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PAGE 12 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE May 30, 1986
Nathan S. Lewit
Owner-Operator
LEARN TO DRIVE
• Adults;Teenagers: certificate
w/6 or more hrs. behind-wheel
training—classroom optional;
Senior citizens' discount
• Dual Controlled 1986 Cars
• Licensed by the State of Georgia
• Over 10 yrs. Experience
Call for information
454-9100
NATHAN S Driving School, Inc.
Amelia’s
FLOWERS & GIFTS, INC. Cits
Fresh and silk flower arrangements blooming and foliage
plants, unique gifts, art gallery/wire service delivery
Loehmann’s Plaza at Executive Park
2484 Briarcliff Road • Suite 24
636-0428
Visit Our Treasure Trove
It’s worth the stop to seeourcollectionof finest
quality hand painted Oriental porcelains, lamps
and accessories.
And when you see our prices, you’ll want to
come again and again.
General public invited
Designers welcome
Lamp Factory Outlet/ a
The Porcelain House 1
1646 Roswell Road ^—
Marietta
Plzen Synagogue: Beautiful building fallen into disrepair.
Holocaust Torah’s origin traced
on visit to Czech city of Plzen
by Sol Singer
In 1973, my wife, Ruth, and I
learned that the Westminister
Synagogue in London, England,
had acquired a large number of
Czechoslovakian Holocaust Sifrei
Torah (Torahs that had been
gathered from various congrega
tions and sent to warehouses in
Prague) and that arrangements
could be made for synagogues to
become custodians of these Torahs
w hich would be on permanent loan.
We proceeded to make arrange
ments to secure a Holocaust
Torah for the Ahavath Achim
Synagogue. In due time we re
ceived a 19th century Torah which
had come from the Synagogue ol
Plzen, Czechoslovakia. The Torah
was appropriately presented to our
congregation at Sabbath Services,
then placed in the museum as a
memorial.
Plzen is an industrial city, fam
ous for its Pilsener beer and Skoda
Machine Works. The Jewish com
munity was one of the earliest in
West Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.
Among the first documentary re
cords is a decree of 1338, signed by
Charles IV, in which the city’s
administrators were ordered, under
penalty, to protect the Jews from
molestation. In 1432 the Jewish
community bought a plot from the
city to be used as a cemetery.
“LOVE’’ AND
“UNDERSTANDING’’...
TWO WORDS THAT ARE OUR
FOUNDATION AND OUR PLEDGE
While undoubtedly KING SPRINGS VILLAGE Health Care Center provides the finest
nursing facilities in the South, our goal is to make our residents comfortable, happy, and secure
by providing the ultimate in professional care and a wide range of social and recreational
programs.
That’s why KING SPRINGS VILLAGE Health Care Center provides the
little “extras” that assure a feeling of privacy, dignity, and independence.
Our emphasis is always on the quality of life. Extra care . . . Extra service . . .
Extra interest
Let us show you “love” and “understanding” in action. You are warmly invited
to visit and observe firsthand our wide range of social and recreational
programs, and to meet our dedicated staff.
KING SPRINGS VILLAGE
HEALTH CARE CENTER
404 King Springs Village Pkwy.
Smyrna, Georgia 30080
We are confident that you will like what you see.
(404) 432-4444
Kosher Meals upon Request
Approved loi Medu .ire
Admissions seven days a week
Dave Morgan,
Administrator
Owned By: Henry & Barbara Grossberg
Israel & Yetra Goldberg
in 1870 the Jewish community
numbered 1,207 and was instru
mental in the development of the
city as an industrial center of
worldwide repute. At the begin
ning of the 20th century the com
munity was among the most afflu
ent in Bohemia; a Moorish style
synagogue was erected in 1893.
In 1930 the Jewish community
numbered 2,773 (2.4 percent of the
total population). In the fall of
1938 Plzen became a refuge for
many Jews from other communi
ties in the Sudeten area already
occupied by Germany.
Under German occupation
(March 1939), there were persecu
tions and arrests of Jews, and the
Jewish cemetery was desecrated. A
plan to destroy the synagogue was
given up only because it would
have caused the destruction of an
entire city block. In 1942 more
than 2,000 Jews from all Western
Bohemia were concentrated in Plzen
and deported to the Nazi extermi
nation camps. The synagogue’s
ritual objects were transferred by
the Nazis to the Central Jewish
Museum in Prague to be held for
the future establishment of
“a museum to an extinct race.”
In October 1981, we received a
letter from Rabbi Robert A. Alper,
Congregation Beth Or, Spring
House, Penn., telling us that his
congregation was also custodian of
one of the Holocaust torahs from
the town of Prestice, Czechoslo
vakia. In May 1981 he had traveled
to Prestice to learn as much as pos
sible about its Jewish community.
Prestice is 15 miles south of Plzen
so he had “a marvelous opportun
ity to visit Plzen at length and meet
with the remnant of its Jewish
community.”
He gave us a good deal of infor
mation about his visit and his host
and guide in Plzen—Rudolph Lowy.
Rabbi Alper encouraged us to visit
Plzen if we ever had the opportu
nity.
In the fall of 1985 wejoined with
a group of fellow Atlantans on the
UJA President’s Mission to Israel.
Before going to Israel, we made a
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