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This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the town of Přeštice (Prestitz) in Bohemia, Czech Republic.
History
Přeštice is a town of 6000 inhabitants, on the River Úhlava in the historic region of Bohemia. A Jewish presence is believed to have existed from ancient times and Dolní Lukavice, a village close to Přeštice, has a Jewish cemetery dating from the 15th century.
Early Jews of the Přeštice region lived mostly in the surrounding villages of Dolní Lukavice, Dnesice, Lužany, Malinec and Merklín and were subject to decrees and orders that made life extraordinarily difficult throughout much of their entire history. Officially banned from the guilds, these early Jewish residents were farmers and traders. Jewish traders passing through the towns were a constant focus of the non-Jewish residents because of perceived competition.
The most far-reaching restrictions were a series of measures known as the “Family Laws”, introduced by Austrian Emperor Charles VI in 1726 and designed to limit Jewish population numbers. All marriages between Jews required the State’s permission.
No Jew under the age of 30 could marry and only the eldest male in each family was permitted to do so. The result was that large numbers of Jewish children were stigmatized with the entry of “illegitimate” on the birth registers. Since only the eldest male could marry, younger siblings sometimes left their family and native town to avoid the shame that they were “living in sin”.
Before 1848, Jews in Bohemia were only granted “privilege” to own real estate by special permission of the state, which was rarely granted, and the number of residents permitted in each town was strictly limited. This likely accounted for the low immigration into the Přeštice district where Jews consistently averaged roughly 1% of the total population.
The Jews of Přeštice claimed German nationality, causing friction with the local Czech population. In the 1880’s, the Jews of Přeštice had a special religious school conducted in the German language. In the 1890’s, an attempt to change the school into a public German-Jewish school was rejected. The religious school was dissolved and beginning in 1894, Jewish religious teaching was conducted under state supervision in the public school building.
On 7 September 1913, a new synagogue was opened on Husova Street to service the entire district, replacing an older shul on Komensky Street.
Censuses indicate a steady decline in the Jewish population of the Přeštice district with 751 Jews recorded in 1862, 431 recorded in 1900 declining to only 300 Jews in 1930 of which only 80 were adults. Nevertheless, Jews were an important part of the region’s commerce particularly in the textile industry with Markus Braun and his son Kubicek being the best known on the town square. Other textile shops were owned by the Kuranda, Hartmann, Eisenshiml, Glaser, Traub and Yohanger families. A leather shop on the square was owned by Singer.
The family of Philip and Karel Hanák, one of the oldest in the district and noted as being the only Czech Jewish family, owned a paint factory underneath the railway station which was still operating in 1950. The Freud family operated a large malt house with an annual production of 10,000 kg of malt in 1934 while Otto Bloch owned a small plant producing liqueurs and soda water. The Lewith family owned a spirit distillery. Jews were also active in the feather business, including the Roederer and Adler families, and the cattle business with the Hasa and Klein families. The Traub and Tanger families were engaged in the wheat business. The Roubiček family included a doctor and a veterinarian. Samuel Waldstein operated a general store on the main street.
Přeštice in the Holocaust and Aftermath
On 15 March 1939, the German army declared Bohemia and Moravia to be a Protectorate of the Third Reich. Over the next three years, the Jews of Přeštice were dismissed from their jobs and their businesses and property were confiscated. They were increasingly isolated with curfews, restrictions on travel and a ban on radio ownership. From 15 September 1941, they were forced to wear yellow stars.
41 Jews were transferred from Přeštice via railway on transport Cd to Terezin on the 26th November 1942. One was deported by other means. Only three survived. Today, not one Jew lives in Přeštice.
The names of those who perished:
Jindřich Adler (56) Helena Adlerová (25) Růžena Adlerová (60) Otto Bloch Bedřich Gross (65) Karel Hanák (58) Heřman Hanák (75) Jiří Hanák (21) Ela Hanáková (45) Hermína Hanáková (47) Růžena Hanáková (49) Alfred Hartmann (50) Josef Hartmann (90) Josef Hartmann (56) Pavel Hartmann (16) Bedřiška Hartmannová (46) Kamila Hartmannová (55) Valerie Hartmannová (19) Ota Klein (45) Arnoštka Kleinová (72) Olga Kleinová (52) Arnošt Kuranda (57) Emilie Kurandová (57) Adolf Ornstein (64) Karla Ornsteinová (60) Věra Picková (5) Marie Picková (34) Emil Roubiček (71) Kamil Roubiček (45) Arnoštka Roubičková (66) Zdeňka Strickerová (28) Ota Šancer (59) Hanuš Šancer (20) Hedvika Šancerová (51) Hana Šancerová (21) Matylda Waldsteinová (66) Edvard Weigl (29) Anna Weiglová (55) Samuel Weigl (56)
Přeštice Torah Scrolls
The 14 torah scrolls from the Přeštice synagogue were among the 1,564 CzechTorah Scrolls rescued by London's Westminster Synagogue in 1964. The Memorial Scrolls Trust: was set up to repair them and loan them to synagogues throughout the world so that they could be used to commemorate the lost Jewish communities of Bohemia.
Westminster Synagogue holds one of the scrolls and has produced a book The Lives of the Jews of Přeštice detailing the history of the Přeštice's Jewish community and its fate.
References
Gold, Hugo, “Die Juden und Judengemeinden Böhmens in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, 1934 Translation by Eugen Singer
Smith, Daniel E. ed., The Lives of the Jews of Přeštice, Westminster Synagogue, 2013.
Fried, Pavel Interview, Samuel Waldstein Family History, 2004
PRESTICE FAMILIES
BRAUN
A. First Generation
Rosa Braun, wife of Markus Braun
Children of Markus and Rosa Braun
B. Second Generation
Jakob Braun, son of Markus and Rosa Braun
Marie Braun (Fischel), first wife of Jakob Braun
Babette Braun, second wife of Jakob Braun
Children of Jakon and Marie Braun
Caroline Braun, daughter of Jakob and Marie Braun
Leo Braun, son of Jakob and Marie Braun
Babeta Braun, daughter of Jakob and Marie Braun
Children of Jakob and Babette Braun
Frederich Braun, son of Jakob and Babette Braun
Karl Braun, son of Jakob and Babette Braun
Emilie Braun, daughter of Jakob and Babette Braun
ECKSTEIN
Jacob Eckstein (c. 1815 – d.), son of (David Eckstein) (1767 – d) and Esther Eckstein (1777 – d.)
Theresa Eckstein (Hanak) (c. 1820 – d.), wife of Jacob Eckstein, and daughter of Joseph Hanak (c. 1780 – d.) and Ana Hanak (Eisner) (c. 1780 – d.)
Children of Jacob and Theresa Eckstein
Phillip Eckstein (1845 – d.), born in Lukavice, Czech Republic
Joseph Eckstein (1849 – d.), born in Lukavice, Czech Republic
Julie Sofie Eckstein (1855 – d.)
HARTMANN I
A. First Generation
Moises Hartmann (c. 1820 – d.) in Měčín, Bohemia
Eleonora Hartmann (Klein) (c. 1820 – d.), wife of Moises Hartmann, and daughter of Josef Klein
Karoline Hartmann (Klein) (c. 1830’s – d.), wife of Moises Hartmann, and daughter of Josef Klein
Children of Moises and Eleonora Hartmann
Children of Moises and Karoline Hartmann
Josef Hartmann (c. 1850’s – d.)
Ludwig Hartmann (c. 1850’s – d.)
B. Second Generation
1. Isak and Frantiska Hartmann
Isak Hartmann, son of Moises Hartmann and Eleonora Hartmann (Klein)
Frantiska Hartmann (Rederer), wife of Isak Hartmann
Children of Isak and Frantiska Hartmann
2. Josef and Rosalie Hartmann
Josef Hartmann (c. 1850’s – d.), son of Moises Hartmann and Karoline Hartmann (Klein)
Rosalie Hartmann (c. 1870 – d.), wife of Josef Hartmann
Children of Josef and Rosalie Hartmann
2. Ludwig and Frantiska Hartmann
Ludwig Hartmann (c. 1850’s – d.), son of Moises Hartmann and Karoline Hartmann (Klein)
Frantiska Hartmann (c. 1850’s – d.), wife of Ludwig Hartmann
Children of Ludwig and Frantiska Hartmann
Kamila Rederer (Hartmann) (1885 – d.)
Unknown Hartmann (1880’s – d.)
C. Third Generation
1. Joseph and Caroline Hartmann
Joseph Hartmann, son of Isak Hartmann and Frantiska Hartmann (Rederer)
Caroline Hartmann (Braun), wife of Joseph Hartmann
Children of Joseph and Caroline Hartmann
2. Kamila and Moises Rederer
Kamila Rederer (Hartmann) (1885 – d.)
HARTMANN II
A. First Generation
Rosalie Hartmann (1850’s – d.), wife of Daniel Hartmann
Children of Daniel and Rosalie Hartmann
Frantiska Hartmann (1870’s – d.)
Babetta Klein (Hartmann) (1870’s – d.)
B. Second Generation
1. Daniel and Fanny Hartmann
Fanny Hartmann (Krauskopf) (1874 – d.), wife of Daniel Hartmann
2. Frantiska and Ludwig Hartmann, see above
3. Babetta and Leopold Klein, see below
REDERER
Katerina Rederer (Gross) (1850’s – d.), wife of Josef Rederer
Children of Josef and Katerina Rederer
Elisabetta Rederer (1881 – d.)
KLEIN
A. First Generation
Children of Josef Klein
Moises Klein (1841 – 1917), son of Josef Klein
Jakob Klein (1843 – d.), son of Josef Klein
Rosalia Klein (1845 – d.) daughter of Josef Klein
Theresia Klein (1847 – d.), daughter of Josef Klein
Samuel Klein (c. 1840’s – d.), son of Josef Klein
B. Second Generation
1. Moises Klein
Moises Klein (1841 – 1917), son of Josef Klein
Sofie Klein (Adler) (1848 – 1908), wife of Moises Klein, and daughter of Leopold Adler (c. 1820’s –d.) and Katherina Adler (Heiss) (c. 1820’s – d.)
Children of Moises and Sofie Klein
Ignatz Klein (1874 – d.), son of Moises Klein and Sofie Klein (Adler)
Katherina Klein (1876 – d.), daughter of Moises Klein and Sofie Klein (Adler)
2. Samuel Klein
Samuel Klein (c. 1840’s – d.), son of Josef Klein
Elisabetta Klein (c. 1840’s – d.), wife of Samuel Klein
Children of Samuel and Elisabetta Klein
Leopold Klein (c. 1860’s – d.), son of Samuel Klein and Elisabetta Klein
B. Third Generation
1. Leopold and Babetta Klein
Leopold Klein (c. 1860 – d.), son of Samuel Klein and Elisabetta Klein
Babetta Klein (Hartmann) (c. 1860 – d.), wife of Leopold Klein, and daughter of Daniel Hartmann (c. 1830’s – d.) and Rosalie Hartmann (c. 1830’s – d.)
Children of Leopold and Babetta Klein
Josef Klein (1879 – d.), son of Leopold Klein and Babetta Klein (Hartmann)
Aloisie Klein (1881 – d.), daughter of Leopold Klein and Babetta Klein (Hartmann)
Fanni Klein (1884 – d.), daughter of Leopold Klein and Babetta Klein (Hartmann)
Rudolph Klein (1886 – d.), son of Leopold Klein and Babetta Klein (Hartmann)
Daniel Klein (1888 – d.), son of Leopold Klein and Babetta Klein (Hartmann)
Marta Klein (1895 – d.), daughter of Leopold Klein and Babetta Klein (Hartmann)
VOGL
A. First Generation
Jachym Vogl (1823 – 1903), son of Markus Vogl (1800 – 1882) and Ester Vogl (c. 1800’s – d.)
Anna Vogl (Hanak) (c. 1820’s – 1906), wife of Jachym Vogl
Children of Jachym and Anna
Julie Schwarz (Vogl) (1855 – 1934), born in Skocice
Fanny Kohn (Vogl) (1856 – 1923), born in Skocice
Sophie Bloch (Vogl) (1858 – 1924)
Philipp Vogl (1868 – 1932), born in Skocice
Eduard Vogl (1870 – 1949), born in Skocice, Czech Republic
Minna Guth (Vogl) (c. 1860’s – d)
B. Second Generation
1. Minna Guth (Vogl)
Minna Guth (Vogl) (c. 1860’s – d), daughter of Jachym Vogl and Anna Vogl (Hanak)
Leopold Guth (c. 1860’s – d.), husband of Minna Guth (Vogl)
2. All children from all marriages in this Vogl line lived outside Prestice.
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