Uhersky Brod, Czechoslovakia

Uhersky Brod, Moravia, Czechoslovakia, today Czech Republic. Jews probably settled in the region around 1270 and are first mentioned as living in Uhersky Brod in 1470 in an atmosphere of tolerance. The community suffered in the Thirty Years War (1618-48). In 1683 438 died in an epidemic and another 103 were massacred by the Kuruc peasant army. Again the community recovered and in 1857 reached a peak population of 1068 (26% of the total). In 1891 Moritz Jung founded the first modern Jewish high school attracting hundreds of students from a number of countries. In 1939 489 Jews remained. The synagogue was burned in late 1941. Uhersky Brod then became a concentration point for deportations. In Jan. 1943 there were 2.837 Moravian Jews in Uhersky Brod. All were sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto in three transports and from there to death camps in Poland.