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Remember Ostrava |
In October, 1939, the first-ever transport of Jews
"To The East" departed from Ostrava.
The transport included 1,291 Jewish men from Ostrava, sent to the first "re-settlement camp" in Nisko nad San in Southern Poland. It was a forerunner to the systematic deportations and murder that would follow. It spelled the beginning of the end of more than 400 years of Jewish settlement in Ostrava, and almost 1,000 years of Jewish presence in the Czech lands. In all, 7,533 Jewish residents from Ostrava were murdered by the Nazis.
7,533 Jews from Ostrava perished. Miraculously, some survived. Miraculously, some returned. Please help us let these survivors know they are not forgotten.
The present day Jewish community in Ostrava is small. Currently there are 126 registered members. (There are Jewish residents in the area who are not necessarily registered with the community). Like the others of the ten administrative Jewish communities in Czech Republic, (click here for more information on the Jewish communities in Czech Republic) the Jewish community of Ostrava struggles to provide services and create a vibrant and renewing community with precariously few resources.