Kolin, Czechoslovakia

Kolin, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, today Czech Republic. In the Middle Ages Kolin was one of the four Jewish communities (together with Roudnice, Bumsla (Mlada Boleslav), and Nachod) referred to by the Hebrew acronym “Karban.” It was second in size and importance only to the Prague community. The Jews were expelled by King Ferdinand in 1541 and again in 1561. In the course of time they developed from moneylenders into merchants dealing in a wide variety of products, from arms and musical instruments to grain, salt, and tobacco. A new synagogue was consecrated in 1696 and a famous yeshiva operated for hundreds of years. In 1839, the Beth-Hamidrash-Anstalt was opened, endowed by Moses Montefiore after a visit in 1855. The Jewish population reached a peak of 1,347 (15% of the total) in 1857. Jews opened a major chemical factory, joined the professional class, and served on the municipal council (four members in 1867). Subsequently the Jewish population dropped to 806 in 1900 and 430 in 1930. Dr. Richard Feder was rabbi in 1917-42 and chief rabbi of Czechoslovakia in 1960-70. Between the World Wars, Kolin was a center of the Czecho-Jewish movement (Svaz čechu-židu) but the Zionists were active as well. In 1940, Jewish stores were confiscated and in 1940-41 Jewish students were expelled from the schools. Most of the city’s Jews were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto on 13 June 1942 in the third and final transport from the district. From there they were sent to the death camps in Poland. After the war, there were 64 survivors in Kolin.