The Holocaust Memorial, Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic - The Holocaust on Waymarking.com

Ústí nad Labem is situated in a mountainous district at the confluence of the Bílina and the Elbe (Labe) Rivers, an active river port and important railway junction. A trading centrer as early as 993, the city was founded by King Otakar II of in the latter part of the 13th century. War ravaged over the centuries, during the 19th century the city became heavily industrialized. Mining, chemical manufacture, and river transport were important then and still today.

The Jewish community in Ústí nad Labem dates from 1848. From the 1860s until 1938, Usti nad Labem's population of about 100,000 had a thriving Jewish community, who contributed greatly to the town's industrial, economic, and cultural development. Men like Eduard Jakob Weinmann and Ignaz Petschka played an important role in Europe's coal industry and even had its own coal exchange in the second half of the nineteenth century. On New Year's Eve 1938, the Nazis burnt down the local synagogue, which was converted into a meat factory. Part of Jewish population emigrated before WWII and part of the remain population left this area after annexation of Sudetenland. Most of the town's Jewish residents were sent to the Nazi death camps. Religious intolerance continued even after the war prompting many of the members of this community to emigrate afterwards. Religious freedoms came after 1989. In the 1950s, the Jewish part of the local cemetery was destroyed, Contemporary Jewish community efforts mean that members regularly for worship, especially during Jewish festivals. Life in the community is declining due to the absence of a young generation. 17 of the 50 members of the community in 2000 lived in Ústí nad Labem. Only 38 members were recorded by July 2005 most of whom moved to the city from Western Ukraine in 1945-1946.

Granite Star of David commemorates Usti Jews who survived II. World War. The monument stands on the spot where it was in the past the Jewish cemetery. Weighing nine tons of stars are seen only three of its corners. It's also sanded the beginning of the Jewish faith.

Physical Address: Sadová Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic Date Dedicated: 01/01/2005 Supporting Website: [Web Link] Memorial Type: Monument/Plaque Fee/Donation: Not listed

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