Sunday 24 November 2013

Prague Day 9


I have to apologize that even though there were many details omitted, this is another very lengthy posting. If you only want an overview of the day, here is the readers' digest version:
We had an amazing and bountiful breakfast at the hotel.
We went on a city tour.
There are literally millions of tourists in Prague.
We saw the palace and St. Vitus cathedral.
We visited the Jewish quarter called Josefov.
We saw the astronomical clock in the old town square.
There were two million tourists there waiting for the clock's performance on the hour.
We crossed the Charles Bridge with many Czechs selling authentic kitch to tourists.
We just made the bus to Terezin, but without time for lunch.
We saw the museum, the hidden synagogue and the area where torture was conducted.
We returned to the hotel and had a special dinner because it was Gila's birthday.

If you want more details feel free to read on.

Today was a very full and memorable day. It was also Gila's birthday and we agree that it is one she will never forget.

After a very varied and plentiful breakfast buffet at the hotel, we met our group for a tour of Prague. Our guide Alexandra was excellent. Her passion for history and for Prague are abundantly apparent. Even while riding in the bus to a location, she filled us in on city and national history and economics so that we could develop a more realistic view of the city. Apparently, Prague gets over four million visitors every year and tourism is one of its main industries.

Our first stop was at the palace complex. It is the residence of the President who is merely a figurehead. All the real power I belongs to the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party who won the majority, just like in Canada. Apparently, if you were to put all the windows in the complex side by side they would stretch for ten kilometers. Visiting that place is like walking through history. The foundations of original buildings of Prague dating the ninth century were visible. There were buildings that are Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and from the nineteenth century (I forget the name of the style). The entire site is protected by UNESCO. These are people who respect and honour their history.

We heard about King Wenceslaus, Saint George, Jan Huis, Madeleine Albright and other historical or prominent Czechs. We heard about how the Czechs were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when and why it became one nation with Slovenia, the conditions under 41 years of Soviet rule and how the Czech Republic and Slovenia became independent. It was a lot of history in about two hours and made the inanimate buildings more vibrant.

Saint Vitus cathedral is a looming, gothic structure complete with flying gargoyles. It was used as part of the set in the film Amadeus. Inside are stunning stained glass windows, but they are also a history lesson. Some date from the Middle Ages but others were installed as late as the 1920s. One was of particular interest. A German baker had come to Prague. He developed the pretzel as we know it today. This brought him great wealth and as a philanthropist, he arranged for the installation of the window. To show his roots, in the bottom right hand corner is a baker holding a pretzel. Unless you know the story and look for it, you could miss it entirely.

From there it was back onto the bus and a ride to Josefov, the old Jewish city. It has become a very elite area with a boulevard filled with the names Fendi, Dior, Jimmy Choo, Coach and many more. At the time of the Soviets, these shops had been manned by Lufthansa, British Air and other prestigious airlines. We only walked by the Alte Neue Synagogue and the location of the Chevra Kaddisha, the old Cemetery and the other four synagogues. The entire Jewish section is closed on Saturday, but we have decided to come back early Sunday morning so we can go into all these sites before we head off to Nuremburg and our riverboat portion of the tour.

We ended our morning at the astrological clock. Just before the hour, a huge crowd gathers because that is when the twelve disciples come out with the chiming. We have passed that sight several times already, but haven't stayed for the 'show'. During all this time. Gila and I were not even separated once. She managed to get all her pictures, but always stayed close to the tour leader. This was not always easy because of the crowds and because the headsets we were using made you think you were always a close distance from the guide even if you weren't. She now thinks she might be able to do tours!

We were now free until our afternoon tour to Terezin. We had an hour and a half to see the Charles Bridge and have lunch. The bridge too was packed with tourists. It was lined with vendors (fewer than I remember from my last visit) selling photos, paintings, jewelry, and caricatures drawn within four minutes. The statues were more interesting as were the sights of the city from both sides of the Moldau River. Despite our intention to leave enough time for lunch, we had to do another marathon rush to get to the hotel on time for the tour. We made it with five minutes to spare, just enough time to buy a drink, but no lunch. I think it was somewhat appropriate to visit a concentration site on an empty stomach.

I could write a volume about Terezin from what I learned on this tour. It has an incredible history starting several centuries before its reincarnation by the Nazis. Because of its proximity to the German border, a large fort, for the soldiers and a small fort for the officers were built behind very high defensive walls. However, the Germans, aware of the fortification did successfully attack by circumventing the fortress. It was continually used either for prisoners or army barracks throughout the different regimes that controlled Czechoslovakia. Between the two world wars, it became a small town inhabited by farmers. However, when the Nazis took over Czechoslovakia, they saw this walled town as the perfect internment spot because even with minimal staff escape was difficult due to the surrounding walls. At the beginning of the 40’s, the people of Terezin were given orders to take whatever they could carry and relocate. If they were unwilling to move they themselves could be interned or executed. Not a tough choice for most.

                                        

                                             The fortress walls of Terezin

Some older German Jews were told to sell or give all their belongings to German families and they could have a permanent home and care in a spa town for the rest of their lives. Others were told that they were getting their own town to be run under the auspices of the Jewish council. There were stores, schools, parks etc. it was a lie that many were more than willing to agree to. Unlike the other camps, internees were allowed to keep their possessions. According to our guide, children were better cared for and got more food. Although this was not an extermination camp, the crowded unhygienic dormitories led to many deaths.

Terezin was more like a transit or holding camp. From here, the Jews were promised more permanent settlement in the east aka Auschwitz or Madjanek. This camp was ideal for Nazi propaganda. At first, the Jews secretly performed plays and concerts. Later it was done with full knowledge of the Nazis. Their attitude was relatively laisser faire. They knew that soon all of these Jews were heading east so there was no harm in permitting a little artistic freedom. We saw the film that the Nazis allowed the Red Cross to make when they were checking the living conditions for the Jews. It was a wonderful performance including soccer, music, 'citizens' strolling in the square, children in a school. The Red Cross report in 1944 stated that Jews were well looked after. While the film was running, there was a voice over obviously added much later listing transports from Terezin. 1000 transported, 3 survived. 1843 transported, 53 survived. 1000 transported, no survivors. 1247 transported, 9 survivors. The enumeration lasted several minutes. Recently, someone who was on that Red Cross committee was asked if knowing what he did since the end of the war, would he change his report. No, he said, because what he had seen was Jews being well taken care of.

                                                

Childen's toys from Terezin

One of the more interesting parts of the tour was a hidden synagogue in Terezin. An orthodox Jew named Artur Berlinger and his wife were sent to the regular barracks of Terezin. He discovered a deserted stable and turned into a prayer room and painted it with Jewish symbols along the ceiling and holy words on the walls. Because of his status in the camp, he was permitted to move out of the crowded barracks and into the small apartment over the stable. After the war, the family who had lived there retained their property. They told no one of the prayer room and resumed using it as a stable, but not touching the work done by Berlinger. They kept this room secret until the 1990's when it was taken over by the museum and the living quarters were set up as during the war. There was considerable water damage during a flood in 2002, but the inscriptions were higher than the water level and they were not damaged.

                                               

The wall of the hidden Synagogue.

The cemetery and small fortress were the next places we toured. The small fortress was used by the Gestapo during the war. Those who tried to escape were kept there and often tortured before execution. I was closed into one of the cells. There were no windows and no lights, so that it was like a full time depravation tank, very unnerving. Beside the fortress is a cemetery. Some of the graves have no names and are the ashes of both Jews and Christians who were victims in Terezin. That section has a large cross in it. The other section has marked graves with the names of the victims and the dates they died. Near the end of the war many deaths were due to an epidemic of typhus. A rabbi objected to only a cross and so a Star of David stands where the graves are known to belong to Jews. It was a very sobering visit and I felt emotionally drained by the end of the tour.

                                     

Terezin cemetery

                                                    
Our guide Alexandra was excellent. Not only did she provide us with a lot of history and opinions, but also made her presentation light hearted and funny. Her tone in the afternoon appropriately changed. The lightheartedness was gone, but one thing that bothered both Gila and I was that we felt she was trying to minimize what had happened. In Terezin, the Jews did govern themselves. They did have performances. They did wear their own clothing. The children received better treatment and it was not an extermination camp. But the Jews were not free and for most of them this camp was a short bearable stay before being sent to Auschwitz.

When we got back to our suite, Gila found a birthday card and box of chocolate from the management of the hotel. We both rested and showered and then returned to the hotel restaurant for an incredible meal. The service was impeccable and the food was outstanding (and expensive), but for the occasion it was worth every korona. Earlier in the day I gave Gila a chocolate bar with the inscription 'For You' in Czech. This dinner was the rest of her gift. Gila being Gila also gave me a gift that came from the Jewish museum in Berlin. It was a little box of meshuggah pills. I'm not sure if they are supposed to cure my Insanity or make it more manageable. I will report on my condition as the trip progresses.

                                             

                                                    

As I already mentioned, it was a sobering day, but neither of us would have changed anything about it even if we could.




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