Flight, Emigration and Death
"Protectorate" of Bohemia and Moravia
In Prague alone the Jewish population's share of the city's total population rose in 1939 from 45,000 to about 56,000. Czechoslovakia was regarded as one of the most important places of refuge for the persecuted Austrian Jews. At the time of the invasion by German troops in March 1938, about 118,000 Jews lived in Bohemia and Moravia, many of whom now tried to escape to Poland, in most cases illegally. The "Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung in Böhmen und Mähren", set up on the Viennese model, served the purpose of accelerating the expulsion of both Czech and foreign Jews by means of pressure and humiliations, and of the complete and efficient plundering of the refugees. By October 1941, about 26,650 Jews, among them many Austrians, had succeeded in leaving the country.
As had been the case in Vienna, young Jews capable of work, including some from Austria, were deported from Ostrava/Mährisch Ostrau to Nisko on the San in October 1939. Between October and November five deportation trains with each 1,000 persons on board went from Prague to Lodz, and a further transport brought 1,000 persons from Brno to Minsk, about 200 Austrian Jews among them.
A proportion of the deportees died at the first destination because of the appalling living conditions, quite a number died working in Posen, others in West Polish labour camps, or else became victims of the extermination camps where they were eventually deported to. On June 10, 1942, 1,000 Jews were deported from Prague to Majdanek. The remaining Jews were first taken to Theresienstadt, in 122 transports. Altogether about 74,000 people were taken to Theresienstadt ghetto between November 1941 and March 1945 from Prague, Brno, Pilsen, Ostrava/Mährisch Ostrau, Ungarisch Brod, and Königgrätz. The majority, about 60,000, died in the extermination camps in the "Generalgouvernment" or the "Reichskommissariat Ostland", among them also numerous Austrian victims.
It is estimated that 78,000 of the 92,200 Jews living in the "Protectorate" Bohemia and Moravia before the mass deportations lost their lives. Of the roughly 1,500 Austrian Jews who were deported from the Protectorate, about 340 lived to see the liberation.
Karl Meisel (born on February 7, 1928) and his mother Johanna (born on
October 13, 1895) were deported together from Brno to Theresienstadt on
March 19, 1942. A few days later, on April 1,
1942, they were taken aboard Transport Ag to Piaski, Poland. Their whereabouts have been unknown ever since.
(Standing from left to right:)
Adolf N. and Max Eisinger,
(seated from left to right:)
Julius and Arnold Eisinger.
Arnold Eisinger (born on June 4, 1891), lived in Langenlois with his wife, Olga (born on August 12, 1904), and his two daughters, Renée (born on November 13, 1924), and Ruth (born on June 8, 1927). They fled together to Brno to Julius Eisinger. Arnold Eisinger, his wife and his two daughters were deported on March 31, 1942, from Brno to Theresienstadt, and a few days later, on April 27, 1942, to Izbica.
Julius Eisinger was taken with his wife and his son, Ernst, from Brno to an unknown camp.
(Standing from left to right:)
Adolf N. and Max Eisinger,
(seated from left to right:)
Julius and Arnold Eisinger.
Arnold Eisinger (born on June 4, 1891), lived in Langenlois with his wife, Olga (born on August 12, 1904), and his two daughters, Renée (born on November 13, 1924), and Ruth (born on June 8, 1927). They fled together to Brno to Julius Eisinger. Arnold Eisinger, his wife and his two daughters were deported on March 31, 1942, from Brno to Theresienstadt, and a few days later, on April 27, 1942, to Izbica.
Julius Eisinger was taken with his wife and his son, Ernst, from Brno to an unknown camp.
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