Jews have a rich history in Prague, having been in the area for over 1000 years. In fact, Prague was one of the most important Jewish centers in Europe for many centuries leading up to the Holocaust, after which much of the small portion of the country's Jewish population that survived chose to emigrate. It should be noted that although the Jews have a long and rich history in Prague, that history, as in Jewish communities the world over, is rife with persecution and inequality. World War II was certainly not the first time Jewish people were forced to live in ghettos, made to wear distinctive clothing, or expelled from large areas of Europe. Jews in Prague were forced to live in a ghetto as early as the 12th century. In 1389, almost the entire Jewish population of Prague was killed when the Jewish quarter was ransacked, pillaged and burnt (with support of the clergy). There were several times between 1500-1750 when Jews were expelled from Prague. Yet in the early 18th century, there were more Jews living in Prague than in any other city in the world. Despite such a rocky path, the Jewish people did make progress over time in regard to their rights. The ghetto was finally abolished in 1852, and became an official district of Prague. It is named Josefov, after Emperor Joseph II (1780-1790) who unlocked the gates to the ghetto and issued an Edict of Toleration, allowing the Jews to engage in commerce and culture.
Josefov, the Jewish Quarter, is now a big draw for tourists. It is especially notable because, unlike with other cities in Europe, where the Jewish areas were partially or completely destroyed during German occupation, Prague's Jewish Quarter was allowed to stand. Presumably this was because Hitler intended the area to be used in the future as a sort of museum of "an extinct race". My first thought was that it was surprising Hitler would have chosen a place so illustrative of the highly developed sense of beauty and culture of the Jews. Whatever the reason, it is fortunate for all of us that the Quarter survived the war. Today it features beautiful synagogues now housing museums of Jewish history and culture. The architecture in this part of the city is amazingly beautiful. I could spend many days wandering around this area. The exhibits inside the synagogues are also amazing, albeit sobering. The first one we went to had many ancient texts surviving from Jewish history in Prague. I love looking at really old books and manuscripts. The craftsmanship, and the amount of time it must have taken to hand letter entire volumes... it astounds me.
Our first stop
Sign outside of Pinkas Synagogue
As if that weren't enough to have you feeling a little sick inside, the most intense portion of the museum is upstairs, where there is an exhibition of artwork created by Jewish children in Terezin. Terezin (German name, Theresienstadt) is a garrison city in what is now the Czech Republic. It was built during the reign of Joseph II (mentioned above), but the Nazis took it over and turned it into a large ghetto and prison. If you've heard of the propaganda video where the Nazis painted a picture of concentration camps as "nice communities" for Jewish people (to combat international rumors of human rights abuse) this is where it was filmed. In fact, conditions in Terezin were nothing like what was portrayed in the film. 50,000-60,000 Jews were forced to live in barracks designed to hold 7,000 soldiers. Additionally the camp was often used as a temporary holding area; most of the prisoners who did not die in Terezin were sent on to death camps. Of the 15,000 children who were transported to Terezin, only 100 survived.
While the living conditions in Terezin were deplorable, people did what they had to do to survive, and in the ghetto, Jews were able to have a small amount of self-government. One of their biggest concerns (understandably) was the large number of children. How could they keep children from becoming depressed and despondent in such a depressing and desperate environment? They arranged secret lessons for the children. They designated "children's barracks" and tried to have all of the children live together. The Jewish community worked very hard to provide an environment for the children that would help them to find some hope and comfort. The children's artworks in the exhibition are products of some of these secret Terezin lessons. One of the teachers, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, when she was forced to leave Terezin to be killed at a death camp, buried suitcases filled with the children's art and writing (over 4,500 pieces). After the war, the suitcases were discovered and the contents are on display in Prague, at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC and other places.
Next we walked through the Old Jewish Cemetery. Within its walls are buried possibly 100,000 people with headstones dating from as early as 1489. Because the Jews were not allowed to bury their dead outside of the ghetto, the dead were buried one on top of another, sometimes up to ten graves deep in a single plot. The tiny cemetery is literally stuffed with headstones, although the number that stand probably only represents about 12 percent of the actual burials located there. It is very beautiful. I took a lot of pictures here, because pictures are not allowed inside any of the museums. We had to pay a couple dollars for a ticket to take pictures in the cemetery, too. Unfortunately, I took so many pictures my camera went dead, so I didn't get to take any more after that.
The Old Jewish Cemetery
After the cemetery we had lunch at a restaurant nearby where I had my first goulash, in a bread bowl. Then we went to the Spanish Synagogue which was so ornate and beautiful inside. By the time we had walked around there, we were feeling pretty exhausted. We went to the last museum that our tickets paid for, and then headed out. I stopped at the grocery on my way back to get ginger because my stomach was upset. In fact I was not feeling very well by this time. Little did I know that I was infected with Bohemian Flu...
Eating goulash
Taken by Alex P. :)
Walking around at night, I thought this building was pretty.
Last night I wandered around Old Town for a bit. I splurged on a really long strand of beautiful red crystal beads. I had some yummy red coconut curry for dinner and then came home and started working on the first piece of jewelry I've made since I arrived in Prague. I made a long necklace with the red crystals I had purchased that evening, some beautiful green Czech glass pieces I'd found at the bead store, and some turquoise I threw in for fun. I finished it today and made a pair of earrings to match! I'm excited to wear it tomorrow, which will be the first day of the second half of the course! I'm sure it will be just as tough as the first two weeks, but I'm feeling so good about it. I feel like if I got through last week with flying colors, I can't have too much trouble making it through to the end. I'm hoping to hear back from a couple of schools this week and hopefully have a face-to-face interview soon.
My first jewelry made in Europe :)
I will keep everyone updated.
Hugs and kisses.
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