Today, the Jewish community in Ústí nad Labem no longer exists. After the occupation of the country in 1968, another mass emigration occurred, as Soviet propaganda described the so-called Prague Spring as another “Zionist conspiracy” caused by the security agencies’ lack of vigilance against “Zionists”. Elderly parents urged their children to leave for the free world, and they themselves lived out their lives in Ústí. There was a decline in members, and fear of the constant anti-Jewish remarks from their surroundings led many to hide their Jewish roots.
The declining interest in maintaining religious traditions continued even after the fall of the communist regime. In September 1992, another robbery of the prayer room took place, thieves stole three holy Torah scrolls and a decorative textile from the tabernacle. The Ústí community was not lucky with responsible leadership, went into debt, and eventually was dissolved.
The space of the former Ústí nave after the tabernacle was removed.
What Jewish thing do you think still exists in Ústí nad Labem?