lecture by Michal Doležel and Michal Konečný
On the night of 17–18 March 1939, just days after the Nazi occupation of Brno, the city’s Great Synagogue on what is now Přízova Street was set on fire and destroyed. The destruction of the most important Jewish house of worship in the city was not a random act of vandalism but part of a systematic effort to erase Jewish presence from public space. It followed the wave of anti-Jewish violence that had swept through Germany and the annexed territories since November 1938, during which hundreds of synagogues and thousands of Jewish businesses were burned, destroyed, or looted.
In their lecture, historians Michal Doležel and Michal Konečný will examine the circumstances surrounding the destruction of Brno’s Great Synagogue, its place in the city’s history, and the broader context of Nazi persecution of the Jewish population. They will also discuss the post-war fate of the site, which remained undeveloped after the ruins were cleared away, and the changing collective memory associated with one of the most significant symbols of Jewish Brno.
The lecture will be held in Czech.
