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The Jewish Gate in Brno, Moravia 18th Century. Drawing
The Jewish Gate in Brno, Moravia 18th Century. Drawing

The Jewish Community of Brno

Brno

In German: Bruenn

A provincial capital in Moravia, Czech Republic.

Brno was granted the status of a city in 1243 and until 1640 served alternately with Olomouc as the capital of Moravia. Between 1640-1948 Brno was the sole capital. Brno was the second largest city in Czechoslovakia. It was a cultural, commercial and industrial center for textiles, automobiles, railroad-cars, munitions (Bren machine-guns) and clothing. In the city ancient churches from the 14th century and the remains of an old fort still exist. Brno was known for its educational institutions in the German and Czech languages. Until 1918 the city was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian empire and since then until 1993 a part of the Czechoslovak Republic.

In 1254, Ottokar Przemysl II king of Moravia invited Jews to settle in Brno and granted them a letter of privileges.

In the middle of the 14th century, there were 1,000 Jews in a special quarter of the city which one could enter only through the "Jews gate". At the head of the Jewish autonomous community was the "Parnas" who represented the Jews before the city and provincial authorities. The community institutions were financed by the taxes of its members. The community also paid a "Jewish tax" to the local authorities.

As early as 1378 there was a Jewish school in the city. In the first half of the 15th century Israel Bruneh officiated as rabbi.

During the period of the Hussite wars 1419-1436 the hatred against Jews increased causing the deaths of thousands of Jews and the destruction of many Jewish communities in Bohemia and Moravia, among them Brno.

On November 11, 1454, King Ladislav Posthumus expelled the Jews of the city and gave the Jewish homes to the townspeople.

For 400 years Jews were forbidden to live within the city walls. Only a few court Jews were allowed there. Jews who came to Brno could spend the night only in the suburb Kroena where a Jewish inn with a kosher kitchen had been established in 1660. The guests at the inn were forbidden to hold public prayer services, to go out at night or have any social contact with the local population. Only commercial relationships were permitted. In 1769 Jacov Dobrushka who leased the inn needed a special permit to pray in his home and keep a Torah scroll there. Jacob Frank, the founder of the Frankist movement and a relative of Dobrushka came to the city in 1773 and was active there until 1786.

At the beginning of the 18th century there were 52 Jews who lived in the city illegally. In 1722, the city authorities allowed the chief Parnas of the Jews of Moravia to live near the city gate.

The "family law" passed in 1726 by Emperor Karl VI which limited the number of Jews in Moravian cities and the head-taxes levied by queen Maria Theresa in 1744 were hard on the Jews of Moravia. An improvement in their condition came as a result of the "toleration edict" passed in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II, which allowed Jews to open schools, obtain higher education and work as artisans. The city municipal council appealed against the edict. The Jews of Brno attained these privileges only after some years. In 1797, 12 Jews lived in the city and 113 in the suburbs. In 1804 the number had increased to 199. In 1834 there were 135 Jews in the city. The total population was 17,262.

In 1848 the Jews attained equal civil rights. The community began to organize its institutions. In 1852 a burial society was founded, permission was granted to appoint a rabbi and consecrate a cemetery. The first rabbi of the renewed community was David Ashkenazi, who still worked ostensibly as "meat inspector". The synagogue was founded in 1853. The prayer-house was established in 1883 and enlarged afterwards. In 1906 a new synagogue was built.

In 1857 there were 2230 Jews among a population of 59,819.

In 1859 the community was officially recognized. In 1860 Heinrich Kafka was chosen president of the community. Dr. Baruch Placzek was rabbi and during the period 1884-1922 he also served as chief rabbi of the country. A cantor also served the community. In 1861 the constitution of the community was approved by the authorities and a Jewish school with German as the language of instruction was opened. 77 boys and 76 girls studied there. In 1880 a ritual bath and a Matzoth factory were Bnei Brith chapter, a fraternity "Societa" for social services, a group to support yeshiva scholars and the "Hort" organization whose members were business men and clerks were founded. In 1890 the number of Jews in the city rose to 7,087.

During World War I the community helped about 16,000 Jewish refugees who had come to the city from Galicia and Bukovina and also helped the Jewish soldiers stationed in the area.
Some of the refugees remained in the city after the war.

During the period of the Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) a new community council was chosen, a Jewish elementary school with five classes and a Jewish reformed science high school with eight classes (the only one in western Czechoslovakia) were opened. At first the language of instruction was German, later on Czech. Jewish students, many from Eastern Europe where they could not get an academic education because of Numerus Clausus (a law limiting the percentage of Jewish students) came to study in the institutions for higher learning in Brno.

In 1922 there were 10,668 Jews in the city. The leaders of the community were Rabbi Dr. Ludwig Levi and Shmuel Beran the president. In 1931, the president of the community was the industrialist Julius Zwicker.

During the 13th century, the Jews who settled in Brno enjoyed trading rights equal to those of the Christians and could buy houses and land.

After the expulsion in 1454 every Jewish merchant who tried to trade in the city markets was punished. Only in the 16th century were Jews allowed to trade there after payment of double taxes and only twice a week, in spite of the revenue they brought to the city coffers.

During the Thirty Years War which broke out in 1618, the Jews were the purveyers for the Kaiser's army and helped the cities by granting them loans. The guilds and townspeople opposed granting the Jews additional privileges in return.

In 1753 Franz Joseph Neuman was granted permission to establish a Hebrew printing press and in 1765 Jews leased tobacco farms and a textile factory. After 1860 when Jews of Moravia were allowed to purchase real estate the development of trade and industry was rapid. Jews were prominent industrialists. They were also active in medicine, architecture, engineering, banking and other fields. World War I affected the economic conditions of the Jews adversely but during the period of the Czechoslovak Republic the community prospered once again.

In Brno there were well-known Jewish artists, the poet Hieronymus Lorm, the writers Philip Langmen, Oscar Jelinik and Felix Langer, the singers Caroline Giperz and Leopold Demuth, the musicologist Paul Stephan, the violinist Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst and the composers Pavel Hass and Hans Shimring. Dr. Adolph Frankel of Brno was a theatre manager.

From the beginning of their settlement in the city, the Jews were faced by the enmity of the town's people. The church at times incited outbursts of violence, like the pogroms which followed the black plague in 1348. Even after the Jews were given equal rights with the gentiles there were manifestations of anti-Semitism. Only in the second half of the 19th century there was an improvement in the status of the Jews in Christian society.

At the end of the 19th century Zionist societies were organized ("Theodor Herzl" "Zion" "Emuna" (from which Poalei Zion developed afterwards) and "Zfira". The students society "Veritas" spread the Zionist ideology, helped found a students hostel, and organized a "Jewish Soldiers Council" fearing anti-Semitic activities as a result of the declaration of the Czechoslovak Republic. This group later founded the Jewish peoples council in Brno (the Moravian chapter of the National Jewish Council founded in Prague in 1918.) The Czechoslovak Republic in the period between the two world wars granted the Jews national cultural autonomy. The "Juedische Akademische Lese Und Rede Halle" was founded in Brno. Many Jewish students from the provincial towns and neighboring countries were active within this framework.

The Jews of Brno were also active in political affairs. Dr Adolph Stranski was a member of the Austrian parliament and during the period of the Republic was a member of the senate. His son, Yaroslav Stranski was minister of justice in the Czech government in exile in London during World War II and during the years 1945-48 was minister of education.

Dr. Ludwig Czech was vice-chairman of the German social-democratic party for 18 years and served in turn as minister of social welfare, minister of public works and minister of health. Johann Pollack was a member of the senate. Ziegfried Taub was a member of parliament. Dr. Czech and Johann Pollach were killed in the Terezin ghetto.

In the municipal council elections held in 1919 one representative of the Poalei Zion was elected and three of the Jewish national list.

In 1921 the headquarters of the federation of Zionist organizations was established in Brno. Dr. Alfred Engel and Dr. Adolf Greenfeld of Brno were on the central committee.

Branches of "Hitachdut", "Hamizrahi", "Revisionist Zionist", "Wizo" (from 1934) and "General Zionists" (from 1934) were active in the city. "Poalei Zion" opened a branch in 1921 and Siegfried Spitz of Brno was head of the youth department in all of Czechoslovakia.

The Zionist youth movements, "Hashomer Hazair", "Tchelet Lavan", "Maccabi Hazair" and "Bnei Akiva" competed in efforts to gain members. A Jewish sport club was active in Brno from 1907. From 1924, Brno was the regional centre of Maccabi and the centre of Bar-Kochba in Moravia and Silesia. In 1927 Dr. Karl Sonnenfeld of Brno was vice-president of world Maccabi. In 1931, five Jews from Brno were members of the central committee of the newly-founded Jewish party.

Among the Jewish weeklies in the city were the "Juedische Volksstimme (voice of the Jewish People) published by Max Hickl and "Juedische Sozialist" (the Jewish socialist) and "Der Neue Weg" (the new way) by Hugo Gold.

In 1938 there were 11,003 Jews in the city.


The Holocaust Period
After the annexation of Austria to Germany (March 1938) many Jewish refugees arrived in Brno and were in need of help from the community. In September 1938 a year before the outbreak of World War II the Czechoslovak Republic was dissolved as a result of the Munich pact. At the end of 1938 more than 1,000 Jews emigrated to Eretz Israel, most of them illegally, only a few had valid certificates.

On March 15, 1939 the German army occupied the Czech lands (Bohemia and Moravia) and the country became a protectorate of the Third Reich. The main synagogue in Brno was wrecked that same day and the small synagogue bombed afterwards. A few days later the jails of the Gestapo were filled with Jewish prisoners who were then sent to the concentration camp Mauthausen.

On October 1, there were only 9.726 Jews in the city. At the end of 1939, the Germans forbade Jewish emigration. The fascist rule removed the Jews step by step from the cultural, social and economic life. At the beginning of October 1941 there were 11,102 Jews in the city. A short time later the systematic transfer of Czech Jews into ghettos and death camps began. On November 18, 1941 the first transport of 1,000 men, women and children was sent to Minsk in Belorussia. Many died there within two weeks because of shortages of water and medicines. The weak were taken outside the ghetto and shot to death or murdered in special gas-trucks. The bodies were thrown into a pit in the nearby forest. From this transport only eleven Jews survived.

Between December 2, 1941 and July 1, 1943 9,064 Jews in eleven transports arrived in Terezin. Some died there but most of them were killed in the death camps in Poland especially Auschwitz. Only 684 Jews survived. Jews married to gentiles were left in the city. They were deported in 1945 but most of them survived.

Many Jews from Brno served on the eastern front in the framework of the Czech units of the red army.

After the liberation of the city by the Red Army, and until April 30, 1945, 804 survivors returned to the city. They renewed the activities of the community, repaired the orthodox synagogue and opened an old- age home. Dr. Richard Feder was appointed rabbi. A chazan was also employed. The community provided services for the Jews of Kyjov, Olomouc and Ostrava. In 1969 rabbi Feder also served as chief rabbi of Moravia and Bohemia. In 1948 there were 1,398 Jews in the community. During the fifties a memorial was erected for the victims of the Holocaust. During that period the number of Jews in the city and its environs declined to 900.

As a result of the Russian invasion in 1698 most of the Jews left the city but returned afterwards. In 1969 there were 700 Jews there.

In 1973 about 500 Jews were registered in the community. The total population of the city was 330,000. The number of Jews in the city not registered in the community is not known.

By the early 2000s the number had dropoped to slightly less than 300. the community was responsible for the management of 10 synagogues and 45 cemeteries throughout Moravia, including restoration work.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) , composer, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary), the son of Julius Korngold, the famous Viennese music critic. He studied in Vienna, with Alexander von Zemlinsky among others. He enjoyed great success at an early age with Der Schneemann (pantomime, 1908), the operas Violanta and Der Ring des Polykrates (both 1916) and especially Die tote Stadt (1920). Following this success Korngold became conductor at the Hamburg Opera and, in 1931, teacher at the Academy of Vienna. In 1929 he began his collaboration with director Max Reinhardt. In 1934 he immigrated to the USA and lived in Hollywood, where he composed a number of film scores. In 1942 and 1944 he conducted light operas with the New York Opera.
Korngold composed symphonic overtures, a sinfonietta, a piano concerto for left hand, a violin concerto, chamber music and other operas, including Das Wunder der Heliane (1927), Kathrin, (1939), and Die Stumme Serenade (1954). After 1945 he divided his time between the United States and Europe. He died in Hollywood, California.

Pavel Haas (1899-1944), composer, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary). Haas studied piano and composition in his hometown. During World War I, he served in the Austrian army. Between 1920-1922 he furthered his composition studies with Janacek. Haas was deported to the Theresienstadt Nazi concentration camp in 1943.
A prolific composer, Haas composed songs, including New Songs of Old China, written in Theresienstadt, works for choir, three string quartets, piano and woodwind quintets, and the opera Sarlatan. He also composed music for theater and films. He died in Auschwitz.

Ludwig Blum (1891-1975), painter, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary, later Czechoslovakia). During World War I he served in the Austro-Hungarian army. In 1923 he immigrated to the Land of Israel, (then Mandatory Palestine), and settled in Jerusalem.

Blum painted portraits, scenes of everyday life, and landscapes. He produced many paintings of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Sea of Galilee, the Judean Mountains, kibbutzim, as well as still lives, executed in a dry and naturalistic manner. His painting "Jerusalem" was honored at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 1968 he received the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) citizenship prize from the City of Jerusalem.

Isreal Ben Haim Bruna (d. 1480), rabbi, born in Bruenn (Brno), now in Czech Republic, where he also took up his first rabbinical post. In 1454 he settled in Regensburg where he founded a yeshiva which was opposed by the long-serving local rabbis who felt their authority was being usurped. Despite endorsements from leading authorities, he endured indignities until the death of his main rival when he became leader of the community and head of its rabbinical law court. In 1474 Iisrael was imprisoned on a ritual murder libel but was released after an apostate confessed to inventing the story. Bruna's responsa, which were published long after his death, contain much valuable information on German Jewry in his time.

Fritz Gruenbaum (1880-1941), cabaret composer, writer, performer, actor, and playwright, born in Bruenn (Brno), Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now in Czech Republic). He completed his studies through high school and in 1899 moved to Vienna, Austria, to study law. He also became interested in studying literature, which he pursued at the same time. Following graduation, he decided to forego the practice of law. He chose instead, to work in the theatre.

Gruenbaum began writing librettos for operetta in 1903. He took small roles in various theatres and theatre groups. By 1906, he had moved up to cabaret theatre and became the emcee at the Souterrain in Vienna. The theatre in Berlin also opened for him in several theatres under the direction of Rudolf Nelson. Nelson recognized Gruenbaum's talent for cabaret work and in 1910, he appeared as emcee in Nelson’s ‘Chat Noir,' in the ‘Hoelle’ and in the ‘Simpl’ theater, Vienna.

With the outbreak of WW I Gruenbaum volunteered for the army. He was promoted to the rank a 1st Reserve Lieutenant and received distinctions for his service. After the war, he returned to cabaret performance working in both Vienna and Berlin theatres, such as the Simpl and the Ronacher. He married Lilly Herzel in 1916 who became his partner in cabaret routines. Between 1920-1933, he worked as revue and cabaret author, also as emcee in cabarets, primarily in Berlin and Vienna, catering to an intellectual and literary clientele. He acted in films and became a scriptwriter. Gruenbaum collaborated with Paul Morgan and Karl Farkas, with whom he developed the double emcee format. For a while, he acted as manager of the ‘Simpl.' In 1933, he settled in Vienna. Gruenbaum made many guest performances in various localities, including Prague. From 1934 until 1938 he was co-manager, with Karl Farkas, of the ‘Simpl.'

Following the occupation of Austria by Nazi Germany in May 1938, Gruenbaum and his wife attempted to escape across the border with Czechoslovakia. Their effort failed. The Nazis arrested him in Vienna and sent him to the concentration camp of Dachau. In September of the same year, they transferred him to Buchenwald concentration camp. There, together with Paul Morgan and Hermann Leopoldi, he formed a cabaret group to help entertain the inmates.
In October 1940, he was sent back to Dachau where, according to some records, he supposedly died of "paralysis of the heart" on January 14, 1941.

Theodor Gomperz (1832-1912), philosopher and Classical philologist and historian of ancient philosophy, born in Breunn, Moravia (now Brno, in Czech Republic). After his studies he was appointed professor of classical philology at the University of Vienna. He held this position for twenty eight years (1873-1901). He was elected to the Academy of Science in 1882. Gomperz wrote about the Greek philosophy, and his important work Griechische Denker (3 volumes) which describes the history of the Greek philosophy from its roots until Aristotle, set in the context of the development of the Greek and ancient civilizations, has been translated in many languages and is thought to be one of the basic works in the field.

Gomperz was also active in politics, and served as a Liberal member of the Upper House of the Austrian Parliament. In Jewish affairs he opposed Herzl and the Zionism strongly, and was very much in favour of assimilation.

Gomperz's biography and letters were published by his son Heinrich Gomperz.(1873-1942), who too was a philosopher. Heinrich was baptised, and was a professor in Vienna until 1934, when he refused to join Dolfuss’ Fatherland Front. He immigrated to the USA (1938). Heinrich published many works in addition to his father’s biography, including a study on the Greek philosophy and a work on Socrates Philosophical Studies (1953).

Otto Abeles (1879-1945), author, Zionist activist, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary), where he was raised. In Brno Abeles was one of the organizers of Veritas, an organization of Jewish students, and among the founders of the Zionist movement in Bohemia and Moravia. He soon became part of Bertold Feiwel and Robert Strickers’ circle in Zionist activities.

After his studies at the University of Vienna Abeles was employed as legal advisor to the Austrian Railways. His flair for writing led him to move into journalism. He was one of the editors of the Zionist newspaper Die Welt and the Jueddische Zeitung. He also wrote articles for the Yiddische National Zeitung and other newspapers. Together with Stricker he founded the Zionist daily newspaper Wiener Morgenzeitung. In 1926, Abeles became emissary for Keren Hayesod and lectured throughout Western Europe. From 1930 he served as director of Keren Hayesod in Amsterdam. Among his major works are Die Genesung (1920) a book of poems, Besuch in Eretz Israel, a description of his first visit to the Land of Israel (1926), and Zehn Juedinnen (1931), about famous Jewish women.

Abeles died of exhaustion in 1945, shortly after his liberation from the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen Belsen.

Lazar Auspitz (1772-1853), manufacturer.

Born in Mikulov, Moravia, Czech Republic (then part of the Austrian Empire). He was a member of a well-known Moravian Jewish family of manufacturers.

Auspitz was instrumental in establishing the textile industry in Brno, Moravia, (then part of the Austrian Empire). He was the first to export wool from Moravia to England. With M. L. Biederman he brought about the transfer of the wool trade from Budapest to Vienna. In 1815 he signed the petition for Jewish rights in Austria with Nathan Arnstein, but himself broke with Jewish tradition.

The Jewish gate to Brno, Moravia 18th century.
Drawing.
From: "Die Juden Und Judengemeinde", by Hugo Gold,
Brno, Czechoslovakia 1934.

During the annual fair Jews were allowed to enter the city only through the Jewish gate where a tax had to be paid.
They had to wait a long time, thus lasting the best hours of trade.Caught without permit the fine was 3 times the fee.
Yael (Julia) Fridung.
Bruenn (Brno), Moravia, Czechoslovakia 1938.
(The Oster Visual Documentation Center, Beit Hatfutsot,
courtesy of Era, Israel)
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The Jewish Community of Brno

Brno

In German: Bruenn

A provincial capital in Moravia, Czech Republic.

Brno was granted the status of a city in 1243 and until 1640 served alternately with Olomouc as the capital of Moravia. Between 1640-1948 Brno was the sole capital. Brno was the second largest city in Czechoslovakia. It was a cultural, commercial and industrial center for textiles, automobiles, railroad-cars, munitions (Bren machine-guns) and clothing. In the city ancient churches from the 14th century and the remains of an old fort still exist. Brno was known for its educational institutions in the German and Czech languages. Until 1918 the city was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian empire and since then until 1993 a part of the Czechoslovak Republic.

In 1254, Ottokar Przemysl II king of Moravia invited Jews to settle in Brno and granted them a letter of privileges.

In the middle of the 14th century, there were 1,000 Jews in a special quarter of the city which one could enter only through the "Jews gate". At the head of the Jewish autonomous community was the "Parnas" who represented the Jews before the city and provincial authorities. The community institutions were financed by the taxes of its members. The community also paid a "Jewish tax" to the local authorities.

As early as 1378 there was a Jewish school in the city. In the first half of the 15th century Israel Bruneh officiated as rabbi.

During the period of the Hussite wars 1419-1436 the hatred against Jews increased causing the deaths of thousands of Jews and the destruction of many Jewish communities in Bohemia and Moravia, among them Brno.

On November 11, 1454, King Ladislav Posthumus expelled the Jews of the city and gave the Jewish homes to the townspeople.

For 400 years Jews were forbidden to live within the city walls. Only a few court Jews were allowed there. Jews who came to Brno could spend the night only in the suburb Kroena where a Jewish inn with a kosher kitchen had been established in 1660. The guests at the inn were forbidden to hold public prayer services, to go out at night or have any social contact with the local population. Only commercial relationships were permitted. In 1769 Jacov Dobrushka who leased the inn needed a special permit to pray in his home and keep a Torah scroll there. Jacob Frank, the founder of the Frankist movement and a relative of Dobrushka came to the city in 1773 and was active there until 1786.

At the beginning of the 18th century there were 52 Jews who lived in the city illegally. In 1722, the city authorities allowed the chief Parnas of the Jews of Moravia to live near the city gate.

The "family law" passed in 1726 by Emperor Karl VI which limited the number of Jews in Moravian cities and the head-taxes levied by queen Maria Theresa in 1744 were hard on the Jews of Moravia. An improvement in their condition came as a result of the "toleration edict" passed in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II, which allowed Jews to open schools, obtain higher education and work as artisans. The city municipal council appealed against the edict. The Jews of Brno attained these privileges only after some years. In 1797, 12 Jews lived in the city and 113 in the suburbs. In 1804 the number had increased to 199. In 1834 there were 135 Jews in the city. The total population was 17,262.

In 1848 the Jews attained equal civil rights. The community began to organize its institutions. In 1852 a burial society was founded, permission was granted to appoint a rabbi and consecrate a cemetery. The first rabbi of the renewed community was David Ashkenazi, who still worked ostensibly as "meat inspector". The synagogue was founded in 1853. The prayer-house was established in 1883 and enlarged afterwards. In 1906 a new synagogue was built.

In 1857 there were 2230 Jews among a population of 59,819.

In 1859 the community was officially recognized. In 1860 Heinrich Kafka was chosen president of the community. Dr. Baruch Placzek was rabbi and during the period 1884-1922 he also served as chief rabbi of the country. A cantor also served the community. In 1861 the constitution of the community was approved by the authorities and a Jewish school with German as the language of instruction was opened. 77 boys and 76 girls studied there. In 1880 a ritual bath and a Matzoth factory were Bnei Brith chapter, a fraternity "Societa" for social services, a group to support yeshiva scholars and the "Hort" organization whose members were business men and clerks were founded. In 1890 the number of Jews in the city rose to 7,087.

During World War I the community helped about 16,000 Jewish refugees who had come to the city from Galicia and Bukovina and also helped the Jewish soldiers stationed in the area.
Some of the refugees remained in the city after the war.

During the period of the Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) a new community council was chosen, a Jewish elementary school with five classes and a Jewish reformed science high school with eight classes (the only one in western Czechoslovakia) were opened. At first the language of instruction was German, later on Czech. Jewish students, many from Eastern Europe where they could not get an academic education because of Numerus Clausus (a law limiting the percentage of Jewish students) came to study in the institutions for higher learning in Brno.

In 1922 there were 10,668 Jews in the city. The leaders of the community were Rabbi Dr. Ludwig Levi and Shmuel Beran the president. In 1931, the president of the community was the industrialist Julius Zwicker.

During the 13th century, the Jews who settled in Brno enjoyed trading rights equal to those of the Christians and could buy houses and land.

After the expulsion in 1454 every Jewish merchant who tried to trade in the city markets was punished. Only in the 16th century were Jews allowed to trade there after payment of double taxes and only twice a week, in spite of the revenue they brought to the city coffers.

During the Thirty Years War which broke out in 1618, the Jews were the purveyers for the Kaiser's army and helped the cities by granting them loans. The guilds and townspeople opposed granting the Jews additional privileges in return.

In 1753 Franz Joseph Neuman was granted permission to establish a Hebrew printing press and in 1765 Jews leased tobacco farms and a textile factory. After 1860 when Jews of Moravia were allowed to purchase real estate the development of trade and industry was rapid. Jews were prominent industrialists. They were also active in medicine, architecture, engineering, banking and other fields. World War I affected the economic conditions of the Jews adversely but during the period of the Czechoslovak Republic the community prospered once again.

In Brno there were well-known Jewish artists, the poet Hieronymus Lorm, the writers Philip Langmen, Oscar Jelinik and Felix Langer, the singers Caroline Giperz and Leopold Demuth, the musicologist Paul Stephan, the violinist Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst and the composers Pavel Hass and Hans Shimring. Dr. Adolph Frankel of Brno was a theatre manager.

From the beginning of their settlement in the city, the Jews were faced by the enmity of the town's people. The church at times incited outbursts of violence, like the pogroms which followed the black plague in 1348. Even after the Jews were given equal rights with the gentiles there were manifestations of anti-Semitism. Only in the second half of the 19th century there was an improvement in the status of the Jews in Christian society.

At the end of the 19th century Zionist societies were organized ("Theodor Herzl" "Zion" "Emuna" (from which Poalei Zion developed afterwards) and "Zfira". The students society "Veritas" spread the Zionist ideology, helped found a students hostel, and organized a "Jewish Soldiers Council" fearing anti-Semitic activities as a result of the declaration of the Czechoslovak Republic. This group later founded the Jewish peoples council in Brno (the Moravian chapter of the National Jewish Council founded in Prague in 1918.) The Czechoslovak Republic in the period between the two world wars granted the Jews national cultural autonomy. The "Juedische Akademische Lese Und Rede Halle" was founded in Brno. Many Jewish students from the provincial towns and neighboring countries were active within this framework.

The Jews of Brno were also active in political affairs. Dr Adolph Stranski was a member of the Austrian parliament and during the period of the Republic was a member of the senate. His son, Yaroslav Stranski was minister of justice in the Czech government in exile in London during World War II and during the years 1945-48 was minister of education.

Dr. Ludwig Czech was vice-chairman of the German social-democratic party for 18 years and served in turn as minister of social welfare, minister of public works and minister of health. Johann Pollack was a member of the senate. Ziegfried Taub was a member of parliament. Dr. Czech and Johann Pollach were killed in the Terezin ghetto.

In the municipal council elections held in 1919 one representative of the Poalei Zion was elected and three of the Jewish national list.

In 1921 the headquarters of the federation of Zionist organizations was established in Brno. Dr. Alfred Engel and Dr. Adolf Greenfeld of Brno were on the central committee.

Branches of "Hitachdut", "Hamizrahi", "Revisionist Zionist", "Wizo" (from 1934) and "General Zionists" (from 1934) were active in the city. "Poalei Zion" opened a branch in 1921 and Siegfried Spitz of Brno was head of the youth department in all of Czechoslovakia.

The Zionist youth movements, "Hashomer Hazair", "Tchelet Lavan", "Maccabi Hazair" and "Bnei Akiva" competed in efforts to gain members. A Jewish sport club was active in Brno from 1907. From 1924, Brno was the regional centre of Maccabi and the centre of Bar-Kochba in Moravia and Silesia. In 1927 Dr. Karl Sonnenfeld of Brno was vice-president of world Maccabi. In 1931, five Jews from Brno were members of the central committee of the newly-founded Jewish party.

Among the Jewish weeklies in the city were the "Juedische Volksstimme (voice of the Jewish People) published by Max Hickl and "Juedische Sozialist" (the Jewish socialist) and "Der Neue Weg" (the new way) by Hugo Gold.

In 1938 there were 11,003 Jews in the city.


The Holocaust Period
After the annexation of Austria to Germany (March 1938) many Jewish refugees arrived in Brno and were in need of help from the community. In September 1938 a year before the outbreak of World War II the Czechoslovak Republic was dissolved as a result of the Munich pact. At the end of 1938 more than 1,000 Jews emigrated to Eretz Israel, most of them illegally, only a few had valid certificates.

On March 15, 1939 the German army occupied the Czech lands (Bohemia and Moravia) and the country became a protectorate of the Third Reich. The main synagogue in Brno was wrecked that same day and the small synagogue bombed afterwards. A few days later the jails of the Gestapo were filled with Jewish prisoners who were then sent to the concentration camp Mauthausen.

On October 1, there were only 9.726 Jews in the city. At the end of 1939, the Germans forbade Jewish emigration. The fascist rule removed the Jews step by step from the cultural, social and economic life. At the beginning of October 1941 there were 11,102 Jews in the city. A short time later the systematic transfer of Czech Jews into ghettos and death camps began. On November 18, 1941 the first transport of 1,000 men, women and children was sent to Minsk in Belorussia. Many died there within two weeks because of shortages of water and medicines. The weak were taken outside the ghetto and shot to death or murdered in special gas-trucks. The bodies were thrown into a pit in the nearby forest. From this transport only eleven Jews survived.

Between December 2, 1941 and July 1, 1943 9,064 Jews in eleven transports arrived in Terezin. Some died there but most of them were killed in the death camps in Poland especially Auschwitz. Only 684 Jews survived. Jews married to gentiles were left in the city. They were deported in 1945 but most of them survived.

Many Jews from Brno served on the eastern front in the framework of the Czech units of the red army.

After the liberation of the city by the Red Army, and until April 30, 1945, 804 survivors returned to the city. They renewed the activities of the community, repaired the orthodox synagogue and opened an old- age home. Dr. Richard Feder was appointed rabbi. A chazan was also employed. The community provided services for the Jews of Kyjov, Olomouc and Ostrava. In 1969 rabbi Feder also served as chief rabbi of Moravia and Bohemia. In 1948 there were 1,398 Jews in the community. During the fifties a memorial was erected for the victims of the Holocaust. During that period the number of Jews in the city and its environs declined to 900.

As a result of the Russian invasion in 1698 most of the Jews left the city but returned afterwards. In 1969 there were 700 Jews there.

In 1973 about 500 Jews were registered in the community. The total population of the city was 330,000. The number of Jews in the city not registered in the community is not known.

By the early 2000s the number had dropoped to slightly less than 300. the community was responsible for the management of 10 synagogues and 45 cemeteries throughout Moravia, including restoration work.

Written by researchers of ANU Museum of the Jewish People
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) , composer, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary), the son of Julius Korngold, the famous Viennese music critic. He studied in Vienna, with Alexander von Zemlinsky among others. He enjoyed great success at an early age with Der Schneemann (pantomime, 1908), the operas Violanta and Der Ring des Polykrates (both 1916) and especially Die tote Stadt (1920). Following this success Korngold became conductor at the Hamburg Opera and, in 1931, teacher at the Academy of Vienna. In 1929 he began his collaboration with director Max Reinhardt. In 1934 he immigrated to the USA and lived in Hollywood, where he composed a number of film scores. In 1942 and 1944 he conducted light operas with the New York Opera.
Korngold composed symphonic overtures, a sinfonietta, a piano concerto for left hand, a violin concerto, chamber music and other operas, including Das Wunder der Heliane (1927), Kathrin, (1939), and Die Stumme Serenade (1954). After 1945 he divided his time between the United States and Europe. He died in Hollywood, California.

Pavel Haas

Pavel Haas (1899-1944), composer, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary). Haas studied piano and composition in his hometown. During World War I, he served in the Austrian army. Between 1920-1922 he furthered his composition studies with Janacek. Haas was deported to the Theresienstadt Nazi concentration camp in 1943.
A prolific composer, Haas composed songs, including New Songs of Old China, written in Theresienstadt, works for choir, three string quartets, piano and woodwind quintets, and the opera Sarlatan. He also composed music for theater and films. He died in Auschwitz.

Ludwig Blum

Ludwig Blum (1891-1975), painter, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary, later Czechoslovakia). During World War I he served in the Austro-Hungarian army. In 1923 he immigrated to the Land of Israel, (then Mandatory Palestine), and settled in Jerusalem.

Blum painted portraits, scenes of everyday life, and landscapes. He produced many paintings of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Sea of Galilee, the Judean Mountains, kibbutzim, as well as still lives, executed in a dry and naturalistic manner. His painting "Jerusalem" was honored at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 1968 he received the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) citizenship prize from the City of Jerusalem.

Isreal Ben Haim Bruna

Isreal Ben Haim Bruna (d. 1480), rabbi, born in Bruenn (Brno), now in Czech Republic, where he also took up his first rabbinical post. In 1454 he settled in Regensburg where he founded a yeshiva which was opposed by the long-serving local rabbis who felt their authority was being usurped. Despite endorsements from leading authorities, he endured indignities until the death of his main rival when he became leader of the community and head of its rabbinical law court. In 1474 Iisrael was imprisoned on a ritual murder libel but was released after an apostate confessed to inventing the story. Bruna's responsa, which were published long after his death, contain much valuable information on German Jewry in his time.

Fritz Gruenbaum

Fritz Gruenbaum (1880-1941), cabaret composer, writer, performer, actor, and playwright, born in Bruenn (Brno), Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now in Czech Republic). He completed his studies through high school and in 1899 moved to Vienna, Austria, to study law. He also became interested in studying literature, which he pursued at the same time. Following graduation, he decided to forego the practice of law. He chose instead, to work in the theatre.

Gruenbaum began writing librettos for operetta in 1903. He took small roles in various theatres and theatre groups. By 1906, he had moved up to cabaret theatre and became the emcee at the Souterrain in Vienna. The theatre in Berlin also opened for him in several theatres under the direction of Rudolf Nelson. Nelson recognized Gruenbaum's talent for cabaret work and in 1910, he appeared as emcee in Nelson’s ‘Chat Noir,' in the ‘Hoelle’ and in the ‘Simpl’ theater, Vienna.

With the outbreak of WW I Gruenbaum volunteered for the army. He was promoted to the rank a 1st Reserve Lieutenant and received distinctions for his service. After the war, he returned to cabaret performance working in both Vienna and Berlin theatres, such as the Simpl and the Ronacher. He married Lilly Herzel in 1916 who became his partner in cabaret routines. Between 1920-1933, he worked as revue and cabaret author, also as emcee in cabarets, primarily in Berlin and Vienna, catering to an intellectual and literary clientele. He acted in films and became a scriptwriter. Gruenbaum collaborated with Paul Morgan and Karl Farkas, with whom he developed the double emcee format. For a while, he acted as manager of the ‘Simpl.' In 1933, he settled in Vienna. Gruenbaum made many guest performances in various localities, including Prague. From 1934 until 1938 he was co-manager, with Karl Farkas, of the ‘Simpl.'

Following the occupation of Austria by Nazi Germany in May 1938, Gruenbaum and his wife attempted to escape across the border with Czechoslovakia. Their effort failed. The Nazis arrested him in Vienna and sent him to the concentration camp of Dachau. In September of the same year, they transferred him to Buchenwald concentration camp. There, together with Paul Morgan and Hermann Leopoldi, he formed a cabaret group to help entertain the inmates.
In October 1940, he was sent back to Dachau where, according to some records, he supposedly died of "paralysis of the heart" on January 14, 1941.

Theodor Gomperz

Theodor Gomperz (1832-1912), philosopher and Classical philologist and historian of ancient philosophy, born in Breunn, Moravia (now Brno, in Czech Republic). After his studies he was appointed professor of classical philology at the University of Vienna. He held this position for twenty eight years (1873-1901). He was elected to the Academy of Science in 1882. Gomperz wrote about the Greek philosophy, and his important work Griechische Denker (3 volumes) which describes the history of the Greek philosophy from its roots until Aristotle, set in the context of the development of the Greek and ancient civilizations, has been translated in many languages and is thought to be one of the basic works in the field.

Gomperz was also active in politics, and served as a Liberal member of the Upper House of the Austrian Parliament. In Jewish affairs he opposed Herzl and the Zionism strongly, and was very much in favour of assimilation.

Gomperz's biography and letters were published by his son Heinrich Gomperz.(1873-1942), who too was a philosopher. Heinrich was baptised, and was a professor in Vienna until 1934, when he refused to join Dolfuss’ Fatherland Front. He immigrated to the USA (1938). Heinrich published many works in addition to his father’s biography, including a study on the Greek philosophy and a work on Socrates Philosophical Studies (1953).

Otto Abeles

Otto Abeles (1879-1945), author, Zionist activist, born in Brno, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary), where he was raised. In Brno Abeles was one of the organizers of Veritas, an organization of Jewish students, and among the founders of the Zionist movement in Bohemia and Moravia. He soon became part of Bertold Feiwel and Robert Strickers’ circle in Zionist activities.

After his studies at the University of Vienna Abeles was employed as legal advisor to the Austrian Railways. His flair for writing led him to move into journalism. He was one of the editors of the Zionist newspaper Die Welt and the Jueddische Zeitung. He also wrote articles for the Yiddische National Zeitung and other newspapers. Together with Stricker he founded the Zionist daily newspaper Wiener Morgenzeitung. In 1926, Abeles became emissary for Keren Hayesod and lectured throughout Western Europe. From 1930 he served as director of Keren Hayesod in Amsterdam. Among his major works are Die Genesung (1920) a book of poems, Besuch in Eretz Israel, a description of his first visit to the Land of Israel (1926), and Zehn Juedinnen (1931), about famous Jewish women.

Abeles died of exhaustion in 1945, shortly after his liberation from the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen Belsen.

Lazar Auspitz

Lazar Auspitz (1772-1853), manufacturer.

Born in Mikulov, Moravia, Czech Republic (then part of the Austrian Empire). He was a member of a well-known Moravian Jewish family of manufacturers.

Auspitz was instrumental in establishing the textile industry in Brno, Moravia, (then part of the Austrian Empire). He was the first to export wool from Moravia to England. With M. L. Biederman he brought about the transfer of the wool trade from Budapest to Vienna. In 1815 he signed the petition for Jewish rights in Austria with Nathan Arnstein, but himself broke with Jewish tradition.

The Jewish Gate in Brno, Moravia 18th Century. Drawing
The Jewish gate to Brno, Moravia 18th century.
Drawing.
From: "Die Juden Und Judengemeinde", by Hugo Gold,
Brno, Czechoslovakia 1934.

During the annual fair Jews were allowed to enter the city only through the Jewish gate where a tax had to be paid.
They had to wait a long time, thus lasting the best hours of trade.Caught without permit the fine was 3 times the fee.
Yael Fridung. Brno, Czechoslovakia 1938
Yael (Julia) Fridung.
Bruenn (Brno), Moravia, Czechoslovakia 1938.
(The Oster Visual Documentation Center, Beit Hatfutsot,
courtesy of Era, Israel)