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https://ksds.org.uk/ksds-2/ostrava-introduction/

DRAFT Number 47 Purim, March 2017.

Greetings from the City of Ostrava ..................................................... 1 Memorials 78th Anniversary of the Occupation ........................................... 2 Leamington Spa Fountain ......................................................... 2 Memorial for the Main Synagogue ............................................ 2 Stolpersteine ............................................................................. 3 Antiques Road Show – Holocaust programme ......................... 5 Follow-up from Newsletter #46 ........................................................... 5 Ostrava Old Photos............................................................................. 5 News of Ostravaks David Allen................................................................................ 8 Anna Noë .................................................................................. 8 Zehngut-Harden ........................................................................ 8 Edward Winter .......................................................................... 8 Mira Oren and Salo Salomonowitz ........................................... 9 Emil Pick ................................................................................... 10 Jewish Soldiers in WW1 ..................................................................... 11 Tamus Tachov .................................................................................... 11 10 Stars tour of Czech synagogues .................................................... 11 Purim Greetings .................................................................................. 11 Appendices Leamington Spa ........................................................................ 12 Information for a Stolperstein .................................................... 13

Greetings from the City of Ostrava

33/35 Uxbridge Road Kingston upon Thames Surrey, KT1 2LL 020 8546 9 370 www. Kingston-synagogue.org.uk

Londýnský kroužek Ostraváků Der Londoner-Ostrauerkreis

Our Ostrava Group

Dr Sladovník, of the Lord Mayor’s Office, sent greetings

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Memorials 78th Anniversary of the Occupation of Ostrava There will be a ceremony at 1600hrs on 14th March 2017, to commemorate the 78th Anniversary of the occupation of Ostrava by Nazi Germany. It will be held outside the police station on the Street of 30th April and is organised by the Regional committee of the CSBS (Ceský Svaz Bojovníku za Svobodu: Czech Union of Fighters for Freedom). There was a memorial ceremony to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust on January 27th, at the memorial in Dr. Milady Horakove Park, the site of the old Jewish cemetery, organised by General Mikulas Koncickeho and the Regional Committee of the CSBS. Leamington Spa Fountain The latest edition of the British Czech and Slovak Association Review had an article by Georgina Pavel about the Czech memorial “Fountain of Life” in honour of the Czech forces who were based in and near Leamington. The fountain is now in need of repair and Georgina is appealing for funds. Her email is georgina.pavel@tiscali.co.uk and her telephone number is +44 (0)1926 339851. Memorial for the Main Synagogue The work on replacing the memorial to the main Synagogue, which was removed for its very low scrap metal value, is progressing well. We expect the new memorial, in mild steel and much larger than the previous one, will be in place within the next 2 or 3 months. Our thanks are due to Dr Jiří Hrdina, who has been very much involved in the project. He has provided an impression of what the memorial will look like, in situ.

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Stolpersteine We have had two campaigns to lay Stolpersteine commemorating loved ones murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. We have arranged for a further series of Steine to be laid in September this year, so there is another opportunity for you to commemorate your family members. Here is some general information to help you decide.

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The Stolperstein project, organised by Gunter Demnig, has been running in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic (and other locations) for some time. There are fairly strict conditions attached to the laying of the Steine:

Each victim has their own stone. All murdered victims of National

Socialism (Jews, Roma, etc) are commemorated in this project. The

goal of the project is to bring the memory of the family together by the

memorial. Therefore, exceptionally, surviving family members (e.g.

children who were sent to safety or family members who fled to safety)

are mentioned.

We also commemorate people who committed suicide under the

pressure of the situation at the time.

The Stein is a brass plaque, 96mm square, laid in the pavement in front

of the entrance of the last address chosen by the person involved and

NOT the place to which they were compelled to move, and (if possible)

not in front of a so-called “Jews House”.

The Stolperstein carries the inscription:

“Here lived (or here dwelt, here taught, or here studied) Given name; surname and also surname at birth (maiden name); date of birth; year of deportation and place to which deported; and ultimate fate (e.g. Dead, murdered, or ??? for fate unknown). For suicide,we write Escaped to Death (Flucht in den Tod). We do not use the description “Disappeared” nor the adjective “Dead” as this suggests a natural death.

We therefore need the full name and dates of the people to be commemorated and the relevant address. We must then check the present location of that address (streets have changed their names or even disappeared) to make certain that there is an appropriate place to lay the Stein (some addresses have been redeveloped into supermarkets, etc.). The wording will probably need to be translated into Czech and the final proof checked for accuracy before manufacturing the plaques. Our wonderful Salomonovič family will help with all of this. We also need to receive official permission from the City of Ostrava and the Czech authorities who consider the Steine to be a war memorial. Also, the City authorities must arrange to dig the appropriate holes in the street. Fortunately, our very helpful contact in the Office of the Mayor is willing to organise much of that for us. Plaques in the Hall of the Jewish Cemetery Where a Stolperstein is not appropriate, you should consider a plaque in the Hall of the Jewish Cemetery. There are, within reason, no restrictions on whose name can appear or what wording can be used. Again, the Salomonovič family can help with checking names and dates and in having the plaques produced and erected. Costs Each Stolperstein or memorial plaque will cost approx. GBP135.00. Do not send any money at this stage but we will need a firm commitment in due course so that we can instruct Demnig and the plaque production. Any money left when we

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have paid the cost of the Steine and all out of pocket expenses will go towards to Ostrava project funds. Apply If you wish to have a Stein or a plaque, please let Monica or David know as soon as possible. Heinz Vogel has, once again, kindly volunteered to collate all the necessary information. The form is attached as an Appendix to this Newsletter. Please complete it (in English, German or Czech) as far as you are able and send a copy to him and to David. Antiques Road Show, Holocaust programme The BBC “Antiques Road Show” recently ran one programme devoted to Holocaust survivors and their stories. There is a link to it: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04p4lvr

Newsletter #46 – Follow-Up As always, we like to hear from our readers with either comments on what we have written or new items to include. It is particularly gratifying to read that you enjoy the Newsletters. Jan Buhagiar commented, “Many thanks for the newsletter – very rich this time, and the links especially fascinating” and Hanna Slome thought #46 was the best ever!

Ostrava Old Photos

Victoria Bursa has found a Facebook page: Zapomenuta Ostrava (Forgotten Ostrava) with more interesting photographs. She also continues to find wonderful photographs of old Ostrava, which she send to us:

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Hanna Slome sent some photographs of Maccabi winter holidays in the Tatras:

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Christmas with Makabi, 1937 - Lumpi dog

Tatra mountains, Christmas 1937 -

Topradsjke pleso

Christmas 1933, Lower Tatras - Kremnica

Christmas in Kremnica, 1933 Robert Beer, in the hat - Vanoce 1933

Christmas with Makabi, 1934

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News of Ostravaks

David Allen Danny Allen told us that his father, David Allen, died on 6th Dec/6Kislev, aged 96. We send our deepest sympathy to all the family.

Anna Noë Anna’s great-grandfather was Šalamoun (Salomon) and came to Ostrava from Opava with his two sone, Evžen and Eduard Noe. The original family name was Nöc, We do not know occupation of Šalamoun (Salomon) but there is a record of a Noë driving a horse-drawn cab in Ostrava. Evžen, born 1869, was house builder and Eduard, born 1863 - grandfather of Anna, was a clerk in the Vkovice works. Eduard died in 1937 in Ostrava and was cremated. His wife Flora (née Fassel) survived Theresienstadt and after the war they lived with her daughter Anna. Anna’s father was a lawyer and her mother was Ruzena Weinmnannová from Prague. They emigrated to Chile, but lived at Terská St. 3 before the war If you knew the family or have any information, please let Monica or David know. Zehngut - Harden We were able to provide some information on the Zehngut family to Jess Harden, the great-granddaughter of Isidor Zehngut. She wrote: “I opened the attachment about my family this morning and read it to my mom and cried”. If you have any information about the Zehngut family, please let Monica or David know and we will pass it on. Edward Winter

Edward Winter wrote to us:

I wrote you about my Uncle Max Winter. My other Uncle, Harry Winter, was

born in Ostrava around 1900 and came to the U.S. in 1913 with my father,

Henry and my grandfather, Jacob. Harry graduated from the University of

Minnesota in mining engineering. While at the University he participated in

intramural boxing. After graduating he worked briefly for a mining company.

But when the great depression came, he lost his job. He told me the company

was anti-Semitic. He then moved to Chicago and opened a bar. He was a

gambler and organized bets on horse races at the bar. This was illegal and he

had to pay off the police and the Chicago Mob (Al Capone). When he decided

not to pay them off any more, someone firebombed his bar. So in 1946 he and

his wife, Mayme, moved to Venice, Florida and the two of them opened

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Keen's Cabana Shop. Mayme had been a seamstress. I visited them a number

of times in Venice. Harry was a colorful character. He died in 1991.

In 1959 Harry and Mayme took a trip to Ostrava. He sent a postcard from

Ostrava to my brother and I am attaching a copy of the postcard. I am

attaching a photograph of Harry, his parents and brothers. My father was the

oldest and Max the youngest of the children.

Harry, Jacob, Henry,

Bertha, and Max

Mira Oren and Salo Salomonowitz Mira came to David’s talk at JW3 in January and wrote afterwards:

…. how interesting and moving it was for me to attend your lecture.

Fascinating to watch how some of us keep looking for every piece of

information about our collective (and individual) lost past while others in

the same families don't…

You mentioned names like Salomonovitz (spelling?) I know from home. I

have an oil painting by an artist from Ostrava who was my fathers' relative

signed salomonovic (spelling? don't remember) and my mother said they

called him Sallo.

She sent me a scan of the painting:

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Emil Pick

Peter Briess sent us this advertisement, dating from approx. 1920-30, for his grandfather’s shop.

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Jewish Soldiers in WW1 Eric Feinstein wrote to us, that he is working on a project for JewishGen to document Jewish soldiers of the German and K.u.K. armed forces that fell in WWI. We have been able to give him a little information but would welcome any more from you. Please let Monica or David know and we will pass it on.

Tamus Tachov The Memorial Scrolls Trust sent some information about this organisation which has been collecting information about and restoring cemeteries in SW Bohemia. The Director is Vaclav Chvatal (known as Fred).

Their e-mail is f7fred@gmail.com http://www.facebook.com/tamus.tachov Tel: +420 734 80 90

10 Stars Tour of Czech Synagogues

Peter Briess sent a link describing an interesting tour of Czech Synagogues. Even if you do not join the tour, the link might give you some ideas for your holiday.

https://www.schachtertour.com/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Defiant%20Requiem%20%2822197%29&utm_term=Promo

Purim Greetings

David Lawson 29 Malcolm Drive SURBITON Surrey KT6 6QS UK Tel: + 44 (0)20 8390 8142 Email: david@lawsonassoc.co.uk

Monica Popper

28 Exeter Court,

Maple Road, SURBITON,

Surrey. KT6 4AX. Tel: +44 (0)207 998 8863 Email: monsonn@talktalk.net

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Appendices

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INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR YOUR STOLPERSTEIN Please complete one form for EACH person

First name: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last name (Original): --------------------------------------------------------------------- Maiden name (if applicable): ------------------------------------------------------------ Date of birth: ------------------------------------ Ostrava Address (or elsewhere): -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deported to and date of deportation: -------------------------------------------------- Details of fate of the person: -------------------------------------------------------------

and where: --------------------------------------------------------------

(“died”, “killed”, or “???” for an unknown fate. “Flight into death” is used for suicide) Notes.

Please complete, in English, Czech or German, with as much information as you can. We will check names, dates etc and translate into Czech, if necessary. You will see the text before it is finalised. In the case of buildings that no longer exist, the stone(s) will be laid at a distinctive place near the former building. Some house numbers and street names may also have changed, in which case please try to find out the exact current address. In addition it would be helpful if you could provide a photograph of the building, which would help us to check its present day address, if it has changed over the years. However, we will in any case, through the kind services of Libuše Salomonovičová, endeavour to fill any missing links for you.

Also, as we are dealing with the current Czech Republic, it is only right to have the inscriptions in Czech. If the person you are commemorating used German as the first language, then please provide all the above information in Czech and German. Nazi records in the Camps used the Czech versions of Jews from Bohemia and Moravia – both first and second names.

Gunter Demnig, who runs this project in Germany, would like the information for engraving on the stone(s), i.e. the exact address and description of the pavement, at least two months before the due date for laying.

PLEASE reply to: Heinz Vogel, 23 Stanmore Court, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3DS, heinz@vogel.org.uk