Berthold Oppenheim

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Berthold Oppenheim (1867–1942) was a Jewish rabbi in Olomouc, Moravia. He was born on July 29, 1867 in Ivančice to a rabbinical family. His father, Joachim Oppenheim, was also a rabbi. Berthold studied Hebrew and Judaism in Berlin and Wrocław.

In 1892 he became the first rabbi of the newly formed Jewish community in Olomouc and served there until 1939. He helped build the Olomouc Synagogue (opened in 1897) and gave lectures. He was a founding member and later vice-chairman of the Union of Moravian-Silesian Rabbis, founded in 1906, and worked to strengthen Jewish life—promoting Hebrew, libraries, education, and culture. He participated in many rabbinic meetings and organized conferences.

Oppenheim also taught Hebrew at the German grammar school in Olomouc, worked with the Chevra Kadisha, and founded the Freitisch-Verein to help impoverished Jewish students. In 1932, at age 65, he visited Palestine for the Maccabiah Games and wrote about his journey.

He remained rabbi of Olomouc until 1939 and was replaced in 1940. On July 8, 1942, he left Olomouc for Theresienstadt, and on October 15, 1942 he was deported to Treblinka, where he was murdered. It is not known whether he died in a gas chamber or in another part of the camp.

Memorials: In 1974 a memorial plaque was placed on his mother’s grave in the Olomouc cemetery. In October 2012, 42 Stolpersteine were laid in Olomouc, including one for him and his wife, at Avenue Svobody 24, to mark his deportation and murder.