Figure 1.--These Jewish children are celebrating Hanukkah in Holleschau (Holesov), Moravia, anout 1935. As part of democratic Czechoslovakia, they had full civil rights and religuious freedom. The children are with their rabbi, Dr. Alfred Freimann, standing at the right. The children wear some sort of uniform, presumably Scout and Guide uniforms. They wear the same tan shirts and neckerchiefs, but the girls wear skirts and the boys short trousers, (Before Workd War II, Scout and Guide groups were mostly separate, but Jewish groups were smaller and thus more likely to be unified.) They wear different colored long stockings. Note the monorah with the nine candles in the midst of the photo. Most of these children perished in the Holocaust, but the photo was taken before the NAZI takeover of the country (1939). The children seem to vary in age from about 7/8 to about 13 years old.

The Czechs in the final days of World War I declared independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and established a republic. Czechoslovakia proved to be a rare democratic state in central Europe. There were about 350,000 Jews in Czechoslovakia, roughly 2.5 percent of the overall population. About one-third lived in Bohemia and Moravia. Jews in Czechoslovakia had full civil rights, enjoyed the same civil rights and religous freedom as all other Czech citizens. The Czech Jewish population with the exception of the extreme east (Carpatho-Russia) was urban. More than 80 percent of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia-Silesia lived in towns (with over 5,000 people and 60 percent in the larger towns and cities (over 50,000 people). The largest Jewish communities were in Prague and Brno (Bruenn). After independence, large numbers of Czech Jews moved from the small towns to larger towns and cities, becoming more concentrated. Small towns reported declines in Jewish popultions ranging from 20-50 percent. Many of these Jews moved to Prague, Brno, Ostrava, and industrial centers in the Sudeten area increased. Jews played a major role in Czech economic life. The were an important industrial leaders. They were especially important in the textile, foodstuffs, and wood and paper industries. One estimate suggests that 30–40 percent of the total capital of Czechoslovakian industry was Jewish. Jewish life varied considerably in Czechoslovakia depending on where they lived in the country. In the former Austrian administered areas (Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia) Jewish children mostly attended the public attended by Czech children. There were Jewish elementary schiools in Prague and Ostrava for parents who desored a more Jewish education. The only Jewish secondary school was in Brno. In formerly Hungarian-administered Slovakia, the situation was different. Slovakian towns commonly had Jewish elementary schools which were taught in Hungarian. After the creation of the Czechoslovakia, most Jews in Slovakia adopted the Slovak language. In the more traditional and rural east of Czechoslovakia (Carpatho-Russia), Jews attended the traditional heder and yeshivah. We have few details about Jews in Czechoslvakia, but believe that they were highly assimilated. Note the Jewish boy on the dress page.

Independence

The end of World War II was a tumultuous time for Jews in eastern and central Europe. The old certainties and protections acquited within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The immediate post-War period included outbursts of nationalist excesses. There were some some anti-Semetic rioting. The Jewish experience was different in the various countries that emerged. The Czechs in the final days of World War I declared independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and established a republic. Czechoslovakia proved to be a rare democratic state in central Europe.

Population

There were about 350,000 Jews in Czechoslovakia, roughly 2.5 percent of the overall population. As most of the Czexhoslovak Jews lived in the east the potion there was much hifgher: Slovakia (4 percent) and Carpatho-Russia (14 percent).

Regional Trends

Czechoslovakia was a new nation constructed from of bits and pices of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, some unrelated. The Empire was disolved after World War I. The new Czechoslvakian nation was a mult-ethnic state constructed around a Czech Bohemian-Moravian core. As a resuly, there were substahnyial differences from region to region. Jewish life varied considerably in Czechoslovakia depending on where they lived in the country. About one-third lived in Bohemia and Moravia. Most of the Czechoslovakia Jews lved in the east, Slovakia and Carpatho-Russia where there was substantialUkranian population. The Czech Jewish population with the exception of the extreme east (Carpatho-Russia) was urban. More than 80 percent of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia-Silesia lived in towns (with over 5,000 people) and 60 percent in the larger towns and cities (over 50,000 people). The largest Jewish communities were in Prague and Brno (Bruenn). After independence, large numbers of Czech Jews moved from the small towns to larger towns and cities, becoming more concentrated. Small towns reported declines in Jewish popultions ranging from 20-50 percent. Many of these Jews moved to Prague, Brno, Ostrava, and industrial centers in the Sudeten area increased.

Legal Status

Jews in Czechoslovakia were granted full civil rights, enjoyed the same civil rights and religous freedom as all other Czech citizens. They were one of several different minority groups in the country.

Society

We have few details about Jews in Czechoslvakia, but believe that they were highly assimilated. Note the Jewish boy on the dress page.

Economic Role

Jews played a major role in Czech economic life. The were an important industrial leaders. They were especially important in the textile, foodstuffs, and wood and paper industries. One estimate suggests that 30–40 percent of the total capital of Czechoslovakian industry was Jewish. The occupational structure of the Jewish population was similar to that for the rest of West European Jewry.

Schools

In the former Austrian administered areas (Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia) Jewish children mostly attended the public schools with Czech children. There were Jewish elementary schiools in Prague and Ostrava for parents who desored a more Jewish education. The only Jewish secondary school was in Brno. In formerly Hungarian-administered Slovakia, the situation was different. Slovakian towns commonly had Jewish elementary schools which were taught in Hungarian. After the creation of the Czechoslovakia, most Jews in Slovakia adopted the Slovak language. In the more traditional and rural east of Czechoslovakia (Carpatho-Russia), Jews attended the traditional heder and yeshivah.

Culture

Many Czech Jews were assimilated before World War II and commonly spoke Czech instead of German or Jiddish, although they might know the other languages. This varied regionally. Many Jews had a tradition of speaking and writing in German, in part because this was the favored language within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Famous Jewish authors like Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod wrote all of their books in German, as did Franz Werfel ("The Song of Bernadette"), Felix Salten ("Bambi") and Karl Kraus. Rainer Maria Rilke also was born in Prague, but he was not Jewish. The wife of the composer Gustav Mahler (who was born in Bohemia) was Jewish. His wife Alma Schindler divorced him and married with Franz Werfel. She also divorced Werfel and married Walter Gropius (of Bauhaus fame) who was also not Jewish. Alma wasn't either. It did not matter to her. More important were her affairs with celebrities.

Sources

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to main country page]
[Australia] [Canada] [England] [France] [Germany] [Ireland] [Italy] [New Zealand] [Scotland] [United States]

Crerated: 9:18 PM 12/23/2010
Last updated: 4:57 PM 6/8/2013