TELČ, High School

Introduction…

I discovered the project Neighbours Who Disappeared thanks to the members of the civic association Phoenix Telč, which organized two important events in 2002 concerning the Nágl family, who perished in Auschwitz. They created a memorial and an education trail of the painter F. M. Nágl and his family near Kostelní Myslová and installed a memorial plaque in Telč.

I contacted Mrs Marta Vančurová, supervisor and coordinator of the project, to find out more about the Neighbours Who Disappeared project and together with a group of students from Telč schools we got down to work.

I didn't know then that I would have to study a lot myself, to create a specific methodology for teaching the Jewish history of our town, to provide a place where we could meet the survivors and tie the strings of memories into a knot of a tragic history of our former neighbours. I also had to take into account that not everybody would last till the end and that the structure of the working group would be changing in age as well as numbers.

We all studied together - and we were very happy about finding new survivors from the last war generation, a story with a happy ending or about getting a positive response to our exhibitions. Our knowledge expanded and we started to talk about "our families and our children."

Our stories cover a wide range of events and personal stories - illegal flight from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, participation in foreign resistance (Karel and Jiří Neumann), "mixed marriage" (the Mikulíček family), departure of a family abroad in 1941 and their return after the War (Hahn), persecution, deportation, concentration camps, death march (Mr Spitzer) and extermination camps (Taube and Nágl family).

During an almost three-years long work on the project Neighbours Who Disappeared and A Tribute to the Child Holocaust Victims several institutions started to cooperate: the school, parents of the students, House of Children and Youth, local museum, Municipal authority, Culture and Information Centre in our town and in the nearby villages, Pensioners club, and via Internet also Mr Henry Hahn in the U.S. and Mr. Z. Pošusta in Prague. All of them were very helpful.

Božena Kadeřávková

ITINERARY Year 2004:

March:
˘ The group has seven members from Masarykova Primary School, Hradecká Primary School and Otokar Březina High School in Telč. We get acquainted with the project; we debate with Mr. A. Spitzer from Jihlava, receive information about the Taube family from Mrs Navrátilová and contact Mr Hahn in the U.S.

September:
˘ A Homeland Study Club is established within the House of Children and Youth - the group has five members; during the school year we discover Jewish monuments in the town and in the neighbourhood (we visit cemeteries in Velký Pěčín, Telč, memorial plaque of the Second World War victims, educational trail of M. Nágl, former synagogue), we debate with Mrs. Plačková and Mrs. Mikulíčková, who lives in Prague (they are both from the Neumann family)

Year 2005:
˘ Stories of the Neumann, Taube, Hahn, Nágl families and the story of A. Spitzer are recorded, we prepare the exhibitions 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Czechoslovakia and Neighbours Who Disappeared - altogether seven panels; we move to the second phase of the project "A Tribute to the Child Holocaust Victims", students of Otokar Březina High School take care of the visual aspect of two panels, we prepare brochures.
˘ 5 May: opening of the exhibition Neighbours Who Disappeared from Telč in Museum Telč
˘ 14 -15 July: opening of the exhibition A Tribute to the Child Holocaust Victims in the Senate
˘ July: Elementary School of Music and Arts in Telč - exhibition A Tribute to the Child Holocaust Victims; publishing brochures in English
˘ August: Synagogue in Třebíč - exhibition A Tribute to the Child Holocaust Victims
˘ October: Municipal Authority Telč - exhibition Neighbours Who Disappeared
˘ November: we attend Tykadlo - discussion programme of the Czech Television dealing with the Holocaust

Year 2006:
˘ March: we attend seminars in the Culture and Education Centre of the Jewish Museum in Prague and in Terezín Memorial
˘ May: Třešť - opening of the exhibition Neighbours Who Disappeared from Telč
˘ July-August: exhibition Neighbours Who Disappeared from Telč and Tribute to the Child Holocaust Victims in the former synagogue in Telč - student take on the role of guides
˘ August: our work on the project acquires new dimension when we find new information about the history of Telč Torahs - we contact congregations and synagogues in the U.S. and Israel
˘ October: visit of Mr and Mrs Innerfield from the Oakdale congregation in the U.S., who have the Telč Torah on permanent loan.

AUTHORS' FOOTNOTES

Pavel Adamec, 13 years
I am interested in the history of Second World War, which is implicitly connected with the history of Jews. I wanted to learn more and during the meeting with the survivors I found out the answer to my question: "What happened here in Telč?"

Katka Opatrná, 15 years
I first heard about the Holocaust at a debate with Mr Spitzer, who was deported to Terezín when he was my age. I cannot imagine how I would stand the test…

Ondra Koubík, 15 years
With the Homeland Study Club we visited the old Jewish forest cemetery. Who were the people who had to stay apart from the others even after their death?

Klára Křížková, 16 years
From the tragic life stories that I encountered, there was at least one with a happy ending. Thanks to our search, two childhood friends, Mr Henry Hahn and Mr Spitzer, met after almost 70 years.

Jindřiška Adamcová, 16 years
Until now, I didn't know much about Jews and their culture, although I knew something from literature. Now I discovered real personal histories. Many of them were students of my age, with similar joys but such a different end of life…

Božena Kadeřávková, 59 years
At the beginning of the project "Neighbours Who Disappeared from Telč" was a slightly opened window of memories - the Taube family with three children. After one and a half years our knowledge about "our families and our children" expanded so much that we had to continue in our search for a long time.

LIST OF CHILD HOLOCAUST VICTIMS In 1942, 78 Jews from Telč were gathered in the internment camp in Třebíč. Here they entered the transports Av on 18 May 1942 and Aw on 22 May 1942 to Terezín and further to the east. Other people were arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps. Total number of the Holocaust victims from Telč is 105. Among those there were also children.

Furchtová Vlasta * 6 June 1935 in Telč, Telč II/116
Deported on May 25 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 394

Heilig Hanuš * 12 March 1928, Telč IV/296
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 426

Heilig Richard * 21 September 1931, Telč IV/296
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with number 427

Holzbauer Bedřich * 15 September 1926, Telč I/20, student of Telč High School, forced to discontinue his studies in 1940
Deported in transport Eb from Terezín to Osvětim, with serial number of 2168

König Otto * 13 August 1926, Telč I/70
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 485; died on 25 September 1942 in Majdanek

Lauerová Olga * 12 November 1924, Telč II/113, clerk
Deported on 25 May 1942 from Terezín to Lublin in transport Az, number 388

Lauer Ludvík *13 January 1934, Telč II/113, student
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 389

Lauer Otto * 7 March 1927, Telč II/75, student of Telč High School, forced to discontinue his studies in 1940
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 411

Lauer Karel * 13 February 1928, Telč II/75, student
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 412

Mandl Erich * 31 August 1924, Telč IV/37, farm labourer
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 614

Posamenter Otto * 10 April 1927
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 359, died on 11 September 1942 in Majdanek

Posamenterová Ruth * 21 February 1932, student
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 360

Schrecker Jiří * 19 June 1939
Deported on 18 December 1943 in transport Ds from Terezín to Auschwitz, with number 1454

Steinová Eva * 4 September 1931 in Brno, student
Deported on 23 October 1944 in transport Et from Terezín to Auschwitz, with number 286

Taubová Charlotta * 18 May 1926, Telč II/56, student of Telč High School, forced to discontinue her studies in 1940
Deported on 19 October 1944 in transport Es from Terezín to Auschwitz, with number 690

Taubová Ema * 30 April 1930. Telč II/56, student
Deported on 9 October 1944 in transport Es from Terezín to Auschwitz, with number 689

Taub Arnold * 23 November 1928, Telč II/56, student
Deported on 16 October 1944 in transport Er from Terezín to Auschwitz, with number 1209

Turnovská Ilsa * 9 November 1924, Telč I/105, apprentice
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with number 442

Turnovská Margita * 2 March 1929, Telč I/105, student
Deported on 25 May 1942 in transport Az from Terezín to Lublin, with serial number 443

THE HAHN FAMILY FROM TELČ The moment we contacted Mr Henry Hahn we knew we found somebody who would support our project not only by providing information, but also by advising us on our discovery of long-forgotten facts from the past. The contact was not personal - information, questions, photos and advice travelled from the United States to Telč via e-mail and Internet. Mr Henry Hahn also gave us a family chronicle written in English, translated by Mrs Marie Rodová. Mr Hahn wrote the chronicle for his relatives. He wanted to show his daughter Anita and his son Jeff their European roots and help them to discover their Jewish identity. When he was writing the chronicle, he didn't know to what extent his memories would affect us here in Telč. They serve as an illustration of the period before and after the Second World War in Europe as well as in our town. Some memories are so authentic that we would like to quote them, with the permission of the author. We are looking forward to a personal meeting. In May 2005 Mr Hahn will come to Telč and we will show him the exhibition - the outcome of our collective effort.

Grandfather of Henry/Hanuš Hahn, Herman Hahn, moved to Telč from Dačice in 1870 with his wife Adéla, née Schwarz. The family had nine children, but only four of them survived baby age: Alfréd, who lived and died in Vienna, Hedvika, who married Mr Laufer and died in 1935, and Ludvík and Oskar, successors of the Hahn family in Telč. The founder of the family, Mr Herman Hahn, died in 1899. Ludvík and Oskar became part-owners of the company located in Furch Street in Podolí. They traded grain, poppy and flax seeds. The company broadened their line of products and after the First World War also expanded to Germany, Austria and Slovakia. Mr Taub was a co-partner in some of their shops. They had several employees and the company owned warehouses, stables and an office. The company's sign is visible even today "Grain Warehouse - Herman Hahn and Sons". Neither the Nazis, nor the Communists have managed to repaint it. It is called "The eternal Hahns".

FAMILY OF LUDVÍK HAHN - UNCLE OF HENRY/HANUŠ HAHN

Ludvík Hahn married Marie (Mitzi) Mannaberg, from the Polish town of Zakopane. They lived on the upper floor of a house in today's Svatoannenská Street number 125. The company office was situated on the ground floor. Today there is a shop called Praktik. In 1920s they adopted a girl called Vanda from a Polish Jewish family, who came to Telč during the First World War. Soon after the adoption, son Kamil (Kamillo) was born. Both children grew up together. Vanda was a very pretty girl. Together with Kamil they enjoyed riding their horse Alan and playing tennis in Lanner park. They had lots of friends in Telč. Kamil studied at Telč Secondary School and later at an English High School in Prague. He liked to ride his motorcycle around Telč together with his friends. In the 1930s, Vanda married JUDr. Ernst Kohn and they lived in a manor in Jemnice. They had a son called Alexander. The family practised Jewish religion. Ludvík was a member of Chevra Kadish and as a member of the burial society he had two desks placed on the gateway of the Jewish Cemetery with inscription "Don't we all have the same God?" and "Don't We All Worship the Same God?" 15 March 1939 arrived. Already in June 1939, Jewish inhabitants were subject to race laws and a number of discriminating measures, which gradually intensified and affected all spheres of life. A German trustee was appointed in the company and Ludvík was not allowed to come to the office. Kamil couldn't finish his studies and became an apprentice in a confectionery. In 1940 the synagogue was closed down and the Hahn family celebrated their last Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Ludvík's family didn't consider emigration and together with other Jewish friends said goodbye to the family of Oskar Hahn, his brother, who embarked on an uncertain and long journey to exile. Vanda with the Kohn family was the first to be summoned to Terezín. All of them died in the extermination camp in Poland. Ludvík, Mici and Kamil left together with other families from Telč to Terezín. On 1 September 1942 they were transported to Raasika in Eastern Europe. No one from the family survived Holocaust.

FAMILY OF MR HENRY/HANUŠ HAHN

After their marriage in 1923, the parents of Henry Hahn, Oskar Hahn and Helena /Heli/, née Gottlieb, lived in Telč in Svatoannenská Street. Nowadays, their house is part of the premises of Strojírenská, a.s. (former Motorpal company). Oskar Hahn together with his brother Ludvík were co-owners of a company called H. Hahn and Sons. Heli often assisted them in the warehouses and in the office. In 1928 son Hanuš was born, one year later daughter Suzi, who died in baby age. The family house was spacious and comfortable. It included a garden and a farm. Hahn household also included Mrs Růžena Kalinová, an excellent cook, Betty Pour, an English governess, caretaker Pollák, coachman Tajml, gardener Čermák and a housemaid. The family had lots of friends in Telč among the Jewish families of Furcht, Taube, Schrecker, Böhm, Heilig, and among other inhabitants as well. Together they visited Dobrá Voda, played tennis at courts in Lanner garden, participated in the cultural life of Telč. The family enjoyed travelling, skiing in Tatra Mountains and visiting Europe. They were interested in history and Art. The family was not orthodox, but little Henry received Jewish religious education from Mr Freud, who worked as a teacher, cantor and shochet in the local Jewish community. Up to the age of eleven, Henry was a student of local primary school in Telč. He also attended private language courses - of English and German - and he took violin lessons with Mr Hýža. In 1939 he was admitted to the High School as the only Jewish student, as it was permitted by the decree from 1939. Most of Henry's childhood friends have not survived the Holocaust - Karel and Ota Lauer, Nolda Taub, Fritzek Holzbauer. Among his schoolmates from the first grade of the Secondary school were Josef Remeš and M. Šanda - they had been in contact until recently. One of his "teachers" who incited his fondness of philately, which he has kept until today, was the hairdresser Matěj Šindler. Until November 1938 the family tried to lead a normal life. The Hahns together with grandfather and grandmother Gottlieb faced some difficulties when returning from holidays in France - as Jews, they could not travel with French airlines across Germany. They finally managed to reach Telč via the occupied Vienna. Until March 15, Jewish inhabitants of Telč pretended that everything was all right. Mr Hahn comments the 15 March 1939 in the following way: "...the final blow came on 15 March 1939. That day at four in the morning a phone call from Prague informed Oscar that the occupation has started and that the Army would arrive in Telč at around seven thirty. Our family and the Earl of Lichteinstein at the castle were the only ones with night telephone connection. We immediately woke up the Mayor and the Police chief to prevent the outbreak of panic when Germans would enter the town." Shortly before the classes started, at around eight o'clock, German tanks, armoured cars and artillery started to gather on the square. The teacher sent his pupils home and no panic was aroused. Czech soldiers were on guard at the castle offices and German soldiers got time off to buy goods that were not available in Germany. Since Henry spoke German, he directed the soldiers to different shops outside the square and assisted Mr Lauer, who sold textile, coffee and other goods. Germans immediately started to exchange German Marks at a very inconvenient rate of 1 Mark per 10 Crowns. German army seized the school and made a mess at the school yard. The building of the Czech Sokol Organization and other large buildings were turned into lodging houses for soldiers. Officers were accommodated in private apartments, including that of the Hahn family. The officer who stayed with us was very polite, but demanded a car with a driver and left for Vienna for several days. The driver returned by train without the car and without the officer. After a few days, classes resumed and the Germans left. The town returned back to normal. Several Czech Nazis appeared in the carpenter's work-shop, they were dressed in black with swastika on their sleeves and in black boots. Most of them were of German origin. Later one of them was drowned by Czech patriots in a nearby lake. Gradually, life began to change. At that time, Henry attended secondary school together with other two Jewish boys, Karel Lauer and Arnold Taube. A decree was issued stating that only one of them could visit High School and other two had to stay in the Secondary School (so-called měšťanka). For reasons unknown, Henry was chosen. A German inspector was appointed in Oskar's and Ludvík's shop, but they were still able to come to their office. Hela started to take intensive English lessons with Betty Pour, but Oskar's attitude was firm and optimistic. He believed "it" would blow over and he refused to think about emigration. At the beginning of September 1939 the Hahn family learned about invasion of Poland. Shortly after, their distant relatives from Jemnice were arrested and imprisoned by the Gestapo. Urged by their relatives in the U.S., Oskar Hahn decided to run away with the whole family as soon as possible. Visas to Central and South America were "sold" by the consuls for high prices. Oskar Hahn acquired passports stamped with red "J" and transit visas to Italy for the whole family at the Chilean consulate. The mark J meant Jude - Jew, but they were commonly known as Journalist passport. The family was interrogated at the Petschka Palace in Prague, they had to submit all their property to Nazis and promise never to return. After complicated and traumatizing negotiations in an oppressive atmosphere with only one personal luggage with the most necessary things the family departed on 14 January 1940 to Genoa, Italy. Here, they were supposed to embark on the Orazio ship heading to the Chilean Valparaiso. In Italy, however, they encountered some complications with the documents and the departure from Europe was prolonged in several months. The string of following events was very dramatic. The officials claimed that the visas were invalid and Orazio left without the Hahn family. Later, the same ship was burned down in an accidental air raid and all the passengers died. Oskar Hahn managed to obtain transit visas to Spain and in August 1940 the family moved to Barcelona. Henry provisionally attended a Swiss school with German language of instruction. At the same time he studied Spanish. In December 1940 the family finally obtained temporary visas to Cuba and sailed from Bilbao to Lisbon. The journey across the Atlantic lasted about ten days and after New Year 1941 they landed in Havana. Then they boarded an American ship called Oriente with destination New York. They were welcome by the family of uncle Ernest Gottlieb and aunt Margot. In spring 1941, they met grandmother and grandfather Gottlieb, who escaped to the United States via England. In the U.S., the Hahn family from Telč started a new life...

"TORAH FROM TELČ"

The Second Life of Czech Torah Scrolls was a title of an exhibition in the Robert Guttmann Gallery in Prague (26 October to 28 January 2007) and we adopted the title, because it concerns specific parchment manuscripts, including five Torah Scrolls from Telč. We discovered their story thanks to the exhibition and thanks to Mr Henry Hahn from the U.S. and Zdeňek Pošusta from Prague - both natives from Telč. They managed to trace the Torahs from Telč to their present-day "addresses". In 1942, the Central Office for Jewish Emigration ordered the Jewish Communities to submit all the Czech and Moravian scrolls in the Protectorate to the Central Jewish Museum in Prague. Altogether 1800 scrolls ended up in the Museum. After the War, in 1950, the scrolls were deposited in the synagogue in the Prague district of Michle, which was supposed to become a museum. The scrolls were to become part of the collection of an Antique-style Library, but events took another turn. The former Communist regime was looking for a profitable market and in 1963 the scrolls were sold at a pre-arranged price to an anonymous philanthropist. In 1964 they were sent to London and according to the purchase agreement they were not allowed to become commercial items. The Torahs found refuge at the Jewish congregation in Westminster. The Memorial Scrolls Trust offered to loan them - the scrolls that were in good condition could be loaned for liturgical uses in synagogues and damaged scrolls were placed in Museums and Shoa memorials all over the world. The Torahs from Telč can be found in congregations and synagogues in Oakdale, NY; Miami Beach, FL; East Brunswick, NJ; Oceanside, NY in the U.S. and in Kiryat Gat in Israel. Our city addressed the mentioned congregations by a letter, in which we introduced Telč and its history, culture and memories of the Jewish minority, as well as Jewish sights in spiritual and historical context. The first to respond was the Oceanside congregations through Mr Hahn and their representative, Mr. Arnold Innerfield. We received photographs of their synagogue and the Telč Torah, we established personal contact. On 31 October 2006 Mr and Mrs Innerfield visited out town. With interest they examined the Jewish monuments - former synagogue, Jewish cemetery, memorial plaques to the Second World War victims, memorial plaque of the painter F. M. Nágl. They were interested in history of the Jewish families from Telč and in the history of the local pre-war Jewish community. Mr and Mrs Innerfield shared their memories and personal experiences with the Telč Torah. They told us that Arnold was commissioned by the congregation to collect the Torah at the airport. He brought it home and when he unwrapped the Torah, the whole family cried, because they knew about its previous fate. In a few days they brought the Torah to the Jewish quarter at the east side of New York. A new mantle was sewn with embroidered inscription "We Cry for You" in Hebrew and English. The members of the community were asked to donate 18 dollars for the renovation of the Torah. It was a symbolic amount, because number 18 in Hebrew consists of two letters - CH and J, which means chajim - life. Everybody in the congregation gave a second life to the Torah. This year, Mr Innerfield celebrated his 83rd birthday. On the day of his birthday he also celebrated his second Bar Mitzvah, because at seventy, men start their second life and after another 13 years they are ready to become sons of the commandment. During the day of the ceremony he chose to read from the Telč Torah. He confided to us that he was really moved and the reading was as emotional as his first Bar Mitzvah.

Our search of the histories of our fellow Jewish citizens within the project Neighbours Who Disappeared got another dimension. We also found new friends, who contributed with their experience and memories to deepen the historical memory.