As I was walked through the Jewish Ghetto in Prague, I couldn’t help but think how life would have been in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
In Berlin, my sense was the German people regretted what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust. There are monuments throughout the city remembering those days and there is even a plaque in the middle of town with all the names of the death camps, to never forget.
As we were touring around, we even passed Hitler’s bunker, which is now a children’s playground.
I kept wondering how Hitler even came into power anyway. How did people let him take control?
It’s scary to think that fear alone was the factor that ended killing more than 6 million people. And even to think that 6 million people were executed for their religion is just astounding to me. Six million people is more people than live in Manhattan. It’s more people than live on Long Island, which only has 3.5 million people.
Could you imagine that everyone in your neighborhood, your town, your city was killed? Or even imagine, being forced to ride a train to your death?
When I walked around Prague’s Jewish Museum, consisting of six synagogues in walking distance of each other, along with the Old Jewish Cemetery, I couldn’t speak. I was feeling very emotional.
The Pinkas Synagogue brought tears to my eyes when I saw the names of 80,000 Jews who lived there who were exterminated in the death camps. It sent chills up my spine. Could my family be listed there?
Walking through the old cemetery really struck me. Since the Jewish people of Prague could only be buried in this one spot, there were 10 people buried on top of each other. There are 12,000 tombstones but more than 100,000 people buried there. This cemetery is a sight to be seen.
I noticed some orthodox Jews praying over one of the graves. Later, I found out they were praying over a famous Rabbi’s grave. They were shouting, praying and singing. It made me feel very uncomfortable. I almost felt as if I was interrupting a funeral…
I also found it eerie walking into the Old-New Synagogue, which was built in 1270. It’s the oldest Synagogue standing in the world today. It was very simply built and very tiny. I just sat there for a while and stared.
I felt the most beautiful synagogue in the area was the Spanish Synagogue. It was decorated almost as nice as some of the churches we saw throughout town. Mosaic tiles were on the walls and there were numerous stained glass windows.
I was surprised the Germans didn’t destroy these temples when Hitler and his troops invaded the Czech Republic. But, according to history, Hitler wanted to preserve this area so when there were no more Jews, it would stand as a museum representing a people who once were.
I left this area with a big lump in my throat.
———————————————-
I thought this was appropriate to post on the first day of Rosh Hashana. The holiday of Rosh Hashana marks the birthday of the creation of the world. For those who celebrate this day, I hope you have a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year.
– Hilary
Related articles
Thank you, Hilary, for your moving words and remembrance of the 6 million (which included 1.5 million children). Young people in Europe and the USA today may think of the Holocaust as ancient history, but it is living history — for those millions would have had millions more children and grandchildren had they lived. My own four grandparents died, one from suicide when his business was taken from him by the Nazis and his neighbors turned on him, and the others in the camps. Thankfully, all their children (10 on both sides) made it out and lived full lives in the USA or in Israel.
Thank you Vivian for leaving this message… When they say, we must never forget. It’s true. This could happen again, so we must never forget.
I’ve been reading a lot about love and positivity lately and if we all had a little more love and positivity in our hearts and lives, then something like this could never happen again!