Archive of the Jewish Community of Prostějov

Collection

Scope and content:: The fonds contains documents of the self-government of the Jewish community of Prostějov and documents created by delegated powers, in particular a book of minutes of meetings of the council of the Jewish political community (1864–1919), registry finding aids (incremental registers, indices) and file material of the administrative agenda of the community. From before 1850 the fonds contains documents relating to Jewish fees and foundations.

Archival history:: The fonds was stored in the municipal museum in Prostějov following dissolution of the Jewish community and taken to the archives in the 1960s.

Administrative/biographical history:: Jewish settlement in Prostějov is documented from 1445. The community, as an important centre of Jewish learning, was one of the most populous in Moravia in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Jewish political community of Prostějov was established in 1850, although it did not have its own cadastral district. It was merged with the town in 1919. Prostějov was the birthplace of the bibliographer M. Steinschneider, the philosopher E. Husserl and the architect M. Fleischer. Jews played a significant role in the industrialisation of Prostějov, particularly in the clothing and food industries. The activity of the Jewish community was renewed briefly in 1945.