From the depositories of the Terezín Memorial...

From the depositories of the Terezín Memorial... Wednesday, December 11 at 6 p.m. Our invitation has been accepted by Tomáš Raichl, custodian of the Terezín Memorial depositories.His lecture will cover the art created in the ghetto, including art created for the official Terezín SS Commandery. He will present expressive works depicting real life and suffering in this place, documentary and souvenir artworks by professional artists and amateurs, portraits and artworks and decorative objects designed and created in the local workshops. It will introduce the most important painters of the ghetto, highlighting the work and life of the Brno painter Otto Ungar and the connection of František Kien to South Moravia, specifically to Bzenec. He will not forget the so-called Terezín painters' affair, i.e. the exposure of artists depicting real life in the ghetto by the SS command and their arrest for "propaganda of horror" and other fates. The lecture will be given in an exhibition of drawings by Gisela Rottonar, a woman who was taken to Terezín in 1942 and succumbed to the effects of typhus during her seven months there. Admission is voluntary.

Franz Kafka as a traveller and sportsman

Franz Kafka as a traveller and sportsman Tuesday 3 December at 6 pm Franz Kafka's original stories inspire readers all over the world. This year is the 100th anniversary of the death of the famous writer, who is usually presented as someone who was sick and sad. He was said to have enjoyed nothing but writing.In fact, Kafka's life was much more interesting. Journalist JuditaMatyášová and photographer Jan Jindra visited 70 places across Europe where Kafka was on holiday or on business. They found that he was interested in modern technology, was a fan of a healthy lifestyle and liked to play sports. Journalist Judita Matyášová will tell how the detective's search for authentic Kafkaesque places went. The lecture will include excerpts from the new book With Kafka on the Road, which Matyášová and Jindra published this year in the Labyrint publishing house, where they describe more than twenty years of searching for the traces of the famous writer. More about the project: www.cestyfranzekafky.czVstupné voluntary.

Tantehorse: Invisible I./Hannah

Tantehorse: Invisible I./Hannah The performance takes place in HaDivadlo, Alfa arcade, Poštovská 8d Wednesday 27. November at 7.30 p.m. An autobiographical performance about the extraordinary actress and singer Hana Frejková as an archaeology of her personal past Between slightly dusty stand-up and quiet metaphorical images, the story of the search for one's own place in the world is told, the story of the undying energy of a woman who involuntarily became the heroine of an ancient tragedy, but still did not give up. About a woman who is resolving her relationship with her mother, striving for her career, trying to have a cohesive family where parents and children function, and last but not least, she is eager to make a name for herself in the last period of her life! In a dialogue with dancer Markéta Jandová, sound designer Martin Tvrdý and director Miřenka Čechová, Hana Frejková delves into memories of her childhood, of involuntary exclusivity, and comments with wit on the position of an ageing woman - an artist for whom theatre brings one of the most important meanings of life. Hana Frejková was born in London, where her parents emigrated just before the beginning of World War II. Her father, Ludvík Frejka, an economist (original name Ludwig Freund), came from an assimilated Jewish family in Liberec. His mother, Elisabeth Frejka, an actress (née Elisabeth Henke-Warnholtz), came from a wealthy merchant family in Hamburg. In 1952, Ludvík Frejka was sentenced to death and executed in a mock trial with Rudolf Slánský. Hana and her mother had to leave Prague and were moved to the borderlands. In 2007, Hana Frejková published an autobiographical book, Divný kořeny, in which she openly talks about her own youth and acting beginnings, including her experiences with drugs and alcohol. She tells about the extraordinary fate of her parents in the turbulent post-war era. Tickets (320,-/220,-) available at HaDivadlo. photo: Vojtěch Brtnický

The view of Terezín as an "old age ghetto"

View of Terezín as an "old-age ghetto" Thursday, 21 November at 6 pm In January 1942, the infamous Wannsee Conference took place, which assigned a new role to the Terezín ghetto - it was to serve as an "old-age ghetto" for Jews from Germany and Austria. In the already harsh conditions of Terezín, the living conditions for the old prisoners were even harsher. The old people, weakened by age and health problems, faced not only totally inadequate food, sanitary deficiencies and poor housing conditions, but also separation from their families and isolation from other prisoners. Radana Rutová's lecture from the Terezín Memorial will focus not only on the living situation and position of the old prisoners within the forced community of the Terezín ghetto, but also on the supportive activities that were intended to alleviate their suffering at least partially. We would like to do so directly in the ongoing exhibition of drawings by Gisela Rottonar, who, when she made her drawings in Terezín, at the age of 69 belonged to this somewhat neglected group of prisoners. Admission is voluntary.

cancelled due to illness - Jewish surnames as a trace of their life and culture

FOR DISEASE CANCELLED WE WILL MAKE UP THE LAST TERM Surnames of Jews as a trace of their life and culture Monday 11 November at 6 pm What is a surname, why do we have them, where did they come from, what do they reveal Professor Emeritus of Masaryk University Prof. Rudolf Šrámek will present a synthesis of his research on the Brno Jewish cemetery in his lecture. Starting with a general introduction about the origin of surnames, the lecturer will take the audience to the specificity of surnames among Jews and learn about the peculiarities of these surnames, which are actually traces of their lives and culture. Prof. Šrámek, also known from his many years of research at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, is one of our leading linguists, an expert especially in the field of proper names. Admission is voluntary.

Pavel Kosatík: Entrepreneurship under the Star of David

Pavel Kosatík: Entrepreneurship under the Star of David Thursday, 31 October at 6 pm The programme will take place at the Villa Löw-Beer, Drobného 297, Brno Time has overlooked the historical fact that Jewish magnate families contributed significantly to the industrial boom and the spread of the reputation of the First Republic. Not only the Tugendhats and Löw-Beers of Brno, but also the Kolbens, Bondy's and Petschks of Prague, the Poppers of Chrudim and others. It is worth remembering that their success was due to hard work, business talent and individual courage. Most of them were also famous for their philanthropy. The stories of Jewish families not only have historical narrative value, but are also epic dramas swept away by the whirlwind of historical events: first the Nazis came out against them, and then the survivors faced new harshness from the Communists. Pavel Kosatík will come to Brno to present his new book. The author of thirty publications on modern Czech history, he is also the screenwriter of a number of TV documentaries and feature films. The discussion will be led by historian Táňa Klementová. In cooperation with the Museum of Brno - Villa Löw-Beer and the Mehrin Foundation. Free admission.

Does morality and ethics need religion?

Does morality and ethics need religion? Wednesday 23 October at 6 pm Professor of nuclear chemistry, RNDr. Jiří Hála, a member of the Jewish Community of Brno and one of the last survivors who spent three years as a child in Terezín, is publishing a new book, his fifth in a row. Unlike the first, professional ones, in which he focused on radioactivity, in his latest books he has set his sights primarily on the toxic attention paid in the past by the Catholic Church to the "children of Jerusalem". Does morality and ethics need religion? he compiled as editor from the reflections of nine Anglo-Saxon philosophers and one physician. The answer, just by the way the book's title is constructed, is not hard to guess. But the essays contained in the book force the reader to consider the subject in a broader context than is usual. A discussion between the publisher and the author. Admission is voluntary.

The influence of great history on the fate of Jews in the Shoah on the example of Miroslav

The impact of great history on the fate of Jews during the Shoah, using Miroslav as an example Wednesday 9 October at 6 pm For Jews in the South Moravian border region, the war began in the autumn of 1938, when they lost their homes, positions and property in a short time after the German Reich seized the border region. Most of them fled to the interior, especially to Brno and Prague, where an uncertain future awaited them. This was usually fulfilled in the form of later transports. Among the refugees were also Jews from Miroslav, which was one of the traditional 52 Jewish communities in Moravia. In the middle of the 19th century, over 800 people formed the local Jewish community. Until 1924 it was an independent political community. Before the outbreak of World War II, the number of Miroslav Jews was less than 300, half of whom lived outside the original ghetto. At this time, Jews were a solid part of Miroslav's colourful image, which consisted of the Czech and German languages and the Catholic, Evangelical and Jewish religions. The Jews of Miroslav were not only merchants, but also farmers, doctors and teachers. Several families owned local businesses and were among the major employers. When we examine in detail the fate of individual families in Miroslav during the Shoah, we discover how surprisingly diverse they were. Through specific stories, we can document the situations to which the Nazi persecution exposed its victims and how these victims reacted to them. The programme was prepared by Aleš Bednařík, who has lived in Miroslav since 1999. Since then, he has been privately researching the fate of Miroslav's Shoah victims with varying intensity. He is employed in the field of information technology. He studied computer science and sociology at Charles University in Prague. He will be debated by historian Táňa Klementová. Admission is voluntary. source: Yad Vashem/Collections/Photos/Misslitz, Czechoslovakia, family photograph next to the Donath family house, 1928/Carmit Sagie Collection/10469/10

Drawings from Terezín - Diary of Gisela Rottonara

Drawings from Terezín - Gisela Rottonara's Diary Monday 23 September at 6 pm Immediately after her deportation to the Terezín ghetto in July 1942, the almost 70-year-old Viennese painter Gisela Rottonara began documenting her surroundings in a cartoon diary. On the pages of her notebook she recorded her impressions, the corners of Terezín and the faces of the people. After less than six months in the ghetto, she died. However, the diary with the drawings lives on thanks to a fellow prisoner, to whom she entrusted it before her death. Please accept our invitation to the opening of Gisela Rottonara's drawings, which will be presented to the Czech audience for the first time. The exhibition is on loan from the Institut für Jüdische Geschichte Österreichs

Places where the Moravian Torah Scrolls were at home - end of the exhibition with Sheila Pallay

The Places Where the Moravian Torah Scrolls Were At Home - Closing of the Exhibition with Sheila Pallay Tuesday, September 17, 6 p.m. What do the places where the Moravian scrolls came from look like today, and how is the paradigm of the commemorative Torah scrolls that were forcibly collected in Prague in the 1940s and sold to London in 1964 changing? American photographer Sheila Pallay, accompanied by genealogist Julius Müller, toured these sites. In a joint interview with you, she will revisit the encounters she had with the places and the people. She will also present the book Light from Behind the Shadows, which was written as a result of their journey together. And, as they themselves write in the introduction to the book - This book is dedicated to those members of the Czech Jewish community who had the foresight to save the Torah scrolls and place them in a safe place. Without their efforts, these scrolls would have been destroyed forever. And also to those who were instrumental in saving the synagogues, because, in their opinion, it was "the right thing to do." Without them, our journey would never have taken place. Discussion in English with English translation. Admission is voluntary.