The History of Doudleby nad Orlicí

General History

Doudleby is one of the oldest settlements in the region. It was already prominent around the middle of the 10th century. Since 1562 Doudleby belonged to the Counts of Bubna. The castle (chateau) of the family, which was built in late Renaissance style is still there, and after the end of the Communist regime it was returned to the family. It is to be noted that the Bubna estate included, in addition to Doudleby, Jeleni and Blato (both in the region of Chrudim), and earlier this family also ruled Zamberk (Senftenberg), near Daudleb.

The Jewish Community - general view

For at least 250 years there was a Jewish community in Doudleby, starting no later than the first years of 18th century and lasting until the Holocaust. The Jews were always a prominent group in Doudleby, being a considerable share of the population (up to about 30%).
Their economic contribution to the community and to the region exceeded by far their share in the population: They engaged in trade and commerce in this agricultural community. They were also those that brought industry to Doudleby in the late 19th century.
Unlike the gentile population of the village, which was agricultural, the Jews made their living in crafts and trade. They carried on trade both within Doudleby and in the surrounding villages and towns. Among the fields of trade recorded in the 18th century documents: Peddlers, tanners, leather-traders, scrap-iron dealers, tailors, brandy-makers, and others.

The demographical changes can be illustrated by the following data:

The beginning of the Jewish Community

There is no solid information regarding the beginning of the Jewish community of Doudleby. The time when the first Jews settled in the village of Doudleby is not clear yet. G. J. Lasek, in his paper published in 1902, speculates that it might have been around 1640-1670.
According to Dr. Arno Parik, there were Jews in Doudleby in 1702 at the latest: At the time, there were 16 Jews in the Doudleby estate.
The earliest records about Jews’ residence in Doudleby itself seems to be from 1748: According to Parik there were at the time 8 Jewish families in Doudleby. These were tradesmen and craftsmen.
The community was probably founded in the second half of the 18th century. It is speculated, that the Jews of Doudleby might have come from one of the many towns in the area that expelled their Jews. It is alleged that in the 17th century there was a small Jewish community in nearby Vamberk, and that its Jews were expelled and found refuge in Doudleby. Lasek, in his series of articles published in 1902, wrote that this is the oral tradition held by the Jews of Doudleby and accepted by all elders of the community, but there is no documentation to support this story. (Fiedler, p.193-194). The earliest documentation mentioned by Fiedler in his book, is from 1777.
The count of Bubna (Buben) gained the right to settle 43 Jewish families in the estate of Doudleby. For many years this was the number of Jewish families, or Familianten, out of about 1,850 in the whole of Bohemia.

The 1772 Blood-Libel

In 1772 Doudleby was the scene of blood-libel riots. Shortly before Pesach, a Christian girl was found dead in Doudleby. It was suspected that the Jews murdered her to bake Matzos with her blood. Rioting crowds attacked Jews, and armed officials from the Bubna estate had to intervene to prevent farther violence. Later the murderer was found, and it turned out that he was a Christian (Lasek). This incident was the basis for a book by David Fanta: Judith, eine Ghettogeschichte aus Daudleb (Judith, a Ghetto-story from Daudleb).

The Fire in the Ghetto - August 17th, 1860

On August 17th, 1860 a fire broke out in the Jewish Ghetto. It began at the house of Samuel Weissbart, and destroyed 15 houses in the northern side of the street. The houses on the southern side, including the Synagogue, were not damaged. The Count Frantisek of Bubna-Litic headed the efforts to stop the fire and save the Ghetto from complete destruction (Kodousek, p.100; Lasek, p.28).

Decline and the end of the community

In the second half of the 19th century, many of the Jews left Doudleby, going to other localities in North-Eastern Bohemia (Kostelec nad Orlici, Rychnov, Vamberk, Chocen, Vysoke Myto, Litomyshl, Nachod, Horice, Brandys nad Orlici, etc.), Brno (Brun), Svitavy (Zwittau), Prague, Vienna and even to America.
Developments both in Doudlerby and in the entire state in the years 1848-1860, brought about the gradual decline of the Jewish community of Doudleby (as happened in other rural communities):

Following the 1860 fire in the Ghetto many Jewish families left Doudleby (Cerny, 28; Lasek).
In 1896 the organized Jewish community was abolished, and the administration of the community was transferred to Kostelec nad Orlici (Parik, Gold, p.1; Jahrbuch, p. 175).
In 1930 only 2 Jews lived in Doudleby (Fiedler). The last two Jewish residents of Doudleby were deported by the Nazis and killed in the Holocaust (Radovan Drazan and Josef Mazura, Holocaust Zidu okres Rychnov nad Kneznou v letech 1939-1945 (Rychnov nad Kneznou, 1997) p. 83, 237, 264).

The Jewish Ghetto

The Jews lived, with few exceptions, in the Jewish Ghetto, consisting of more than 30 houses. All houses were along one street, the “Jews’ street.” The Ghetto was in the southern part of the village, on the bank of the Orlice River. (Fiedler) It is close to the bridge at the entrance to Doudleby.
The houses of the Ghetto were numbered originally in Roman numerals, from I to XXXI. In many cases a second dwelling-unit was built on the same yard, and each unit got a sub-numbering (e.g. “IX a” and “IX b”). In the Ghetto were the synagogue, a Mikveh, and the Jewish school.
Fire was not the only threat to the Ghetto: In January 1834 the Orlice river flooded the Ghetto (Kopsa, p. 16-17).