Language:
English
Year of publication:
2014
Titel der Quelle:
Judaica Bohemiae
Angaben zur Quelle:
49,1 (2014) 59-87
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Synagogues
;
World War, 1939-1945 Destruction and pillage
;
Holešov (Czech Republic)
;
Kroměříž (Czech Republic)
Abstract:
The burning of synagogues and their subsequent demolition accompanied the "Kristallnacht" pogrom in the Reich in November 1938. There were no material or military goals, only the goal of elimination of visible symbols of a Jewish presence. The first wave of arson attacks against synagogues hit Bohemia and Moravia immediately after the establishment of the Protectorate in March 1939. The second wave of arson attacks occurred in summer 1941, coinciding with the military invasion of the USSR in June. The perpetrators in both waves were mostly Czech fascists, members and supporters of the Vlajka pro-Nazi party. In August 1941 the synagogue in Holešov was set on fire; its demolition and the clearing of the debris began in March 1942 and ended in June. The process took a long time, because of conflicting claims on the synagogue building, the land on which it stood, and other Jewish property in the town. Notes that the removal of the synagogue in Kroměříž was brought up by Czech authorities as early as February 1941. The initiator of its demolition (which took place in November 1942) was the German head of the Kroměříž authority Hans Humplik, who acted against the orders of superior German authorities. The local Nazi authorities in Holešov and Kroměříž invested considerable efforts and expenses in the removal of these "symbols of the hereditary racial enemy", the Jewish houses of prayer.
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