A living memorial connecting Am Yisrael to the Jewish community of Humpolec and preserving the memory of those lost in the Holocaust.
Our Czech Memorial Torah is more than a sacred scroll—it is a survivor. Once belonging to the Jewish community of Humpolec, it traveled through war, loss, rescue, and ultimately found a permanent home at Am Yisrael Congregation.
The Torah belonged to the synagogue in Humpolec, a village approximately an hour southeast of Prague. During World War II, Nazi Germany occupied Czechoslovakia.
The Jews of Humpolec were transported to Kolín and then to the concentration camp at Theresienstadt, which the Germans renamed Terezín. Many were later sent by train to the death camps of Trawniki, Treblinka, and Auschwitz.
The names of 63 Jews from Humpolec who were killed in the camps are known. A 1939 census recorded 148 Jewish residents among a total population of approximately 5,000. According to the congregation’s history, only one Jew from Humpolec survived the war.
The Humpolec Torah scrolls were sent by the Germans to the Michle synagogue in Prague, which was used as a warehouse for 1,564 Torah scrolls from across Czechoslovakia. They were intended for use in a museum of the so-called “Extinct Jewish Race.”
Nineteen years after the war ended, the Torah scrolls were rescued from the warehouse and transported across Europe in five sealed railroad cars. They were eventually delivered to Westminster Synagogue in London, where many were restored and placed under the auspices of the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust.
Am Yisrael’s founding rabbi, William Frankel, asked for one of the repaired scrolls. Scroll number 672 was flown from London to O’Hare Airport in 1970 and formally dedicated on Friday evening, November 6, 1970.
The congregation’s original history describes the Torah as a link between the destroyed community of Humpolec and Am Yisrael, and as part of fulfilling the mitzvah of zikaron—remembrance.
Our Czech Memorial Torah is more than a historical artifact—it is a powerful connection to the Jewish community of Humpolec and a lasting reminder of lives, traditions, and a congregation forever changed by the Holocaust. Its presence at Am Yisrael preserves the memory of those who once prayed from this scroll and honors the legacy they left behind.
In Judaism, remembrance is an active responsibility. By caring for this Torah and sharing its history, we help ensure that the stories of the Jewish community of Humpolec continue to be remembered by future generations.
672
Humpolec, Czechoslovakia
November 6, 1970
Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust
Over 1,500 Torah scrolls were recovered from abandoned Jewish communities after World War II and eventually entrusted to the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London.
The Jewish community of Humpolec was almost entirely destroyed during the Holocaust, leaving no congregation to reclaim or care for the Torah.
The Memorial Scrolls Trust is based in London and cares for the history and placement of rescued Czech Torah scrolls around the world.