The Jews of Bohemia and
Moravia - Facing the Holocaust
On
March 16, 1939, Germany annexed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia.
The Protectorate under the control of the Germans until May 1945,
became known as Bohemia and Moravia. Konstantin von Neurath was
appointed as the Reich Protector, all major government positions
were filled by officials of the Reich, and Jews living in these
areas were now under Hitler’s rule. On the eve of the occupation,
approximately 120,000 Jews lived in this region. The fate of this
Jewish population has been lucidly and sensitively portrayed by Dr.
Livia Rothkirchen, a researcher of the history of Czech and
Slovakian Jewry and former chief editor of Yad Vashem Studies.
This new book provides an overview about the Jews of Bohemia and
Moravia during the Holocaust based on various historical sources,
some published for the first time. This volume is part of the
project “The History of the Holocaust”, and will take its place next
to other volumes in the series.
The most impressive chapters of the book deal with the cultural
legacy of Czech Jewry which was a veritable fountain of creativity.
This legacy is marked by a wealth of talent in various artistic
fields with considerable achievements in the cultural-spiritual
domain through the generations. Even at death’s door in
Terezienstadt, the creative impulse was alive. The opera
“Brundibar” that was written in the ghetto and performed there
for the first time is but one example of the Czech Jewish cultural
legacy that survived. The volume also deals with the functioning of
the Jewish leadership, Jewish resistance, rescue attempts and the
attitude of the local population. Livia Rothkirchen’s research
centers on how, despite the general support of the population Czech
Jewry suffered such a high mortality rate. The famous author Josef
Korbel wrote in his book: Czechoslovakia in the 20th
Century; “ The sad reality is that in the Republic where Thomas
Masaryk fought all his life against anti-Semitism, the results of
the final solution were the same as in all the other areas conquered
by the Germans.” Rothkirchen has made an important contribution to
our understanding of Bohemia and Moravia during the Holocaust.
The Jews of Bohemia and Moravia.
Facing the Holocaust. Livia Rothkirchen. (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and Yad
Vashem, 2005). 447pages.
