Aviv Poland Journey: Days 3 + 4 (Flight + Prague)

Leaving Israel, a country that represents hope and freedom for Jews everywhere, for Prague and Poland, a region of the world which has seen numerous atrocities committed upon the Jews, was somewhat of a bittersweet feeling. We arrived in the Czech Republic’s capital quite late, consumed some rather sub-par kosher dinner and headed off to our accommodation, the 4 star Duo Hotel; most were lucky to record 6 hours sleep for the night. All awoke bright and early the following morn, ready to take in the famous landmarks which Prague had to offer. Our first stop of the day was the Prague’s Jewish Quarter, which used to be the home of tens of thousands of Jews prior to the holocaust but today houses a community of just 1200. We visited the old-new synagogue of Prague which is famous for being the supposed birthplace and home of the mythical Golem, a legend which Jared and Toby informed us of at the site. Next up was the adjacent cemetery which was eerily reminiscent of graveyards featured in cinema thanks to the close proximity of it gravestones. We were reliably informed by our permanent guide Mark and Czech specialist guide Tom that the cemetery actually features as many as 12 layers of graves in some places… only adding to the uncomfortable occult vibe being felt by much of the group. It was an amazing site, certainly something you don’t see just anywhere in the world and for me a symbol of the deep roots of Jewish culture in Europe which go back thousands of years.

We were just getting started, we next headed to a synagogue which had been converted into a museum showcasing Jewish ritual and culture in a simplistic fashion; this was planned by Hitler and the Nazis to be a museum of the extinct race, showing how the Jews lived once they were wiped out. Whilst being a chilling reminder of Hitler’s plans to eliminate our entire race, it was somewhat of an odd museum for most, considering it featured items which we would just find in our own homes and which represent the majority of our Jewish identity. Following this we visited a synagogue which had been turned into a memorial featuring 80,000 names of those who perished in the holocaust. This place shook me more than any other we saw on this day; the names just didn’t stop, they filled every wall of the entire synagogue. And what’s more, as I examined the surnames on the wall I found one which stood out to me particularly, my own. This shook me greatly, I stared at the ‘Rosengarten’ for a number of minutes and the gravity of where I was and the journey I was undertaking began to set in. There were just too many names on these walls, however each was an individual, with a story, something which can too easily be overlooked when statistics inform memory.

The Spanish synagogue, built to house Prague’s growing reform community in the 19^th century, was our next stop, and it’s exquisite architecture and artefacts suitably impressed all. It featured a museum about the history of the Jews of the Czech Republic, detailing their grapples with anti-Semitism, experiences during the holocaust, as well as their struggles with assimilation. The history of this place grabbed me, whilst I believed I already had a fairly ample knowledge of both Jewish and holocaust history, it showed me that there is always another perspective, always more to know. We did not stay for long as our busy schedule dictated we keep on the move in order to see the entirety of the cultural and historical riches offered by the amazing city of Prague.

This was the extent of our Jewish landmarks for the day, next we headed up to the castle compound which featured a residence of the Czech president as well as the most unbelievably aesthetically pleasing church I have ever laid eyes on. St Vitus Cathedral was simply jaw dropping, the beautiful stain glassed windows coupled with the hand sculpted gargoyles and ridiculously high ceilings made the photographers of the group thank their lucky stars… of course this was the day I forgot my camera at the hotel. Our next stop was Prague’s love lock bridge, a symbol of love throughout Europe, and just up the road from it we visited the John Lennon Wall where people graffiti various messages of freedom. We also engaged in a song or two with a man who busks there almost every day of the year, it was a beautiful sight to watch the entirety of Aviv croon along to Wonderwall with the busker.  We soon crossed the famous St Charles Bridge, where we witnessed Klezmer music, various street vendors as well as amazing monuments dedicated to Jesus and other religious symbols. Quickly arriving at the town centre in which we were afforded an hour’s free time to do what we wished.

Following this hour we reconvened and headed to the Jewish Community Centre at which we engaged in a delicious kosher meal before retiring back to our hotel for the night. Tomorrow sees the really emotional and difficult sights begin to appear on our itinerary, we visit Terezin, a holocaust ghetto and camp, as well as making our way to Krakow where we will spend the next few nights. Only time will tell how we all respond to such heavy topics.

Jake

Aviv Poland Journey: Day 2 (Yad Vashem Cont.)

Day 2 at Yad Vashem began with an experience which we were truly privileged to enjoy; listening first hand to the story of Chana Pick, a survivor of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and a childhood friend of Anne Frank. Her story was unbelievable, we heard of her luck to remain in her family home for numerous years of the war thanks to various coincidences as well as strokes of luck which saw her and her sister both survive the war in extremely unlikely circumstances. We hung on her every word, recognising how lucky we were to be hearing the account of someone who endured the horrifying events which many consider today a faded nightmare. For me, it brought home just how lucky I am to be undertaking is journey, as well as the recognition that we are the last generation lucky enough to be hearing from survivors themselves and as such it is our responsibility to pass on the stories we accrue on our journey.

Our next session was a workshop with our tour guide Jonathan in which we took a closer look at the ghettos of Eastern Europe, namely Lodz and Warsaw, and the lives of those who lived there. We heard of the inversion of traditional bread-winning hierarchy in Warsaw as children were forced to scavenge and smuggle food in order to feed their starving families. We watched and heard testimonies of those who had spent time in these shocking places, one testimony particularly resonated with me personally. One woman stated that she had gone on dates in which she had passed rotting corpses in the streets and simply ignored them, for me this represented the an alternate and shocking normality created in the ghettos and eventually the camps, wherein death and destruction were simply the norm and people strived to live as normal lives as they could to little avail. We compared the actions of the leaders of these ghettos, one of whom committed suicide when the Nazis came for their ghettos citizens and the other who sacrificed the children in order to save the adults, eventually saving 8,000 lives. A debate arose as to who had made the correct decision, an answer which simply cannot be answered as to our inability in 2014 to know the entire background of the decision as well as our incapacity to avoid the use of hindsight to make an objective deliberation.

Our next workshop delved into the end of the war, the establishment of displaced persons camps as well as life after the holocaust. We learnt of ridiculously snap decisions for marriage due to an unwillingness to be alone following the deaths of entire families. What struck me about this was that our ‘first world problems’ and thoughts of loneliness are simply insignificant and irrational compared to the situations which these people found themselves, a lesson which I believe my generation in particular must learn. Next up was a visit to Yad Vashem’s resource centre where we worked on ceremonies and presentations which we would present sometime over the next week, much research was undertaken. Finally, we spent roughly an hour in the visual centre, afforded some individual time with the enormous video database of testimonials, films and Nazi propaganda amongst other things, which is only available at Yad Vashem itself. We were informed that the video library contains over 60,000 individual testimonials, despite being worked on since 1995, which allowed me to reflect on the unbelievable amount of individuals whose lives were affected by this traumatic episode of human history which I hope shall never be repeated.

Jake