Returns to Brno

Discussion with descendants of the Bloch family

The Bloch family originally came from Rousínov and came to Brno in the middle of the 19th century to establish a leather goods company. Their family business and their lives were connected with Brno until 1939. World War II and Nazi persecution caused their forced departure from home and deportation to concentration camps. 

The descendants of this once important Brno family will come to Brno this year for the ŠTETL FEST festival - from the Czech Republic and from various parts of the world. Together with them, we will visit the places that are connected to their origins, and during a moderated discussion we will reflect on traumas, experiences and memories of Brno and our own roots. 

Accept our invitation to a discussion about the importance of finding one's own identity and how it is crucial to return to one's native roots.

The discussion will take place at 13 Rybářská Street, on the premises of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the BUT, where the company E. Bloch & Söhne was located. The discussion will be led by Michal Doležel, historian of the Brno City Museum, and Ines Koeltzsch, German historian. Among the speakers will be the descendants of the Bloch family, John Panofsky and others.