Olomouc (Olmutz), Czech Republic

 

General

    Olomouc is a city in Moravia.  Jews were first mentioned in the town in 1140.  The synagogue pictured below, designed by Jacob Gartner, was dedicated in 1897.  In 1903, there were about 2,200 Jews in Olomouc (3.3% of the total population).  With the German occupation, the synagogue was burned down on March 15,1939.  Jews from surrounding areas were concentrated in the city, and ultimately about 3,500 Jews were deported to extermination camps through Theresienstadt in the summer of 1942.  Only 128 of these deportees survived the war.  See also Olomouc.

Postcard

    Below are thumbnails of the front and back of a postcard from an inmate at Theresienstadt with the cachet of the Olmutz Judenrat.  Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Postcard" in the left frame to return.

 

References

Spector, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (2001), P. 935

Copyright © 2004 Edward Victor