Our scroll – Blatna scroll #877 – originally belonged to the Jewish community of Blatna which once might have included as many as 100 people thanks to migration – both across the Atlantic and to larger towns in the region – Blatna numbered only eight Jewish families When the Nazis rounded up the town's Jews in November 1942 We know the names of 26 of those who perished the Blatna community possessed four cherished Torah scrolls all left behind in the synagogue when the Nazis deported the Jews As the Nazis decimated the Jews in Blatna and villages across the country synagogues all over Czechoslovakia were abandoned and other ritual objects left prey to looters courageous staff at the Jewish Museum persuaded the Nazis to bring thousands of these treasures – including the Blatna scrolls – to the capital to be catalogued 1,564 Torah scrolls were warehoused in Prague synagogues for the duration of the war and remained there for nearly 20 years more negotiated their purchase from a cash-strapped Communist government under the agency of the Westminster Synagogue and the Memorial Scrolls Trust which repaired and distributed the scrolls on permanent loan to synagogues around the world If you don't believe traveling with a Torah scroll is complicated Temple Israel's Rabbi Ronne Friedman negotiated with British Air for months finally purchasing a separate seat so the Torah could make the trip first to the place where it had been scribed in 1840 and then to London to celebrate its survival – and our own Rabbi Elaine Zecher lovingly shepherded the Torah swaddled in bubble wrap and secured in a rolling duffle answering questions from security personnel and securing it in the airline seat beside her In Prague, we stood silently in the Pinchas Synagogue unable to process the reality as we studied the walls covered floor to ceiling with names of the 80,000 Czech Jews murdered in the Holocaust once at the cemetery near the small fortress and again at the memorial for those who died a natural death there (if death by starvation or freezing is natural) before their ashes were dumped in the river We spoke that night at dinner of how intensely grateful we all are for our American lives for the freedom we enjoy and take for granted Then there was the ceremony in London leaders of congregations from throughout the United Kingdom and Canada cradled the 54 precious sifrei Torah that had come on the journey – each one a part of the Czech Torah diaspora the leaders marched solemnly down the center aisle as the doleful strains of Mahler's Fifth Symphony filled the sanctuary As Temple Israel President Kathy Weinman stepped forward I thought of the thousands of hands that had touched the scroll in the past and of the hands that would touch it in the years to come our Blatna scroll is the one that is opened and read each week by our b'nai mitzvah students "We use the scroll for these youngsters," says Rabbi Zecher "and we lift up the idea that they are bringing memory to life that they are able to celebrate and honor the memories of those who perished." we were honored by a dinner invitation from US Ambassador Norman Eisen a charming and articulate modern Orthodox Jew who maintains a kosher kitchen at the embassy His family story encapsulates the experience of our journey he quoted his Czech-born mother who survived Auschwitz: "I left Czechoslovakia in a cattle car," she said Temple Israel President Kathy Weinman holds the Blatna Torah Susan Ebert is the founding director of the Boston Jewish Community Women's Fund. She is a board member of Temple Israel of Boston where her three daughters celebrated their b'not mitzvah reading from the Blatna Torah was a 19-year-old tank driver in the Fourth Armored Division who was in Czechoslovakia the day World War II ended in 1945 The identify of the other people in the photo he brought home remained a mystery for 73 years tracked down the mysterious girl from the photo his father Paul brought home from WWII to participate in their Liberation Day celebration in May The sepia tone gives the photo a sense of history leaning against a World War II truck bumper Happy because the war had ended less than 24 hours earlier and that meant no one would die today The three: a young boy in a Boy Scout uniform and an American GI wearing an expression of exhaustion The GI is the one who touches my heart because it’s my dad He was a 19-year-old tank driver in the Fourth Armored Division Landing in France after the D-Day invasion he fought his way through the Battle of the Bulge and had no clue of what life would hold for him over the next 50 years The dad I grew up with was almost always tired from working too much but usually found time to play catch when I was a kid The young woman was the eternal mystery of the photograph Nudges and winks that maybe she was a girlfriend were always shut down Dad was always more interested in reminiscing about the Blatná villagers who treated the American soldiers as heroic liberators When he died in 1987 I assumed any chance of finding the mystery girl was gone as well With a loving kick in the pants from a Slovak friend An email to the Czech ambassador in Washington led to Blatná’s mayor which led to a feature story in the local newspaper Seven-plus decades after the war ended I assumed that was that but the article and the photo gave me a chance to tell Dad’s story and how he always remembered Blatná Mayor Malečková sent the email that had me blinking in disbelief and me to represent my dad at their annual Liberation Day ceremonies marking the end of the war The lovely grandmother who opened the door had a beautiful smile We stared at each other not knowing if we should hug or shake hands but remembered the kindness of the American soldiers Her mother washed uniforms and the soldiers paid with what were then-unimaginable riches of coffee After years of living through a Nazi occupation where you were always hungry and neighbors were murdered on a whim even a hint of human decency must have been glorious We came to realize that Blažena’s family wasn't the only one finding its own story a local historian organized an event for the entire town Elders sat in a community center looking at photographs taken during the liberation The historian had the photos but no answers to who was in the pictures Others brought out autograph books kept since childhood and shared the heartfelt messages written by American soldiers to the children who had become their adopted families The Czechs may have been liberated by the Americans but they were ultimately abandoned behind the Iron Curtain in the name of peace A stony silence became the new normal in life The Russians forbade any mention of the Americans and the role they played in prosecuting the war Mother Russia was the sole north star of their new reality until the collapse of Communism it was hard not to get caught up in the emotions as Carol and I walked alongside their parade as was a military attache from the American embassy We walked as a community to lay a wreath at Kalina Square It also hit me that I was walking the same streets my dad had during the actual liberation He had survived a war and was blessed to find people like Blažena whose photo gave him a memory that lasted his lifetime Blatná embraced us as part of their own story — a story that will grow as Blažena and the others reclaim their history “This is probably the proudest day of my life,” I said Asked to say a few words on behalf of my dad I finally got to thank Blatná for opening their hearts and homes to not only him I had a hard time looking toward the re-enactors One young “soldier,” a skinny kid with a big mop of red hair the soul of Corporal Paul Huffman was back in Blatná Jerry Huffman is an Emmy Award winning journalist Huffman lives in Fitchburg with his wife and fellow writer Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com The phone number is for verification purposes only Please keep your letter to 250 words or less Click here for the iPhone version Click here for the Android version Become a Cap Times member today and enjoy great benefits Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device and other landmarks across the Czech Republic are reopening after a winter break to kick off the 2023 tourism season this weekend Many of them are kicking off the season with special events dedicated to Easter which will be unveiled by the National Monuments Institute following a lengthy four-year restoration The castle's Jurkovič Palace reopens today while the fully-restored castle palace will debut on May 5 Karlštejn Castle, which has also been undergoing a lengthy renovation courtesy of the National Monuments Institute, will reopen its Imperial Palace from April 21. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Státní hrad KunÄ›tická hora (@kunetickahora) a total of 3.4 million people visited state-owned landmarks during the tourist season Many castles and chateaux in the country are operated under private owners Also in April, Castle Častolovice in eastern Bohemia will open over the Easter weekend, and Dětenice Castle in Bohemian Paradise will offer some special medieval fairy tale-themed tours. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zámek ÄŒastolovice (@zamekcastolovice) nicknamed the "gateway to Hell," will also reopen this month Chateau Kněžice will reopen this weekend with a special Easter market and the Dolní Kounice castle in Brno will begin special weekend tours later this month The Boskovice Castle north of Brno will also reopen this month after the winter break The opening of the Czech castle tourist season will culminate next month during the Days of Private Castles and Chateaux when many landmarks not normally open to the public will open their doors A total of nineteen privately-owned castles not usually accessible to the public will be opening their doors this year for the Days of Private Castles and Chateaux from May 25-28; more information can be found from the website of the Association of Castle and Chateau Owners Your morning coffee deserves a great companion. Why not enjoy it with our daily newsletter? News from Czechia, curated insights, and inspiring stories in English. Villages like Blatná Polianka lack reliable acccess drinking water Over half a million people in Slovakia still live without access to mains drinking water. Nearly 450 villages are not connected to a public water supply, and their residents rely on water from wells that often doesn't meet the required quality standards, reports Slovak public broadcaster RTVS 167 residents lack access to drinking water we transport drinking water to residents using manual and electric pumps Some fetch water in containers from the city yet it feels like Africa," said Jozef Komárik RTVS also interviewed residents of the eastern Slovak village One said: "We here in the east are cut off from the world We deal with water by using a 120-year-old stone well the Environmental Fund approved 98 out of 308 applications for construction of municipal water supply systems with the projects valued at nearly €75 million "We started last year with the connection of 230 metres [of piping] which helped us to connect to approximately 350 metres in the village where the processed part is currently awaiting approval where three more villages could be connected," informed Zdenek Gomboš The Environment Ministry is launching a new call for grants to build public water supply systems for small villages in 2025 Details and grant amounts will be announced by the ministry soon.