Join us for a short tour of the Pacov synagogue on Wednesday 31 October at 7.30pm! The tour will be followed by the Schimmerle Klezmer Kabaret’s live performance in the nearby café Láskomina.
news
Hanuš Bader: “Přežil jsem to” (I Survived)
The autobiography of one of the only Holocaust survivors from Pacov is now available in Czech. The author’s son Stefan will launch the book on Friday 12 October at 6pm in Kafe Knihy Jednota in Tábor, and on Saturday 13 October at 3pm in the Pacov public library.
The book will be available during the launch. You can also order your copy from the publisher offering hardbacks as well as ebooks.
Last year’s talk and dramatization revisited
A recording of public talk followed by dramatization of Hans Bader’s memoir of the November 1942 Pacov deportation as performed by Pacov high school students is now available on YouTube (in Czech only). Both took place as part of an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the deportation of Jewish residents from Pacov to Theresienstadt concentration camp which we organized in cooperation with the Černovice Jewish Monument Association on 11 and 12 November 2017 under the title Crossroads and Irreversibilities of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands History. Recorded by Dušan Swalens.
Schoolchildren fascinated by the fate of Pacov Jews
“How long have Jews been living in Pacov?” “When were Jews deported from Pacov and what happened to them?” “Do you know any Pacov Jews?” “Have you ever been to the Jewish cemetery in Pacov?” “Do you know what matzo is and who baked it in Pacov?” Those and similar questions elicited a forest of raised hands from Year 5 pupils of the Pacov primary school during an introduction to the local Jewish heritage which took place in the main hall of Pacov Chateau on 26 March 2018. The schoolchildren were thus given the chance to explore the history and fate of their Jewish neighbours. The deep and spontaneous interest they showed throughout the talk gives us a reason to hope that the history of Pacov Jews will be embraced by the local cultural memory and the new generation rather than forgotten. A small gallery of photos is available at the school’s website www.zspacov.cz (Czech only)
Expats in Belgium concerned about the Pacov synagogue
Our efforts to save the synagogue have been covered by an article on page 6 in the last year’s issue #3 of the Czech expats’ association Beseda quarterly (Czech only): www.beseda.be/images/zpravodaj/2017_09_zpravodaj_beseda_web.pdf
“Rodáci bez hrobu” now publicly available
You can now watch Pavel Tychtl and Dušan Swalens’s documentary about the Pacov Jewish community before WWII and during the Holocaust Rodáci bez hrobu (Neighbours Without Graves) in Czech with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=805FzP3Eaxc
Last weekend a big step for the Pacov synagogue
The events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the deportation of Jewish residents from Pacov and Černovice to Theresienstadt concentration camp, which we have organized in cooperation with the Černovice Jewish Monument Association, took place on 11 and 12 November 2017 under the umbrella title “Crossroads and Irreversibilities of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands History” in the respective towns.
Pacov synagogue: the tangible evidence of historical memory
The Deník Referendum internet daily summarizes the current state of Pacov synagogue in an article published on September 10, 2017. Avaliable here (in Czech only).
Only 2 of 96 Pacov Jews returned home after WWII
The public broadcasting service Český rozhlas has briefly covered pre- and post-war history of Pacov’s Jewish community. Available here (in Czech only).