Zbyněk Tarant’s Lecture in New York Highlighted the Story of Leo Herrmann, Who Helped Save 2,500 Czechoslovak Jews

New York, November 20, 2025 – The Bohemian National Hall hosted an annual lecture dedicated to the history and culture of Jews in the Czech and Slovak lands. The keynote speaker was Dr. Zbyněk Tarant, a Hebraist, historian, and ethnologist specializing in Holocaust memory, Czech-Israeli relations, and contemporary antisemitism.

The event was organized by the Society for the History of Czechoslovak Jews in cooperation with the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York, with support from the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association. Around one hundred attendees came to hear the lecture.

Dr. Tarant presented the little-known story of Leo Herrmann (1888–1962) – a lawyer, diplomat, journalist, and Zionist activist. In 1939–1940, Herrmann devised a comprehensive rescue plan inspired by the Ha’avara agreement, which allowed Jews to leave Nazi Germany in exchange for surrendering property. Thanks to his initiative, approximately 2,500 Czechoslovak Jews were saved, often at the last moment.

Among those rescued were prominent figures of Czech Zionism, including Max Brod, who was thus able to take and preserve Franz Kafka’s archive.

The event began with speeches by:

Pavla Niklová, Director of the Jewish Museum in Prague
Rabbi Norman Patz, President Emeritus of the Society for the History of Czechoslovak Jews
Karel Smékal, Consul General of the Czech Republic in New York

The lecture was selected by an expert committee from 13 proposals submitted in response to an open call.

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