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This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the towns of Kanice (Kanitz) and Radonice (Radonitz) in Bohemia, Czechia, once known together as Gut Kanitz.
Radonice is a sleepy village in southwestern Bohemia, about 4 miles northeast of Domazlice, and some 8 miles southeast of Horsovsky Tyn. According to Jiri Fiedler's survey of Jewish settlements in Bohemia in the early-to-mid 19th century, Radonice was too small to have a synagogue, but it did have a prayer room. Two large Jewish families and several smaller ones lived in Radonice during this period.
The earliest records mentioning Jews living in Radonice is the register of couples granted permission to marry. Four marriages were recorded in Radonice between 1765 and 1782. However, during that period, Jews did not have surnames so it is difficult to know how or whether these couples were related to the families that later lived in Radonice.
There are no specific vital registers for Kanice or Radonice. The following on www.badatelna.eu may contain records for people who resided there:
- Domažlice: HBMa Fond 241 inv. č 148 Domažlice (Births 1831-1863; Deaths 1835-1862) and HBMa Fond 1073 inv. č 335, 336, and 337 Domažlice (Births, Marriages, and Deaths 1912-1946)
- Koloveč: HBMa Fond 241 inv. č 323 Koloveč (Births 1800-1821, 1831-1838, 1853-1861; Marriages 1830, 1849, 1850; Deaths 1811, 1817, 1827, 1846, 1850, 1854, 1856)
- Milavče: HBMa Fond 241 inv. č 431 Milavče (Births 1801-1875; Marriages 1807-1856; Deaths 1816-1867)
From the The History of the Jews in Koloveč and in the Surrounding Area (Czech Republic – 49°29' 13°07') by Director Fratišek Houra, Kdyně Translated from the original Czech by Jan O. Hellmann/DK Edited in English by Rob Pearman/UK" we find a brief mention of Radonice:
"There was a large Jewish settlement in Radonice, where there was a prayer house and a Jewish school. Around 1839, the travelling representative Abraham Hauser lived there with four children, Jakub Hauser with eight children, the slaughterer Isak Stein with six children, Josef Hauser with two children, Alexander Hauser with six children, Jachim Stein with 10 children, Marek Stein with two children, the teacher Josef Krauskopf, and the travelling representative Mojžíč Gibián with eight children. Around 1880, the glazier Adolf Heller as well as Eliaš Stein and Adam Hutter lived in Radonice. In the 1860s, Abraham Zucker and the teacher Heřman Austerlitz lived there. The majority of these Jews were travelling merchants." (JewishGen, Accessed December 7, 2017.)
Hauser Family
In the 1783 census of the Jewish population, a man named Borach Salomon was living in Radonice with his wife and 4 children. The 1786 census provides some additional detail such as his age and the names and ages of his four sons. By the time of the 1793 census, Borach Salomon had taken the name Benedikt Hauser, and his wife was identified as Barbara. (Other records indicate that her maiden name was Kaufman.)
There are inconsistencies if you try to calculate when the members of this family were born based upon their ages as recorded in the census and also, later, in their death records: Benedikt could have been born as early as 1726 or as late as 1744; his oldest son Salomon could have been born in 1771, 1773, or 1774; second son Simon in 1772, 1773, or 1779; third son Hermann Neftali in 1775, 1778, or 1777; and third son Josef in 1781 or 1782.
Despite the Familiant laws that permitted only the oldest son in a family to marry, not only eldest son Salomon Hauser but also Simon and Hermann Neftali married and raised their families in Radonice because they were schutzjuden or protected Jews. There is no record of what happened to Josef.
Stein Family
The other large Jewish family in Radonice were the Steins, who arrived sometime after the 1793 Jewish census was taken. Patriarch Joachim Stein was a Familiant in the nearby town of Chotimer. He had 6 children, three sons and three daughters. Again, all three sons were able to marry and settle in Radonice even though only the oldest one had Familiant status. We have less information about the daughters. One seems to have disappeared, one married and moved away, and one had a son who was deemed illegitimate by the authorities, most likely because the father was neither a Familiant nor a protected Jew.
With the Steins as well as with the Hausers, there is contradictory information about when they were born. Joachim might have been born in 1746, 1751, or 1754; his wife Rosalia Hermann Stein might have been born in 1746 or 1755; son Markus in 1776, 1777, or 1779; son Isak in 1778, 1780, or 1785; daughter Sara Elisabeth in 1780 or 1782; son Jakob in 1784 or 1787; daughter Katharina (likely later known as Eva) in 1788, and daughter Feile in 1791.
Cemeteries
From the International Jewish Cemetery Project (IJCP) for Domazlice the nearby town that Radonice used as its cemetery. The IJCP offers no records of a cemetery in Radonice. The death and burial records for Domazlice may contain those for Radonice (unverified).
"DOMAZLICE: Plzen Alternate names: Domažlice [Cz], Taus, Teus [Ger]. 49°26' N, 12°56' E, 29 miles SW of Plzeň (Pilsen). Jewish population: 153 (in 1890), 69 (in 1930) Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 321: "Domazlice". JewishGen Austria-Czech SIG website in Czech: "Jewish settlement was established in the first half of the 14th century. The newer cemetery with an area of 1372 sq m was only founded in the 1890s. Located in Prokop Holý ulici in the northern part of town, the road to Trebnice, about 1 km N from the square. About 100 tombstones are visible, dating from the time of inception until the last burial in 1941, ceased to exist during WWII. After 1987, there was a reduction in area due to expansion of the road (1988-1989). In the same year, the original stone gate built in 1891-1892 was replaced with a replica. The synagogue and the rabbinate building, roughly the same period, both were demolished in 1939-1940." [September 2011] The cemetery was reduced in size and received a new front wall and gate. [February 2009]
US Commission No. CZCE000329 Alternate German name: Taus. The town is in Bohemia, Domazlice at 49º26 12º56, 25 km WNW of Klatovy and 44 km SW of Plzen (Pilsen). The cemetery is 1 km N of main square in Prokopa Velikeho St. leading to Trebnice village. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with fewer than 10 Jews. Town: Mestsky Urad, namesti Miru, 344 01 Domazlice; tel. 0189/2031. Local official responsible: Dr. Zavadska, Okresni urad, (see next address) tel. 0189/2641. Regional: Okresni Urad, Referat Kultury, namesti Pionyru 228, 344 01 Domazlice; tel. 0189/4770; and Zidovska Nabozenska Obec, Smetanovy sady 5, 301 37 Plzen; tel. 019/357-49. Interested: Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-06-34, or 231/-07-85 and Zdensk Prochazka Vodni 18, 344 01 Domazlice; tel. 0189/2332. Caretaker with key: Engineer Brezak, namesti Miru 42, 344 01 Domazlice; tel. 0189/4026.
Earliest known Jewish community was a religious society with a prayer room in the 1860's. An independent congregation originated in 1873 with 180 paying members. 1930 Jewish population was 69. Before 1850, at most 3 Jewish families were permitted in town. After 1850, Jews moved to Domazlice from surrounding villages. The largest Jewish population was in the late 19th century with approximately twenty families. In the 20th century, movement was to large towns and abroad. Only 33 persons were subjected to racial laws in 1942. The landmarked Jewish cemetery originated in the 1860's with last Conservative Jewish burial in 1941. Town of Radonice (in German, Radonitz), 5 km away, used cemetery.
The suburban flat isolated site has Czech sign and Hebrew mentioning the Holocaust. Reached directly off a public road, access is open with permission via a continuous masonry wall with a locking gate. The cemetery size was 0.1372 ha. 100-500 gravestones, all in original locations with none toppled or broken, date from 1860's-20th century. Some removed stones were incorporated into roads or structures. The marble, granite or limestone finely smoothed and inscribed, flat with carved relief decoration or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew, German, and/or Czech inscriptions. Some have other than metallic elements and/or portraits on the stones. The cemetery contains a special monument to Holocaust victims, but no known mass graves. Pilsen Jewish community owns cemetery. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. The boundaries are smaller than in 1939 because of new roads or highways and a new gate after reduction of the cemetery. Occasionally, private visitors stop. Regional or national authorities, Jewish individuals within the country, Jewish individuals from abroad, and Jewish groups within the country re-erected stones, patched broken stones, cleared vegetation, and put a new frontal wall and new gate after the cemetery boundaries were reduced in 1989 and 1990. Pilsen Jewish congregation pays the regular caretaker. Vandalism is a moderate threat; weather erosion and vegetation are slight threats.
Dr. Peter Braun, Komenskeho 43, 323 13 Plzen; tel. 019/52-15-58, Rudolf Lowy, Jesenicka 33, 323 23 Plzen; tel. 019/52-06-84, and Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brdickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5; tel. 02/55-33-40 completed the survey on September 7, 1992. Documentation: Censuses of 1724, 1830, 1850 and 1930. Also the books Jewish Cemeteries of Bohemia and Moravia by Jan Herman, 1980, Statistik des Judenthums... by Gustav A. Schimmer, 1873. Also, Jahrbuch fur die Israelite Cultusgemeinden Bohemens, 1893-4; manuscript of Josef Chloupek, Nasi domazlicti zide..., 1983, letter of local historian, 1982, letters of Z. Prochazka (see above) and Anna Brezakova (see above) in 1986-1990. Other documentation exists, such as exact records of cemetery size, probably in the archives of the Jewish congregation in Pilsen. Dr. Braun and R. Lowy visited site in October 1991. Z. Prochazka was interviewed in 1988-90 in Praha. Last Updated on Monday, 19 September 2011 12:50." Accessed December 7, 2017
Early Marriages
Kanitz, Klattau (now Kanice) Kniha svatebních konsensů 1717-1783 HBMa Fond 291 Folio 81.
- Löbl Salamon to Frumet from Kuttenplan (Plana Chodova) 16 December 1774
- Hirschl Zacharias to Delye from here (Kanice) 30 March 1778
Radonitz (now Radonice) Kniha svatebních konsensů 1717-1783 HBMa Fond 291 Folio 143.
- Markus Isaak to Matel from Pestihau?, 20 May 1783
- Salomon to Buma from Chudenutz (now Chudenice), 26 Feb 1765
- Löbl Kollmann to Esterl from Denin?, 4 April 1766
- Nathan Simon to Güttl from Westmaschin?, 19 December 1768
Census of 1783; 23. Gut Kanitz und Radonitz [Kanice a Radonice]
Kanitz [Kanice]
- Samuel Hutter, verheiratet, hat 7 Kinder; mit untereschiedlichen schlechten Schnittwarenhandlung
- Joachim Isak, verheiratet, hat 3 Kinder
- Michl Isak, verheiratet, hat 3 Kinder; eben mit verschiedent[lichen] Kleinigkeiten, als Federn und anderen
- Scheuer Simonn, verheiratet, hat 1 Kind; als Schulmeister von denen Juden, deren Kinder erlehrnet, die Nahrung überekom[m]; weilen dieser keine Handlung treibt, sondern sich nur als Schulmeister ernähret.
Hradischt [Hradi%C5%A1t%C4%9B]
- Moyses Nathan, verheiratet, hat 4 Kinder; als Flußsieder
Radonitz [Radonice]
- Borach Salomon, verheiratet, hat 4 Kinder; mit unterschiedl[ichen] Schlachten, Schnittwarenhandlung
Census of 1793; 19. Gut Kanitz [Kanice] (Kanice and Radonice)
Kanice
- Samuel Hutter, erstgeborener, 69 (1)
- Michael Ofner, zweitgeborener, 41 (2)
- Joachim Ebstein, erstgeborener, 66 (3)
- Joseph Fleischl, drittgeborener, 45 (4)
- Libuscha Kohner, 42, Witwe (5)
Radonice
- Benedikt Hauser, erstgeborener, 49 (1)
Familiants (Radenitz zu Kanitz)
Radonice had only 5 listed Familiants in two houses (1 and 2). The following are the Familiants with their marriage permit years in parentheses:
- Hauser, Benedikt (Ao 1769) Familiant 5461.2
- Hauser, Salomon (1800) Familiant 5461.2
- Hutter, Wolf (1803) Familiant 5460.1
- Hutter, Samuel (1843) Familiant 5460.1
- Najes, Nathan (Ao 1769) of Kanitz Familiant 5460.1 (no sons)
Familiants in Kanitz (Kanice) in six houses
- Bloch, Joachim (1789) Familiant (struck).4 (from Muttersdorf)
- Bloch, Markus Löbl (1832) Familiant (struck).4 (Familiant transferred to Tachov)
- Fleischel, Joseph (Ao. 1770) Familiant 5292.1
- Fleischel, Hermann (1803) Familiant 5292.1
- Hutter, Abraham Samuel (1787) Familiant 5294.3
- Hutter, Joachim (1828) Familiant 5294.3
- Khon, Libuscha (widow) Familiant 5295.5
- Mandelbaum, Emanuel (Ao. 1768) Familiant 5296.6 (from Glogau)
- Sonnenschein, Abraham (1814) Familiant 5293.2
Other
Records of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem do not specify any individuals from the town of Radonice.
JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) lists several researchers interested in this town. They have been contacted to inform them of this project.
The Rabbi index at the Steinheim Institute has no records of any Rabbi connected to this town.