Jewish Families from Uhříněves (Aurinowes), Bohemia, Czech Republic

This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the town of Uhříněves (Aurinowes) in Bohemia, Czech Republic.

Uhříněves Jewish Community: The earliest written records of a Jewish community in Uhříněves date from 1670. The so-called “Familiant Register” of the Uhříněves estate mentions 16 permitted Jewish families between mid-1700 and mid-1800. The “Familiant Law” of 1727 stipulated the maximum number of Jewish families permitted to reside in the
Czech Kingdom: Bohemia 8,541 and Moravia 5,106. While the census of 1880 records there were 47 Jews (2.9 per cent of the town population) the religious congregation incorporated over 30 neighbouring villages and hamlets. A history of the Jews of Uhříněves by a Czech Jewish historian, Blanka Rozkosna suggests a very active Jewish communal life from the mid-18th century.

The Nazis drew up a list of 392 Jews living in Uhrˇíneˇves and nearby villages. On Rosh Hashanah, 1 Tishrei 5703 (12 September 1942), 210 Jews, including 36 from Uhříněves , were sent by train
from Prague on transport “Bg” to the Terezin ghetto.

From there,
over the following months they were sent to Auschwitz, Treblinka or other death camps. Of the original 392, there were only 14 survivors. After the war, the synagogue building became municipal property and in 1995 it was restored to the Prague Jewish community. It is no longer used as a synagogue.

Our scroll is a memorial to the Jewish inhabitants of the town as well as being an authentic and potent reminder of the holocaust
for the FRS community. It is also a symbol of hope and reconciliation. Members of FRS have developed close ties with the town of Uhříněves . Through co-operative efforts a memorial plaque was erected on the exterior of the former synagogue building in October 2000 and a leaflet describing the Jewish heritage of the town was published in 2004. Without the tireless dedication of Libuse Votavova, a retired teacher from Uhrˇíneˇves, none of this would have been possible.

Important figures of the Uhříněves Jewish Community

• 1. Rabbi Daniel Kohn. He died in 1892 after 30 years of service.
• 2. Josef Beykovsky, the first chairman of the community 1893-1 9 0 1 .
• 3. W i l h e l m ( V i l e m ) B e y k o v s k y , treasurer 1901-1919. Wilhelm was a farmer and owned an estate in Pitcovice a nearby hamlet.
• 4. Josef Rezek, chairman 1912-1919. He owned a general store and a bar.
• 5. 
Karel Beck, deputy president of the Benevolent Society.
• 6. Adolf Freund, council member 1903-1909 and president of the Benevolent Society.
• 7. Heinrich (Herm) Polacek, synagogue council member. He owned a textile store.
• 8. Oskar Rezek, chairman 1919-1930. He was the local butcher.

Oskar was married to Olga and had three daughters. Libuse Votavova remembers that Olga and her daughter Helena taught her in primary school but Jews were then banned from teaching in 1940, and they were obliged to wear the yellow star in September 1941. They were sent to Terezin and later to Auschwitz. Mrs Votavova recounts that according to their aunt they had sent a letter saying, “Tomorrow we are going to the gas chambers, we are not afraid and we will sing the national anthem”

Uhříněves Jewish Cemetary

The Jewish Cemetery in Prague Uhříněvsi is located on the northern edge Uhříněvsi. It is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

There are 300 preserved tombstones. The oldest of them is dated 1719.
Uhříněveská Jewish community ceased to exist in 1940.

In 2000, dealt a delegation Reform synagogue in Finchley, which was awarded the Torah scroll from uhříněvské synagogue, a cemetery memorial oak along with the album "to commemorate Uhříněvsi residents who perished in the Holocaust."

Source: http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Židovský_hřbitov_v_Praze-Uhř%C3%ADněvsi

-------------------------------------

• Uhříněves, is a municipal district in Prague, Czech Republic. It is located in the south eastern part of the city. The administrative district comprises municipal districts Prague 22, Benice, Kolovraty, Královice and Nedvězí.
• http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synagoga_v_Uhř%C3%ADněvsi