Ledec: A Lost Community

The Story of the Jews of Ledec, Czechoslovakia

Original home of the Holocaust Torah on exhibit at B'nai Jeshurun Congregation
Exhibit under development at the synagogue and online.

This project was created by B'nai Jeshurun Congregation and was made possible by a gift from Harvey and Paul Madvid in loving memory of their parents, Ben and Lillian Madvid and their sister Sandra Sussman.

In the 1980's, Rabbi Stanley Schachter arranged for our synagogue to receive a Torah from the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust in London, England. The Trust is responsible for a collection of Torah scrolls found in a warehouse in Prague after the Holocaust (See link below to full story). The Torahs were distributed to synagogues throughout the world. Our memorial Torah, #7, which sits in a case outside Nickman Chapel, was from the town of Ledec in Czech. Sadly, only one Jew from Ledec survived the Holocaust.

Through the generosity of Harvey and Paul Madvid, we are in the process of researching and creating a more expanded museum exhibit that will not only be a memorial to those who perished but also pay tribute to the richness of Jewish life in Ledec before the Nazi onslaught. The exhibit will feature photographs, video interviews, narrative text, and artifacts that will tell the story, along with the Memorial Trust Torah. Our goal is to bring their story to life in a meaningful way that celebrates their Jewish community and at the same time helps us understand the full impact of the devastating loss it represents.

In addition, for this exhibit, we are compiling all the video interviews of Holocaust survivors who are members of B'nai Jeshurun Congregation or whose family are members. If you or a loved one are a survivor and you or they were filmed giving an interview or oral history, whether for the Spielberg's Shoah Foundation, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem, or for family, please contact Diane Dronzek. As work progresses, much of those same materials will be posted here. Please check back often. In the meantime, we invite you to visit the links below.

Czech Memorial Scroll Trust
Sermons/articles
Virtual Tour of Restored Synagogue in Ledec
Municipality of Ledec
You Tube video of 50th Anniversary Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust
The Lives of the Jews of Horažd’ovice
The Czech Scrolls Legacy
How the Scrolls Were Saved

We are also grateful for assistance and donation of time, talents and materials by:

Memorial Scrolls Trust
Kent House
Rutland Gardens
London SW7 1BX
Our unique Czech Scrolls Museum welcomes visitors!

US Office of Trust
13715 Magnolia Boulevard
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423, USA
Ph 818 995 8772
Email: czechtorah@aol.com

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Main telephone: (202) 488-0400

Municipality of Ledec

Paul Papier and Papier Photographic

Erin Murphy, Documentary Film-maker and Creator of Oral Histories Portland, Maine, PastTime Productions