The Czech/American Reading Circle
The Nebraska Czechs of Lincoln are proud to sponsor the Czech/American Reading Circle. Started in January, 2019, the Reading Circle shares significant books about, by, for, and important to, people of Czech Heritage.
Attendees are not required to have read the book being discussed, however, it helps to have some familiarity with it, and we encourage all participants to contribute any relevant information they may have.
Please join us! The circle meets the last Tuesday of each month (except December) at 6:15 pm central time
on ZOOM. Everyone is welcome.
Please contact the following or any Board Member for additional information and/or to get your Zoom Link.
Lois Shimerda Rood
Layne Pierce
Mila Saskova-Pierce
The Czech/American Reading Circle is continuing with its seventh year of reviewing great books.
Please join us the last Tuesday each month.
Click here for a high resolution copy of the 2025 Reading Circle Brochure.
Double click here to edit this text.
Český čtenářský kroužek
Please Join Us for our July
Nebraska Czechs of Lincoln Reading Circle!
MONTH: July 29, 2025
BOOK: The Jews of Bohemia & Moravia: A Historical Reader (1992)
AUTHOR: Wilma Abeles Iggers
LEADER: Lorraine Duggin, Ph.D.
Past Reading Circle Brochures:
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BOOK SUMMARY:
While much has been written about East European and German Jewry, relatively little attention has been given to the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia, although they played an important role in the industrial, economic, and cultural life of central Europe. This book examines the social and cultural history of the Jewish community in Czechoslovakia from the Age of Enlightenment to the middle of the twentieth century.
From family histories, newspaper and magazine articles, wills, and letters, Wilma Iggers has culled descriptions of life, customs, and local color; portrayals of important individuals and families; stories of individuals depicting the transition of a culture and a people from the Middle Ages to modern times; an examination of complaints about the deterioration of the religious communities and of religious instruction; and the history of anti-Semitism. Practically all reports reflect the difficult struggle for survival as Jews. The texts also address special legislation regarding the Jews, industrialization and urbanization, changes in religious and familial structures, growing involvement in the culture and politics of the worldly communities, cultural assimilation, changes in stereotypes about the Jews, and the effects of political forces from outside.
The Jews of Bohemia and Moravia begins with the expulsion of the Jews from Prague by Empress Maria Theresa in 1744, an event which caused a shock that remained in the Jewish consciousness for a long time. The book concludes with texts from the middle of the twentieth century dealing with the most recent generation of Bohemian and Moravian Jews. Despite fluctuations and radical breaks, the time span from 1744 to 1952 constitutes a single unit that encompasses striking cultural and economic developments as well as anti-Semitism and cynicism unmatched even in the Middle Ages.
With their strong emotional ties to the land of their birth, Bohemian and Moravian Jews are closer to the Central and West Europeans than to the Jews from Eastern Europe. Although Jews are often criticized for adapting themselves easily to other countries--meaning that they have no real roots--their strong emotional ties to their countries of origin are clearly expressed in a number of documents included in this book.
Dr. Lorraine Duggin is a published poet, fiction writer, and memoirist, who has been teaching English/Writing on the College level since 1974. She was a long-time member of the Omaha Czech Cultural Club, served as its secretary, and with the Omaha International Folk Dancers did many folk dancing performances at Czech Festivals. She is on the Speaker’s Bureau of the Nebraska Humanities Council, presenting a program on “Growing Up Czech in Nebraska.”
Wilma Iggers