Weiss, Karel

Plot Location	2L2
Surname	Weiss
Given Name(s)	Karel
Place of Birth	Piešťany, Czechoslovakia (now: Slovakia)
Date of Birth (Eng)	July 15, 1904
Date of Birth (Heb)
Date of Death (Eng)	June 23, 1994
Date of Death (Heb)
Age at Death	89
Hebrew Name	קלונימוס בן אהרן
Spouse’s Name
Father’s Name	אהרן
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Other Surnames
Sex	M
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Religious Status (כ/ל/י)
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Inscription (Eng)	IN LOVING MEMORY OF KAREL WEISS BORN 15TH JULY 1904 DIED 23RD JUNE 1994 LOVINGLY REMEMBERED BY THE HONG KONG COMMUNITY “BE AS STRONG AS A LION TO DO THE WILL OF YOUR CREATOR”
Inscription (Heb)	‘מ”ק קלונימוס בן אהרן ת’נ’צ’ב’ה
Inscription (Other)
Historical	Karel arrived in Hong Kong in 1933 from Prague. He co-founded the Far Eastern Economic Review and also founded the Graphic Press. He wrote a book, The Hong Kong Guide, in 1955. A second book, Graphic’s Map of Hong Kong, was published in 1956. It contained an alphabetical index of places in the territory. He was also a noted photographer, taking pictures of everyday street life in Hong Kong. He was also the purported Hong Kong bridge champion as well as the Hong Kong chess champion who taught children in the community how to play chess and often sat in the Jewish Club on Sunday mornings playing chess. He is remembered as a devout Jew who was a daily regular at Hong Kong’s Ohel Leah Synagogue. Many can recall the sound of his cane on the stones as he slowly approached the Synagogue. Francine Auster Martin wrote on 13 May 2016: “Karel also used to give children candy every Shabbos service. He kept the candy with his tallis bag in the wood container behind his seat. My son Jeremy was a regular at his sweets distribution.”

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