Praha is how the Czechskys say and spell Prague.
Praha has an incredibly well-preserved Jewish quarter called Josefov. Jewish people settled into Praha in the 10th century. The first pogrom was in 1096. Shortly after, the Pope declared that Jewish people weren't equal to Christians and should thereby be confined to a ghetto so as not to mingle with the rest of the population. In 1848, the ghetto walls came down and Jewish people were allowed to live where they desired. 700 + years of ghetto life, that leaves me speechless.
The Praha Jewish community had relative freedom up until the time of Hitler. The Nazis wiped out 90% of Praha's Jews, only 6,000 remain today. Nazi concentration camp Terezin was set up on the outskirts of Prague. It was a holding camp for Jews from Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands and Denmark. There, they were transported directly to Auschwitz. 33,000 people died in this camp due to its horrific unsanitary conditions.
Normally the Nazis destroyed synagogues and melted down the gold and silver from Jewish religious items. Praha's Jewish Ghetto is, today, incredibly well-preserved because Hitler had plans for it to be a museum of an extinct race. He imported artifacts from other synagogues from all over the ancient Bohemian Empire (for which Prague was the capitol). Hitler set out to wipe out the Jews and then wanted a museum of their extinct race. It is impossible for me to understand how human beings can do this to other human beings.
There are 5 synagogues in Josefov. One is a memorial to the Jews who were killed in the concentration camp Terezin. Its white washed walls are covered with the names of the departed. I found dozens of people on the walls with my family name, Brunner. Tears streamed down my face. As my origins are a mystery--I know I am from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but no more than that--I was profoundly affected. Could any of these people be my relatives?
There were many children in camp Terezin. Their teacher hid some of their artwork under the floorboards; it was found after the war. Here is a picture drawn by Kitty Brunner of life before the camp.
Behind this synagogue lies the Jewish cemetery where 20,000 were buried. They ran out of room and had to stack them 12 high in the graves. On the right is a grave of a Cohen, as the hands symbolized this family.
Here is the grave of the famous rabbi Low. He is said to have had magical powers. He created a monster from clay called Golem. He put a pebble in the Golem's mouth and the monster ran amuck, killing bad people, protecting the Jews. Rabbi Low was scared of his own monster, took the magic pebble out, and legend has it, put the Golem in the attic of the Old New Synagogue where it still lies today.
Pieces of old tombs. People have placed pebbles and scraps of paper on these tombs as a means of saying a prayer or making a wish.
There is the Old New Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Europe. It was built in 1270, gothic style.
The 19th century Spanish synagogue.
There was a big Czech resistance against the Nazis, as important as the French resistance. In 1942, they managed to kill
Reinhard Heydrich a real nasty guy. He was in charge of Bohemia and Moravia and a chief planner in the final solution.
The Czech people fought long and hard against the Nazis. They helped liberate their own country only to fall into the hands of the Soviet Union where they suffered many horrible years under Communism. We came across a memorial for the hundreds of thousands of people murdered under the Soviet regime.
Whew! Stay tuned for more upbeat information. I am here to report all my experiences in the Czech Republic and the Nazi occupation and the reign of Communism marked this beautiful, peaceful country profoundly.
Gros Czech bisous et a demain!
Love, Charley
