Written sources document Jews in Koloděje for the first time in the middle of the 17th century. In 1721, there were 35 Jewish families, at the end of the 18th century there lived about 80 Jewish families, then about 600 Jews around the middle of the 19th century; their numbers then dropped sharply. In 1880, there were 153 Jews living in Koloděje, in 1900 there were 35 Jews, and in 1930 only 9 Jews.Alfréd Radok (1914-1976), director of the National Theater and Laterna Magika, was born here, as was his brother, the creator of the Laterna Magika scene, Emil Radok (1918-1994). Their villa in Kolodě-je still stands today.
Ghetto The first section of Jewish houses originated perhaps at the end 17th century. In the 1780’s, there were 38 Jewish houses in the village, then around 1840, there were 72 homes owned by Jews (approximately one third of all houses in the village).
Most of the Jewish houses are still here preserved in reconstructions, including the hospital No. 164 and school No. 114. The synagogue began to be built in 1695, with the first worship taking place here in early October 1697 and the last probably in the second half of the 1930’s. In 1947-1948 the synagogue was demol-ished and the building material was used to build a theater stage and a cinema.
The Jewish cemetery is located on a hillside north of the village on the road to Bernartice. It was most likely founded at the beginning of the 18th century, with written sources first mentioning it in 1723. There are nearly 500 tombstones covering 2,661 square meters of the cemetery ranging from 1705 to 1941.
Interesting: The most elaborate tombstone is the small stone of the regional Rabbi, Jakob Mahler, decorated with the Hebrew epitaph: “Jakub Mahler, regional Rabbi of the Budějovice and Tábor regions, died 29 Adar 5627 (1867). He was loving and pious, like our ancestors. He worked from 1817 to 1867 in the village of Kaladý and in the districts of Tábor and Budějovice. He was known as a great scholar and with knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, excelled in wisdom over all schol-ars of this age, and was revered as a son in this community where he worked. Amen. Rest in the womb of the saints in the house of God'.