CURRENT CZECH NAME:  Hodonin

OTHER NAMES/SPELLINGS: Göding, Goeding

LOCATION: Hodonin is a small town in Moravia, located at 48.52 longitude and 17.08 latitude, 55-60 km SW of Brno (seeMap - by Mapquest, then click on your browser's "Back" button to return to this page).

HISTORY:  A Jewish community existed in Hodonin as early as the first half of the 17th century.  Most Jewish families of the fairly large community were expelled from the town in the 18th century.  Only 13 Jewish families were granted permission to reside in Hodonin in 1798-1848:  David Bauer; Isak Berger; Samson Frankl; Lazar Frankfurt; Benjamin Haas; Israel Körner; Isak Mändel (Rabbi Sekl Göding); Markus Matzner; Markus Popper; Lazar Redlich; Jakob Stiasny; Bernhard Weiner and Benjamin Weller. 
                     The Jewish population increased considerably in the mid-19th century.  Records from 1910 list 983 persons of the Jewish faith.  Thereafter the number of Jews declined as a result of Jewish migration to cities.  Over 220 persons died during the Nazi occupation.  The religious congregation was reestablished after the liberation, and later changed to a synagogue group with a prayer room that  no longer exists.
                     A ghetto once existed south of the main square, next to the chateau, separated from the rest of the town by the Morava river branch.  This ghetto consisted of about 30 houses, although only 13 houses were recorded in the 18th century.  Demolished after World War II, the former ghetto is now a housing estate. 

GENEALOGICAL RESOURCES:  Birth, Death and Marriage record books for Hodonin  may be located at the Czech State Archives in Prague, Statni istredni archiv, tr. Milady Horokove 133, CZ-166 21 Praha 6, Czech Republic, tel/fax: +42 (2) 333-20274.  Search JewishGen/Internet resources for Hodonin.

NOTABLE RESIDENTS AND DESCENDANTS:.  The journalist and author Siegmund Kolisch (b. 1816 Korycany, d. 28 December 1886 Hodonin) owned a mine in Hodonin.  His brotherís gg-grandson, E. Randol Schoenberg, is the author of Getting Started With Czech-Jewish Genealogy on the Austria-Czech SIG web page and the submitter of this page.

SYNAGOGUES:  A synagogue was built in the former ghetto in the 17th century, and rebuilt in the 19th century when Moorish style elements were added.  It was destroyed during the Nazi occupation.

CEMETERIES:  There are two Jewish cemeteries in Hodonin.  One cemetery location is suburban, on flat land, isolated,  and marked by a sign or plaque in written in the local language. The marker mentions the Jewish community cemetery.  The cemetery is reached by turning directly off a public road, and it is open to all.  It is surrounded by no wall or fence and there is no gate.  The approximate size of cemetery is 0.7918 hectares, with the boundaries unchanged since 1939.  There are 1 to 20 stones, none in their original locations.  Stones are datable from 17th century to 19th century.  The cemetery has tombstones and memorial markers made of marble and granite.  The tombstones are variously flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones and flat stones with carved relief decoration.  Some of the tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces, with iron decorations or lettering and with bronze decorations or lettering.  Inscriptions on tombstones are in Hebrew, German and Czech.  The cemetery contains no special memorial monuments nor any known mass graves.  The present owner of the cemetery property is the municipality, and the cemetery property is now used for recreation use (park, playground, sports field).  The adjacent properties are commercial or industrial.  The cemetery is visited occasionally by private visitors.   Vandalism occurred during World War II, and between 1945 and 1981.  Although no maintenance has been performed, there is occasional clearing or cleaning by authorities.   Uncontrolled access and vandalism pose a moderate threat;  weather erosion, pollution, vegetation, existing nearby development and proposed nearby development constitute additional threats. 
                           The second cemetery location is suburban, on flat land, separate, but near other cemeteries, and identified by no sign or other marker.  It is reached by crossing public property (the town's cemetery).  It is open to all.  The cemetery is surrounded by a continuous fence and has a gate that locks.  The approximate size of cemetery since before WWII has remained at 0.0384 hectares.  There are 20 to 100 stones.  The cemetery has special sections for ordinary and transferred graves.  Stones are datable from the 18th century to the 20th century.  The cemetery has tombstones and memorial markers made of marble, granite and sandstone.  The tombstones  are variously flat-shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones and flat stones with carved relief decoration.  The cemetery has tombstones with iron decorations or lettering, with bronze decorations or lettering and portraits on stones.  Inscriptions on tombstones are in Hebrew, German and Czech.  The cemetery contains special memorial monuments to Holocaust victims. The cemetery contains no known mass graves.  The present owner of the cemetery property is the local Jewish community in Brno and the property is presently for Jewish cemetery use only.  Adjacent properties are cemeteries.  The Jewish cemetery is visited occasionally by private visitors.   It has been vandalized occasionally,  between 1981-91.  No maintenance has been done.  Restoration was done in every year by Jewish groups within the country, and now there is regular caretaker paid by the Jewish congregation of  Brno.  There is a moderate threat posed by vandalism.  There is a slight threat posed by uncontrolled access, weather erosion, pollution, vegetation, existing nearby development and proposed nearby development. 
                          These surveys were completed on 7.3.1992 by Ing. Arch. Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno.

WEB REFERENCES:

PHOTOS:

CONTACTS: Town officials: Magistrate ing. Frantisek Karkoska, Mestsky urad, 695 32 Hodonin, tel. 0628/22519.  Local officials: Anna Cinkova, Mestsky urad - referat kultury, 695 32 Hodonin, tel. 0628/22519.  Regional officials: PhDr. Jaromir Micka, Okresni urad - referat kultury, 695 00 Hodonin, tel. 0628/416.  Interested parties: Muzeum T.G. Masaryka, dir. Dr. Tatana Martonova, zamecek, 695 00 Hodonin, tel. 0628/21834.  Other sources: Marketa Mlynska, Druzstevni ctvrt 12/3131, 695 03 Hodonin, tel. 0628/22851. 

SOURCES:  Gedenkbuch der Untergegangenen Judengemeinden Mährens, Hugo Gold ed. (1974), pp.. 54-56; Die Juden und JudengemeindenMährens in Vergangenheit unde Gegenwart, Hugo Gold ed. (1929), pp: 211-224 (pictures); Jiri Fiedler, Jewish Sights of Bohemia and Moravia (1991), p. 73; International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Cemetery Project, Czech Republic, Hodonin. 

SUBMITTER:   E. Randol Schoenberg, 3436 Mandeville Canyon Road, Los Angeles, California 90049-1020 USA.  Tel: 1-310-472-3122 (h), 1-213-473-2045 (w).  Fax: 1-213-473-2222.  Email: randols@schoenberglaw.com.  Web Page: http://www.schoenberglaw.com.