Prague
is a colourful, delightful city but some pretty terrible things happened here,
and most of it in the 20th century.
Not
far away from the tourist crowds on Staromanske Namesti are the old Jewish
ghetto with its synagogues, houses and cemeteries. The ghetto was decimated in
the Second World War and the whole area has a sombre, reflective mood. Here is
an opportunity to see the remains of a people obliterated by genocide, and even
if you find the weight of history too much for you the Old Jewish cemetery with
its row upon row of Hebrew gravestones is still one of the best sights in
Prague.
Josefov is named
after the enlightened Austrian Emporer Josef II who lifted most of the
restrictions on Jews and allowed them to live peaceably in the empire. Here
they lived in the ghetto between Staromanske Namesti and the river. During the
19th century, despite attempts at assimilation, Josefov contained over 40,000 Jews.
By the time of the Anschluss in 1938 there were over 90,000 living in Josefov.
As soon as the Nazis took over Czechkloslovakia they issued anti-Semitic edicts
and in 1941 the first transport of Jews was sent to the camp at Terezin. By the
end of the holocaust, 77,000 had died in the death camps and the survivors who
came back to Prague at the end of the war numbered 8,000. A significant number
of these joined the communist party only to fall victim to Stalinist anti-Semitic
purges during the 1950's.
To understand
what Prague has been through during the 20th Century a visit here is a must. It
is, however, well on the tourist trail and you can follow the crowds down
Pariska. Where you turn left for Josefov. As a tourist attraction the area is
not too delicate (Yiddish marionette's anyone?) and you can buy a combined
ticket for three of the most important synagogues - the Klausen, Old-New and
Pinkas. The Klausen contains the most memorabilia including photos of the old
ghetto, and priceless menorah and Torah's. One of the curators explained to us
that the reason they have so many judaica still here is that Hitler was
building up a collection on a deviant race here in Prague, something to justify
his actions to the world when they had all disappeared.
Around the
corner in Siroka is the Pinkas synagogue, when you enter they give you a little
disposable skullcap (mine kept blowing away on the wind) and inside are 77,000
names enshrined on the walls along with their date of birth and date of
transportation to the camp. The whole synagogue was covered in names from floor
to ceiling. Most were born in the 1880's but I spotted some from the 1930's
meaning they were children! Horrible!
You leave the
Pinkas synagogue through the Old Jewish cemetery which is a high-walled area
smothered in hundreds and hundreds of Hebrew headstones. The earliest ones go
back to the 1530's but they are stacked against each other like playing cards.
Along with rooks cawing overhead this is a very atmospheric part of Prague.
To have a breath
of fresh air after Josefov - head for the river. The honeystone medieval
streets will take you past the baroque concert hall the Rudolfinium, where a
flyer-giver will no doubt be hovering dressed in 18th costume. But you can walk
all the way to the Vyserad fortress along the riverbank. And you will be
stunned that there is so much greenery in a capital city. But Prague, despite its
shadowy past, is a city of colour. Its townhouses are painted bright yellow,
pink, blue, lemon, mauve, jet black and emerald green - all festooned with
cherubs and statues.
This maybe the
most colourful city in the world.
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