| Address: | Jáchymova 3, Josefov, Prague 1 |
| Established: | 1908 |
| Closed: | 1942 |
| Authority: | Jewish Community of Prague |
| Principal1: | Rabbi Haim Brody |
| Principal2: | Rabbi Shimon Adler |
The Talmud-Torah School (German: Talmud-Thora Schule) was a Jewish religious school in Josefov district in Prague, which operated between 1908 and 1942.[1]
The school was run by the Jewish Community of Prague.[2] The director was the Chief Rabbi of Prague, who was directly appointed by the Jewish Community of Prague. Since 1905 the director of the school was Rabbi Haim Brody, who also lived in the school building.[3] In 1925 he was succeeded by Rabbi Shimon Adler. Among the school's graduates were Hebrew scholar Otto Muneles or writer František R. Kraus. Kraus recorded his memories of the school in one of his books:
From the year 1920 the school was transformed to a religious elementary school - the new name of the school was "School for Religious Education".[2] Max Brod was a guest speaker at the opening ceremony. Franz Kafka's sister Valli Pollak became one of the first female teachers there in 1920. In the 1930s, two branches of the school were established in Letná and Holešovice districts. The curriculum included Czech, German, mathematics and the other common subjects. A particular focus of the curriculum was on Jewish culture and history. Optional courses of Hebrew were offered in the higher grades. After the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia "Jáchymka" was the only school in Bohemia, which Jewish children were allowed to attend.
The school was closed in August 1942, when all the Jews were officially banned from getting education. The school building was then used to store the Jewish property confiscated by the Nazis.[4]
Currently, "Jáchymka" serves as the headquarters of the Terezín Initiative Institute, Jewish National Fund or sheltered workshop Becalel. The building also houses a permanent exhibition about the history of the school.[5]