The Story of the Czech Scrolls

Synagogues Largely Untouched
Michael explained that the thing that set Bohemia/Moravia apart from the rest of Jewish Europe after the war was that, although the Jews of that country had been slaughtered as had the others, nevertheless in this part of Europe the buildings and objects relating to Jewish life and heritage had survived. The Synagogues, by and large, were untouched, and their contents had been gathered up and taken to Prague for storage. At the end of the war 45 warehouses stored the contents of 122 synagogues.

One particular warehouse contained over 1500 Torah Scrolls. (A Torah Scroll is made of parchment on which a Scribe has meticulously copied by hand the five books of Moses. A Synagogue may commonly have two of these Scrolls, and over the years could accumulate a few more).

2000 Scrolls
A gentleman who operated in the Art market became aware that some 2000 scrolls had landed up in Prague and, with the sponsorship of some rich clients, he was instrumental in bringing the Scrolls to London in 1964. The question was what to do with the Scrolls, and after checks on their condition the task of distributing them to congregations across the world was commenced. Because the Scrolls are painstakingly written by hand they are very expensive to produce and so difficult for fledgling congregations to afford.

Scrolls for NLPS
When the Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue (NPLS) came into being in 1964 they needed two Scrolls and were extremely grateful to be given two of the Scrolls rescued from Prague. During the 1970s and 1980s some 1400 Scrolls were distributed across the world. Many congregations never took the obvious step of enquiring where their Scrolls came from. However, in 1978 a child in the Religion School at NPLS did ask and the Rabbi was able, from the certificate which had accompanied the Scrolls, to identify that Kolin was the town from which they had come, and information on that town and its Jewish congregation was found in the Jewish Encyclopaedia.

The Rabbi based his Day Of Atonement sermon on the subject of the Scrolls and then suggested that if anybody was going to Czechoslovakia they should try to locate this town and report back to the NPLS congregation. This was easier said than done, as at that the time there were many restrictions in force; visitors were not able to go about freely, and they were often under observation by the Communist secret police. People were generally reluctant to be seen talking to foreigners, and if they did speak to you the conversation had to be reported to the police.

When Michael subsequently went to Prague on business he did manage, in spite of considerable difficulty, to visit the town of Kolin which was an hour’s train journey from Prague. Having been told by a man at the town hall in Prague that there was no Synagogue in Kolin, only a Memorial, Michael tried to locate the cemetery.

Misleading Information
From this point onwards in his talk, Michael showed a number of slides relating to the streets, buildings, town square and people he was describing. Eventually, after being given a lot of misleading information, he arrived at the cemetery which was surrounded by a high wall and locked gates. He had in fact found the cemetery going back to 1480 but which closed in the 1800s, so he had to find a new cemetery. However he then had to return to Prague and then to England having received virtually no help and without having achieved very much. But when he got back to England there was a letter waiting for him saying that there was a Jewish lady living in Kolin who spoke English by the name of Olga, and giving a rather imprecise address.

Return to Kolin: "What kept you?"
On his next visit to Prague Michael again managed to take the train to Kolin and eventually locate where Olga lives. Olga is the only Jewish person remaining in Kolin, doesn't speak English, is 82 years old and deaf. So communication between them is effected in German by Michael writing down what he wants to say on a pad, and Olga responding verbally. Olga is not surprised to see him and says that she has waited 40 years for his visit - what kept him?

Olga takes him to the new cemetery and on the way she described what life in Kolin had been like. Jews had lived there for thousands of years, and in medieval times had been forced to live in a small corner of the town. They lived under severe restrictions with many jobs barred to them, restrictions on opportunities for study, they were subjected to punitive taxes, limited in the number of children they could have, and subject to many other deprivations. There were some good times and some terrible times, but somehow they got by.

20 Years Of Freedom...
In 1848 there was a great change. Emancipation began for the Jews, and they were allowed to move out, to study, to enter the professions etc. The 20 years from 1918 was a period of freedom and liberty.

...Then Hitler
Then in 1938 Hitler came to power, and Chamberlain handed over the Sudetenland to him, and the expulsion of the Jews commenced. Many Jews from the Sudetenland came to Kolin to stay with relatives and the population of Kolin went up 50%. However most of the fleeing Jews went to Prague, and Prague couldn't absorb them. There was the most terrible deprivation. People tried to make houses out of wardrobes, sheeting etc, somewhat reminiscent of the African shanty towns of today.

Invasion & Deportations
In March 1939 the rest of the country was invaded, and those who had fled from the outside to the inside were trapped. They weren’t allowed to go out to parks, theatres, cafes, etc. They lost their businesses and even had to donate their houses to non-Jews. Their children couldn't go to school and they had no ration cards. Then in October 1941 the richest Jews and leaders of the Jewish community were deported. They were put on a train and presumably shot. In June 1942 Jews were required to queue for three days outside the high school to register, they had their possessions taken away, and then they were deported with the same horrific result.

Every Name Recorded
Olga had the key to the new cemetery and the first thing Michael noticed was that it was not overgrown. This was not due to care and attention but the fact that a squatter had moved into the gravedigger’s accommodation, and he has sheep that keep down the grass. And there in the cemetery is the Memorial. It was dedicated on the 23rd April 1950 and was built because the old Rabbi of Kolin had survived, and he was instrumental in its construction and the recording on it of the name of every Jew from Kolin who had been killed.

The fact that the names of the Kolin Jewish community are all recorded is very significant because the terrible fate of 6 million Jews is a concept one cannot come to terms with. We can't even know a tenth of the number of people: normal people with expectations of a normal life. Whole families were wiped out and when we see photos of the victims we don't know who they are or their personal stories, but here at Kolin we do know who the people are; from A-Z everyone is known - their names and family connections. They are no longer anonymous.

Michael asked Olga why she continues to live in Kolin when she could live with Jews in Prague. Her reply was that she wants to remain among friends, and she has inscribed her name and date of birth on her parents’ gravestone. So what happens when her date of death is eventually inscribed? Michael and Olga went into the cemetery Prayer Hall which was in disarray with hay for the sheep, an old bicycle and an assortment of general junk. However amid the squalor and dirt was an imposing 20ft high arch surmounted with the 10 Commandments.

In 1979 when NPLS’s present building was in course of construction, Michael again returned to Kolin and on this visit Olga showed him round the old Jewish ghetto area of the 1500s. She pointed out where various old shops and buildings had been and informed him that she was taking him to see the Synagogue - in spite of the fact that the man in the Prague town hall had assured him that there wasn't a Synagogue in Kolin! The Synagogue bears the inscription 1692 and inside one is confronted with an appalling sight of dereliction, broken windows etc.

Michael showed a slide of the inside of the Synagogue and its Ark – the Ark from which 18 congregations across the world now have a Scroll. He was also able to show what the Synagogue looked like in its glory by taking a photograph of a model of it as it was in the 1600s.

Friends Reunited
At the end of this visit Olga wanted reassurance that Michael would come back, and when he did return he came by car. Having the car enabled him to drive Olga to the next town and to reunite her with a Jewish friend (another Olga). This was September time, and when he visited again the following March he and Olga returned to the cemetery. Because of the interest shown by NPLS in the history of its Scrolls and the Jewish community from which they came, the Kolin cemetery is now being cared for.

NPLS-Kolin Synagogues Partnership
NPLS decided that it was going to adopt the Jews of Kolin; in effect to absorb them by taking on their history and the remembrance of their roots and what happened to them. As mentioned earlier, there was a 20ft Arch surmounted with the 10 Commandments in the derelict Prayer Hall of the cemetery. This Arch was rescued and brought to London and is now, with the Ark at its centre, the focal point of the NPLS Synagogue. So, by NPLS taking an interest in the history of its Scrolls, Kolin Jewry has not been lost. NPLS has found them and they have found NPLS. They have become part of NPLS, and NPLS are part of them.

- Bernard Tiley