the Men’s Club to Max. Henry and Louis Haertel chose to set it at the verses about Amalek since they were analogous to Nazis.

From Deuteronomy 25:17-19: “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.”

The Scrolls are, in fact, on loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust of London. Our scroll is # 500 from Uherský Brod in Moravia which had a Jewish community that existed from the mid-16th century.

“When a Memorial Scroll is entrusted to a congregation on long term loan, it is on the understanding that the congregation makes a long term commitment to give this Memorial Scroll a prominent and meaningful role in the spiritual and educational life of the congregation. This requires the rabbi and the leaders of the congregation to pledge to dedicate one Shabbat every year to the Jews of their Memorial Scroll—the people, their community, their fate, and their heritage.  Each Scroll is a messenger from a martyred community that depends on its new congregation to ensure that they are remembered as individuals and that their local Jewish heritage is cherished.”

How did the Scrolls get saved?

Our Scroll is from the town of Uherský Brod. This small town experienced the German presence heavily, and virtually all Jews were deported to an unclear fate. In fact, most Czech Jews were deported by January 1943, leaving just half-Jews, Jewish partners from mixed marriages and empty synagogues. Fearful that the deserted synagogues and community buildings would be at the mercy of looters and plunderers, a group of Jews at the Jewish Museum in occupied Prague submitted a plan to the Nazis to save the Jewish ritual and cultural treasures in the vulnerable buildings by bringing them to the museum in Prague so that they could be cataloged and preserved. Why their Nazi overseers accepted the plan is not known. The inventory in the Central Jewish Museum expanded from under 800 to over 100,000 items as a result. The remaining Jews were deported in 1943, 1944, and 1945, and quite a number of these later deportees survived.

In 1956, The Michle Synagogue outside of Prague became the warehouse for these items. After the defeat of Germany, over 50 congregations were reestablished by survivors in Czechoslovakia, but in 1948 the Communists staged a coup and, under the dictatorship, Jewish life was once again stifled. Eric Estorick, an American art dealer living in London who paid many visits to Prague on business, was asked if he wanted to make an offer on the scrolls. He consulted with American Rabbi Harold Reinhard of the Westminster Synagogue in London, and one of the congregants, Ralph Yablon, offered to put up the money to buy the Scrolls. 1564 Scrolls arrived in London in 1964. The Memorial Scrolls Trust was established to carry out the task of cataloging and then distributing the Scrolls so that they would get back into the life of Jewish congregations across the world.

Today, there are about 17,000 people who live in Uherský Brod. There were 489 Jews in Uherský Brod in 1939. In 1941, Felix Brunn, the head of the community, and seven other members were executed based on charges of anti-German activities. In the same year, local fascists burned down the main synagogue. In August 1942, 350 Jews were brought to Uherský Brod from Uherské Hradištĕ; the former became an assembly point on the way to Terezín and Auschwitz. A total of 2,837 Jews were deported from Uherský Brod, of whom 81 survived the war. Thirty Jews returned after the war, and the community was reestablished in 1949. A year later 20 Jews immigrated to Israel, with the remaining Jews served by the nearby Kyjov Jewish community.

Honoring the Community of Uherský Brod

The Confirmation class of 2011 decided to take on the task of honoring the Jewish community of Uherský Brod, whose Scrolls we now ‘own.’ The students were able to obtain the names of those deported from that town. Further research determined that few returned after the war. One student contacted the current very small Jewish community in nearby Brno to share with them that we are safekeeping their Torah. He received an appreciative response.

B’nai Emunah committed to dedicating one Shabbat a year, around the time of the mass deportation, late January 1943, to the memory of the Jews of Uherský Brod: the people, their community, their fate, and their heritage. This legacy now continues at Congregation Am Tikvah.

May their memory be a blessing.

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784