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This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the town of Chomutov (Komotau) in Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Chomutov Town in northwestern Bohemia, Usti nad Labem Region, Czech Republic
In 2008 a stone monument was unveiled to commemorate the Jews of Chomutov. A Star of David marks the location where the Jewish cemetery once stood.
HISTORY
The first mention of Jews in Chomutov references those who martyred themselves in 1421 rather than be forcibly baptized by the Hussites. Between 1468 and 1526 the municipal records list 50 Jews as homeowners, though in 1517 the Jews were expelled from the town.
After 1848, when the Jews of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were emancipated and residence restrictions were lifted, Jews from the surrounding communities moved to Chomutov, attracted by its developing industry.
Between 1860 and 1869 tensions arose between the Jews living in Chomutov and the larger community of Udlice over the establishment of a prayer room in Chomutov. The leaders of Udlice, who had authority over the Jews of Chomutov, felt that the prayer house threatened the existence of the Udlice community and they repeatedly threatened to close it. Additional Jewish communities existed in the small towns and villages surrounding Chomutov and were affiliated with its community. These included:
Horenice (German: Horschentz). Jews settled in Horenice in 1688 with the encouragement of the authorities. A Jewish Quarter, which was built with a unique architectural style, was established. A record from 1748 mentions a synagogue; a new synagogue was built in 1839, though it eventually ceased to function as a synagogue in 1901 and the building was destroyed during World War I. The Jewish cemetery includes a mass grave of Jews who perished during a death march in March, 1945.
Bilence (German: Bielenz). In 1767 records indicate that 15 apartments belonged to Jews. A community ledger began to be kept in 1826. After the emancipation of 1848 the Jews of Bilence, like Jews from other small communities, began moving to larger towns and cities, resulting in the community's decline. The Jewish economist, Gustav Schoenfeld, who lived in Bilence, bought the synagogue building and donated it to the local council on the condition that it would be used as a shelter for the poor, regardless of their religion, and that the council would preserve the Jewish cemetery. By the beginning of the 1930s only two Jewish families remained in Bilence.
Dermoul (German: Duerrmaul). By the 16th century there were already several Jewish families living in Dermoul. Beginning in the 17th century until 1938, when the Sudeten Region was annexed to Nazi Germany, Dermoul was home to a Jewish community. Eighteen Jewish families lived in Dermoul in the middle of the 18th century, and 29 families lived in Dermoul by the middle of the 19th century. The Jewish Quarter was at the center of the town, and included the community house and the synagogue, which was built in 1803 (both the community house and the synagogue were destroyed in 1981).
Jirkov (German: Goerkau). Many Jewish families lived in Jirkov at the beginning of the 19th century and the community was affiliated with the Jewish community of Dermoul. In 1846 Jirkov's Jewish population was 130, and they lived in 40 houses. Countess Gabriela von Buquoi donated a site in 1844 for the Jews to build a synagogue; that synagogue was consecrated in 1853 and a special prayer was recited on Shabbat in honor of the countess. The community had its own chevra kaddisha, and a new cemetery was consecrated in 1864. Fifteen Jewish families were living in Jirkov during the 1930s. The synagogue building was used as a warehouse during the 1990s.
After the emancipation of 1848 and the subsequent removal of residence restrictions, Jewish populations in rural areas began to decline as people left seeking greater economic and educational opportunities in larger towns and cities. In 1890 the communities of Udlice, Horenice, Bilence, and Dermoul became affiliated with the community of Chomutov.
There were 100 families living in Chomutov in 1873 when the congregation was officially formed. Three years later, in 1876, a synagogue was built. By 1893 most of the neighboring communities had been dissolved, while those that remained became affiliated with Chomutov. At that point, the larger Chomutov community numbered 911 people in 14 locations.
In 1930 there were 444 people living in the community (1.3% of the total population), and there was an active communal life.
At the beginning of the Sudeten crisis of February 1938, the Jewish residents left Chomutov, which was reported as "Judenrein" (free of Jews) on September 23, 1938.
After World War II a small congregation was reestablished in Chomutov, administered by the community of Usti nad Labem.
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H. Gold (ed.), Juden und Judengemeinden Boehmens in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (1934), 299–304; R. Wenisch, in: JGGJČ, 7 (1935), 37–108; idem, in: Zeitschrift fuer die Geschichte der Juden in der čechoslovakischen Republik, 1 (1930/31), 91–8, 195–7. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Fiedler, Jewish Sights of Bohemia and Moravia (1991), 172.
CHOMUTOV (Ger. Komotau), city in northwestern Bohemia, Czech Republic. The first information about Jews there records their death as martyrs in 1421 when threatened by the *Hussites with forcible baptism. Between 1468 and 1526, 50 Jewish names appear in the municipal records as house owners. In 1517 the Jews were expelled from the town and requests for readmission in 1635 and 1659 were unsuccessful. After 1848 members of the surrounding communities moved to Chomutov, attracted by its developing industry. From 1860 to 1869 there was continuous strife between the Jews living in Chomutov who opened a prayer room there and their mother community of *Udlice which feared that this threatened its own existence and repeatedly attempted to close it.
There were 100 families living in Chomutov in 1873 when a congregation was officially formed; a synagogue was consecrated in 1876. It was destroyed by the Nazis. Most of the neighboring communities were dissolved in 1893 and the remainder were affiliated with Chomutov. The community then numbered 911 members living in 14 localities. Modern communal regulations were adopted in 1923. The community numbered 444 in 1930 (1.3% of the total population), of whom 164 were of declared Jewish nationality, and there was an active communal life. At the beginning of the Sudeten crisis, all the Jewish residents left Chomutov, which was reported "judenrein" on September 23, 1938. A small congregation administered by the *Usti nad Labem community was reestablished after World War II. The Jewish poet Max Fleischer, a native of Chomutov (1880–1941), died in a concentration camp.