REVIEWS
2007
Boston University
Elie Wiesel
University Profesor and
Andrew W. Mellon Profesor in the Humanities
Boston, Massachusetts
June 14, 2007
Foundation Respect and Tolerance
Radnice 4
789 85 Mohelnice
Dear Luděk Štipl,
…………in any case, thanks for your kind note, and for sharing some of the recent accomplishments of the Foundation “Respect and Tolerance.” Clearly, your organization has taken an active role in preserving the history of our people in the Czech Republic. Naturally you have my best wishes in your work -
Also please know that I enjoyed your reflections on my Memoirs.
Sincerely yours,
Elie Wiesel
Gymnasium Sternberk
Horni namesti 5
785 01 Sternberk
Respect and Tolerance
Documentation of Jewish History
Radnice 4
Sternberk May 22, 2007
Dear friends,
Thank you for the book Holocaust, published by Computer Press, which our school received from your foundation.
We think this publication is excellent. Texts are very clearly and we appreciate especially chronological arrangement of chapters. The selection of photographs is also very good. Most suitable pictures illustrate the all themes. The book contains everything we discuss with students during history classes, including Anne Frank’s Diary, story of Nicolas Winton or Oscar Schindler. It will be nice to use this book during history classes.
In your letter you have mentioned programs organized by your foundation. Can we get more detailed information e.g. a list of themes. Do your lecturers come to schools? We would be interested in a lecture during the next school year.
With best regards,
Irena Kotkova
Head of history teachers
Gymnasium Unicov
Gymnazijni 257
783 91 Unicov
September 9, 2006
During the school year 2005/2006 we started to cooperate with the Mohelnice Museum and the Foundation Respect and Tolerance. Students of the History Seminar received there an assistance and answers to their questions about the Holocaust. Lecturers gave students valuable information, special literature and introduced them to the Holocaust survivors, whose authentic recollections they used for their projects. These projects were later quite successful in the nation wide competition Daniel. Project by our student Katerina Tisonova titled “Angel of the Death and My Recollection of Him” documenting the Auschwitz experience of Jiri Fiser from Mohelnice, won the first prize in this competition and the project by our student Kristina Laurinova titled “Stories of Jewish Families in the Usov and Mohelnice region” won the second prize in the same competition.
This year we started to cooperate with the above mentioned institutions on other projects regarding the history of Jewish settlement in the town of Litovel, and life stories of Egon Morgenstern and his niece Mrs. Dostalova, who was imprisoned in Theresienstadt
Hana Sipulova, M.A. Jaromira Lonova, M.A.
School director History teacher
2006
Respect and Tolerance
9.06.2006
Dear Mr. Stipl and Mrs. Heidenreichova,
Your beautiful letter was finally delivered to me. I admire your work and wish you a continuing success. I was very moved by your interesting documentation.
Statute of Terry Haass Scholarship is the great honor for me. I would like to give you books describing my graphic art – please contact Mrs. Gina Renotiere from the Museum of Fine Art in Olomouc.
I would like to meet you in Mohelnice or in Paris.
Thank you very much
With best regards
Terry Haass
Paris
(Terry Haass is a renown French painter and sculptor, who lived in Mohelnice before WWII)
Los Angeles 23. 03. 2006
Dear Ludek,
Wow! I am humbled and awed by the depth of your research. Your work is
truly an important contribution, not only to Fanny Neuda's family
history but to the larger project of restoring Jewish history in the
region. All congratulations are to you! Sincere thanks to you and to
everyone who has participated in this amazing effort for so generously
sharing your wonderful work with me….
Dinah Berland
Dinah Berland is the editor of the Getty Publications in Los Angeles. She just prepared a new edition of the book Hours of Devotion, which was written by Fanny Neuda in Lostice in 1854. The book will be published by Schocken Books in New York in 2007)
2005
“In October 2005 the department of Jewish studies was founded in the Palacky University in Olomouc. A great deal of credit belongs to the foundation Respect and Tolerance, which cooperates with us for some times. We realized the richness of Jewish history and culture through materials and documents, presented to us by Ludek Stipl and other members of the foundation.”
Doc. PhDr. Ivo Bartecek CSc.
Dean of Faculty of Philosophy
Palacky University in Olomouc
Opening of the exhibition Remembering Jewish Families in Lostice Area
Olomouc, October 2005
Community-wide celebration resounds with music and hope
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky spoke about the town of Lostice
The „60th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Concentration Camps: A Community Wide Celebration” was held in September at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie (Chicago, Illinois). In addition to celebration, there was commemoration for the millions murdered in the Holocaust.
Schakowsky spoke about a tiny town in the Czech Republic, called Lostice. Its Jewish community was almost entirely wiped out by the Nazis; today, no Jews live in the town. Two years ago, Dr. Stanton Canter, of California, discovered that Congregation Hakafa in Glencoe possessed a Torah from Lostice. In light of that, a delegation from Hakafa, including its spiritual leader, Rabbi Bruce Elder, returned the scroll to its original ark in the Czech town. Upon the Chicagoans’ arrival, the Lostice townspeople threw a celebration complete with Hebrew songs, sung by the town’s children’s choir, most of whom had never met a Jew in their lives.
“In this little town in the Czech Republic, from the ashes of the Holocaust, the embers of humanity continue to glow and, on one day this summer, burst into a glorious flame that we can only hope will light up many hearts for years to come,” said Schakowsky.
The event was sponsored by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and Sheerit Hapleitah, in cooperation with Holocaust Community Services, Holocaust Educational Foundation, Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Jewish War Veterans of Illinois and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Zpracováno dle článku:
Cindy Sher: Community- wide celebration resounds with music and hope
Chicago Jewish Community online, November 2005
Dr. Edgar Ziegler
Ottawa, Ont.
Canada
15.10. 2005
Dear Mr. Stipl
Many thanks for all your assistance during my visit to Mohelnice. You organized my visit to the synagogue in Lostice, Usov and Boskovice. The synagogues and former ghettos left a strong impression on me. You did an excellent research into the past of the Jewish population in Mohelnice, Usov and Lostice…
…I will always remember the visit to the graves of my great parents Freiberger in Lostice. Further I am thinking of the paintings of the children. I think these children will be immune to anti-Semitism. This is the merit of you and Mrs. Heidenreichova’s efforts to foster Respect and Tolerance. You both are extra-ordinary people.
Again many thanks and the best wishes
Edgar Ziegler
Washington, DC
August 18, 2005
Respect and Tolerance
Czech Republic
Greetings Ludek,
I just received your kind letter and wonderful computer CD and press clippings. Everything you sent is so terrific and it means a lot to me. These materials will not only help me remember our wonderful experience, but will also help me educate others about Lostice, the Foundation for Respect and Tolerance, the Jews of Moravia, and the one and only Mr. Ludek Stipl You may be interested to know that I informed the United States Holocaust Museum about our trip, and more importantly, about work you are doing…..
Please keep in touch!
My warmest regards,
Robert
Robert N. Marcus
Office of Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC
11. 07. 05
Dear Mr. Stipl,
I hope you realize how our visit to Lostice touched the hearts of each of us from Hakafa. We are still talking with each other about it, and it is very much on our minds. I think Achab Haidler's comments were very true, this is an important Christian-Jewish dialogue for the Czech Republic, but also for us in the United States. I know that we will want to continue our relationship with Respect and Tolerance, and to help you in your efforts….
With friendship and appreciation,
Judith Joseph
Congregation Hakafa
Glencoe, Illinois
Dr. Ctirad Lolek
Mayor of town of Lostice
Prague, 29. 6. 2005
Dear Sir,
The important Czech –Jewish event in Lostice “Festive Meeting and Service in Lostice Synagogue” was attended by several members of the Jewish Liberal Union from Prague…
…Some people consider the activities of your Town Hall, which is done in a close cooperation with the foundation Respect and Tolerance and Congregation Hakafa from USA to be the best attempt to start a Jewish-Christian dialogue in the Czech Republic…
With best greetings
Shalom
Frantisek Fendrych, Ph.D.
Chairman of JLU in Czech Republic
Association of Jewish Resistance Fighters and Soldiers
Jewish Community in Prague
Prague
Dr. Ctirad Lolek
Mayor
Town of Lostice
Prague, May 18, 2005
Dear Sir,
I would like to mention few words about the Ceremonial Meeting, which was held in the Town Hall of the Jewish Community in Prague on May 12, 2005 to commemorate members of our association, who fought Nazis during WWII…
…We value your unusual interest and honest desire to commemorate all 80 victims of Holocaust from the Lostice area. We especially value the work of Ludek Stipl from the foundation Respect and Tolerance, which cooperates with you and keeps their legacy alive. His work should serve as an example for other professional historians
With best regards,
Association of Jewish Resistance Fighters and Soldiers
Pavla Kováčová Ladislav Porjes Viktor Schwarcz
Chairman Vice Chairman Member
2004
May 13, 2004
From: Dr. H. Z. Weigl
Re: Respekt a tolerance, synagoga Loštice
Dear Friends,
Your invitation made me happy, because I can feel from it the Masaryk’s humanity and his, for us so rare, tolerance. If you say tolerance, I say respect, which I have for your work.
I would like to attend your program, but I do not fly from here any more as I am 92. I wish you a good luck with your meeting and I hope your beneficent work will be the reward with the success now and in the future.
With best regards
Dr. H. Z. WieglIzrael
Israel
(Dr. Hanus Weigl organized an Association of Jews from Czechoslovakia in Israel).
REMEMBERING JEWISH FAMILIES OF LOSTICE
Review of the Exhibition
PALACKY UNIVERSITY IN OLOMOUC
DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY
Krizkovskeho 10, 771 80 Olomouc,
tel: +420 585 633 011
To: Dr. Ctirad Lolek, the Mayor of the Town of Lostice
March 29, 2004
Dear Sir,
During the recent weeks and months I had the opportunity to become familiar with the project Respect and Tolerance – Documentation of Jewish History and Culture: Lostice, Mohelnice and Usov. The main goal of the project is to gather information about Jewish communities in the above mentioned locations. I learned about the partial results of the project when I visited the exhibition in the Mohelnice Museum and I also read articles in the media (the Olomoucky den)
The working method of the team – documentation of life of Jewish inhabitants and presentation on the exhibition is praiseworthy. Similar comments were heard before many times; e.g. during the meeting with the chief rabbi Karol Sidon. I would like to underline the uniqueness of the project, which serves two purposes: a reminder to the old generation and an introduction of basic information to young people.
History of Jewish communities is an integral part of the cultural heritage of Europe and the achievements of the team should get the highest recognition. Gathering of photographs of extinct places is an important part of research, which will help to understand the historic development of the town and the photo documentation of Jewish cemeteries should certainly be used for publication purposes.
The following departments of the Faculty of Philosophy expressed interest in the project and would like to cooperate with Respect and Tolerance team in future: the Department of History, the Section for German Literature of Moravia and also the newly established Section for Judaica studies. These three departments, in cooperation with the publishing house Monse, recently published a collection of poems Uhasly svicen written by the foremost Jewish author from Usov – V. A. Polak (1914 – 1990).
I personally reviewed the results of the project Respect and Tolerance and I would like to inform you that the Faculty of Philosophy will cooperate with the project. We also plan to display the exhibition Respect and Tolerance in the gallery of the Palacky University.
Many thanks to all members of the team. I am looking forward to our cooperation.
Sincerely,
Doc. PhDr. Ivo Bartecek, CSc.
Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy
CIVIC MUSEUM IN MORAVSKA TREBOVA
Svitavska 18
571 01 Moravska Trebova
Tel: + 420 461 311 203
muzeummtr@mtrebova-city.cz
The exhibition Remembering Jewish Families of Lostice prepared by Respect and Tolerance Project was admired by many categories of visitors – from professionals interested in Jewish culture and members of Jewish communities to people just searching the basic information. None of them were disappointed.
The presentation is very clear and simple but at the same time contains correct and interesting information about Jewish communities in Lostice and surrounding area. Members of the team were able to find rich historical material – family photographs, documents, oral history, and artifacts. The research in archives and cooperation with the Jewish Museum brought good results and revived life stories of many Jews from Lostice. In the exhibition visitors learn facts about Jewish traditions, community, synagogue and cemetery. They will also realize that the Jewish community was integral to the economic, social and cultural life in Lostice. This makes the story of Holocaust even more shocking.
The exhibition also informs the public about attempts to protect and restore the Jewish historical monuments especially synagogues and cemeteries while it is still possible. It also explains needs and reasons to document, translate and publish inscriptions on Jewish tombstones.
I would like to congratulate the members of the team who contributed to the success of this exhibition.
Dr. Jana Martinkova
Director of the Civic Museum
in Moravska Trebova
