Jewish History

Jan Machala (Holešov Museum)

The so called “Last Pogrom” in the Moravian town of Holešov in December 1918 is a relatively well known event, frequently mentioned in Czech historiography and occasionally reflected upon by the mass-media (especially during the centenary in 2018). However, a closer look reveals that the traditional narrative relies upon a very limited source base and is also significantly biased by a novelist fiction. This lecture has a dual purpose: to compare some of the stereotypic aspects of the traditional narrative with a wider source base and at the same time enrich it with voices and aspects that have been omitted for decades. The lecture will also introduce the „Virtual Guide to the Holešov Pogrom 1918“ – an ongoing project attempting to locate the places where the pogrom unfolded and the eyewitness testimonies on Google Maps.