November 27th marks the annual commemorative service organised by the  Westminster Synagogue Scrolls Committee to remember the lives of those from the towns of Hořovice, Horažd’ovice and Přeštice whose fate ended with starvation and death. We are proud that we read from these scrolls on the occasions of Bar/Bat Mitzvah and festival services, thus making this service a celebration of life, looking into the future with optimism whilst remembering the past.

We most cordially invite you to attend our significant event of remembrance, this year planned to be held in person, as well as streamed online. At 4:30pm, We are honoured that Ariana Neumann will give a talk on her recent book “When Time Stopped”, which dives into the secrets of her father’s past: his extraordinary escape from Nazi-occupied Prague, years spent hiding in plain sight in war-torn Berlin, the annihilation of dozens of family members in the Holocaust, and the courageous choice to build anew.

After the talk, we will hold a short concert celebrating Czech Music ahead of our memorial service as we remember the names of each family that was lost from our Scroll Towns and hear reflections from students within our community. We then invite you to join us afterwards for refreshments as we raise a glass in their memories. 

Ahead of the event, at 3:00pm and 3:30pm, we will be offering a tour of the Memorial Scrolls Trust Museum, located on the third floor of our building. The MST is the charity which has loaned our Torah Scrolls and who care for the 1,564 Czech Scrolls which were rescued in 1964. If you would like to join one of these tours to learn more about their story, please do let me know and I would be happy to arrange. Please note that these tours will only be occurring in person.

We will also be holding activities for families in our community from 3:00pm led by our Youth Education Team. Please do let us know if you plan to join by booking in below.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to be in touch.