Trebic
TREBIC
TREBIC (Czech Třebič ; Ger. Trebitsch ), town in W. Moravia, Czech Republic. The Trebic community was considered one of the oldest in Moravia; it is alleged that a synagogue was built in 938. During the wave of massacres of Jews in 1338, which commenced in *Pulkau, some Trebic Jews were killed. The first documentary mention of the community concerns an attack on Jews and robbery in 1410. In 1464 it was destroyed along with the rest of the town. Jewish matters were included in the Stadtordnung ("municipal regulations") of 1583. In 1604 the majority of Trebic's merchants were Jews. The old synagogue was allegedly built in 1639–42; in 1757 its roof had to be lowered so that its lights could not be seen from the castle. It was damaged three times by fire and was redesigned several times, the last time in neo-Gothic style in 1880. Services were held until World War i. Since 1954 it has been used by the Hussite Church. The new synagogue was built in the early 17th century and renovated in 1845. After World War i, it fell into disuse. After World War ii, it was converted into a Jewish museum.
In 1727 Jews were compelled to live segregated from Christians. In 1848 the Jews were prevented from organizing a Jewish unit in the National Guard. Becoming one of the Politischen Gemeinden ("political communities," see *Politische Gemeinde) in 1849, Trebic retained this status until the dissolution of the Hapsburg monarchy. After freedom of movement and settlement had been granted to Jews, the community began to decline, many moving to *Vienna, *Brno, *Jihlava, and other larger cities. Whereas in 1799 there were 1,770 Jews in the Jewish quarter of Trebic, and in 1850 the community numbered 1,605, in 1890 their number declined to 987; in 1900 to 756; in 1921 to 362; and in 1930 to 300. During the German occupation, in May 1942, 1,370 Jews from *Jihlava province were assembled in Trebic and deported to *Theresienstadt; only 35 of them survived the war. A small congregation was reestablished in 1945. In 1957 a memorial tablet for the victims of the Holocaust was dedicated.
Born in Trebic were Wolfgang *Wessely, the first Jewish university teacher in Austria; Adolf Kurrein (1846–1919), one of the first Zionist rabbis in Austria; and Sigmund Taussig (1840–1910), a pioneer in the field of hydro-engineering.
bibliography:
Kořatek, in: H. Gold (ed.), Die Juden und Judengemeinden Maehrens (1929), 523–37; A. Engel, in: jgjjČ, 2 (1930); Kahana, in: Kobez al Jad, 4 (1946/47), 183–92; Věstnik ždovské obce náboženské v Praze, 20:1 (1958), 4; Der Orient, 5 (1844), 308. add. bibliography: J. Fiedler, Jewish Sights of Bohemia and Moravia (1991), 184–85.
[Meir Lamed /
Yeshayahu Jelinek (2nd ed.)]