Tomáš Kulka

Who was Tomáš Kulka?

Tomas' parents were Jewish. His father, Robert Kulka, was a businessman from the Moravian town of Olomouc. His mother, Elsa Skutezka, was a milliner from Brno, the capital of Moravia. The couple was well-educated and spoke both Czech and German. They married in 1933 and settled in Robert's hometown of Olomouc.

1933-39: Tomas was born a year and a day after his parents were married. When Tomas was 3, his grandfather passed away and the Kulkas moved to Brno, which was his mother's hometown. On March 15, 1939, a few weeks before Tomas' fifth birthday, the Germans occupied Bohemia and Moravia, including Brno.

1940-42: On January 2, 1940, Tomas and his parents and grandmother were evicted from their house by the Germans. Hoping to save the family business, Tomas' father decided to remain in Brno. Because Tomas was Jewish, he was not allowed to begin school. A year later, Tomas's parents were forced to sell the business to a German for a mere 200 Czechoslovak crowns, or less than $10. On March 31, 1942, the Kulkas were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto in western Czechoslovakia.

On May 9, 1942, Tomas was deported to the Sobibor extermination camp where he was gassed. He was 7 years old.