New interactive map uncovers hidden history of Jewish persecution in 1940s Prague

MemoMap details where Jews couldn't go, what they were banned from doing, why they were arrested, and where they lived; an English version is available.

Thomas Smith

Written by Thomas Smith Published on 27.01.2025 13:42:00 (updated on 27.01.2025) Reading time: 2 minutes

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a new English-language map illustrates the sheer extent to which Jews in Prague were persecuted during the 1940s. Developed by Czech universities in collaboration with the Terezín Initiative Institute, MemoMap is mobile-friendly and allows users to explore locations where Jews were mistreated during World War II.

The interactive map highlights where Prague’s Jewish residents lived, areas they were banned from entering, and locations where they were detained for violating anti-Jewish laws. Users can zoom in on specific homes, see the names of the residents, and learn about their fates.

MemoMap also pinpoints sites of arrests and other incidents, emphasizing the strict enforcement of anti-Jewish measures. Additionally, it shows where commemorative plaques now honor these tragic events.

A particularly sobering feature of the map is its timeline, which tracks the gradual disappearance of Jewish residents from their homes throughout the Holocaust.

Not allowed in parks or cafes

The map reveals the extent of restrictions imposed on Prague’s Jewish community. For example:

  • In May 1940, Jews were banned from entering public parks, gardens, orchards, and playgrounds in the city.
  • By 1942, they were also prohibited from walking on paths in náměstí Míru.
  • Cinemas and theaters displayed signs reading: “No Jews Allowed—Juden nicht zugänglich [in German].”
  • Jews were barred from Wenceslas Square on weekends, from 3 p.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday.
  • Prague Castle grounds became off-limits, and starting in 1941, contact between Jews and non-Jews in financial institutions was restricted.

Public spaces such as restaurants, cafés, and taverns also became increasingly inaccessible. The Pelikán Café (now the Pelican Restaurant) had a designated “non-Aryan section” for Jewish patrons in the early 1940s.

Persecuted for 'loitering'

The map also provides original documents showing the harsh penalties Jews faced for minor infractions:

  • A woman was fined 1,000 protectorate koruna or sentenced to seven days in jail for trading goods moments after a curfew on Malá Štupartská Street.
  • Herbert Isidor was jailed for a week for “illegally loitering” after 8 p.m.
  • Harry Singer was fined and sentenced to four weeks in jail for visiting a massage parlor restricted to non-Jews in 1941.

Remembering Auschwitz

Today, Czech President Petr Pavel joins British King Charles III, French President Emmanuel Macron, and other world leaders in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Auschwitz, liberated by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945, was a central site of Nazi atrocities during World War II. Approximately 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered there between 1940 and 1945, including 50,000 Czechoslovak citizens. Only about 6,000 of them survived.

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