From Jewish Ghettos to Lover's Hill

Post by: Maeve Adam
Location: Prague, Day 7

We began our day with a tour of the Jewish Museum in Prague. The museum has the richest amount of artifacts of all the Jewish museums in the world due to the sheer amount of Jewish people in Prague before World War II. The Jews were only allowed to bring 50 kilos of personal belongings with them to the work camps in World War II. All of the belongings that were not brought to the work camp were donated to the already existing Jewish Museum. This was allowed because the Nazis were willing to let the Jews in Prague preserve their culture. However, about two thirds of the Jews that were sent to the work camps were killed and never returned to Prague solely because of their religion and culture.

The artifacts were housed in six different synagogues in the ghetto, an inner city area where the Jews were only allowed to live. Each synagogue was unique to the group of people that built it. The most intricate, detailed synagogue (and my favorite) was the Spanish Jewish synagogue that was adorned in exquisite designs all over the walls and ceiling. These six synagogues are now surrounded by new, expensive shops and flats because the ghetto was so dilapidated, it had to be torn down. The ghetto was a strong reminder of all the persecution the Jewish people have suffered from, even before the war began.

In my opinion, the most emotional parts of the museum were the Holocaust memorial and the children's art pieces. The memorial consisted of a list of all the Jews from Prague who were murdered in death camps. The names were written on the walls of the synagogue in three different rooms. This display showed the magnitude of the Holocaust in a tangible, overwhelming way. In this same synagogue, pictures drawn by children in the work camp were shown. Some colorful pictures showed happier times in the ghetto while other darker pictures showed life in the work camp. This exhibit shared the specific lens of the Jewish children which touched me deeply.

Our tour was led by a Czech man who was raised Roman Catholic by his parents, but had Jewish ancestors. His parents did not tell him and his siblings that he was Jewish until he was 18 because they were so afraid of the Holocaust happening again. Our guide's parents were actually in the work camp during the war and only survived because they put on plays. His remarkable story reminded me of how personal and recent the Holocaust is especially in this area.

We finished our day with sight seeing and a beautiful dinner on top of Lover's Hill. As we basked in the views from the restaurant and reflected on the emotional morning at the Jewish Museum, we are reminded of the horrific history of the area and hope for a better future in this beautiful city.

Photo 1: The dinner entertainment 

Photo 2: April with her dinner from the IWL! Dishes included: venison, duck, wild boar, and smoked salmon.