Aug 16 - Day 3 in Prague

Our last day in Prague included a tour of the Josefov – the Jewish Quarter, as well as some shopping, site-seeing, a donut failure, and an experience with a mole.

The day began with a tour in Josefov with Irena, who took us through the Jewish Museum, which includes several buildings in Prague. The museum has an interesting history – established in 1906, it was shut down to the public in 1939 by the Nazis. The Nazis, however, decided to use the artifacts for a different museum, The Central Jewish Museum, or “A Museum of an Extinct Race.” The plan was extremely sick – it was to be built to serve as a type of victory museum, a vacation stop for Aryans, but it is probably the only reason Josefov and many artifacts survived. During the Communist era, the museum was limited by the state, but since 1994 the museum has been in the hands of Prague’s Jewish community and is no longer state run. The museum is quite extensive, and our tour took up the first half of the day, but it proved fascinating and to be a must see Prague experience.

The current organizers have done an amazing job presenting the material, and Irena certainly was essential! The museum encompasses the Pinkas Synagogue, Maisel Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Old Jewish Cemetery, Klausen Synagogue, and Ceremonial Hall.

The museum has displays on important cultural life in Jewish Prague. Our first stop was once a place of worship, and it had information regarding writers, artists, and scientists – the focus is on the accomplishments and successes of Prague Jews. One major display was on Franz Kafka, the famous Prague Jewish writer. He’s part of the phenomenon of Prague Jews writing (and speaking) in German.

Along with the accomplishments, however, must come the upsetting aspect of Jewish history – the Holocaust. The exhibit featured papers, letters, books, and orders to go to the camps. It was done very well, with plenty of facts (in English too) next to documents. The exhibit ended on an optimistic note, however, with an emphasis on Zionism.

With the knowledge that the museums are in synagogues, it struck me that what was once used for a huge community no longer has enough people to use it for prayer – so it must serve as a memorial. However, I did learn the Prague Jewish community is flourishing now, and many members are involved in the museum system.

Two aspects of the visit to the museums of Jewish Prague stunned and moved me enormously. The Pinkas Synagogue features walls covered – all covered – with the names of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Just seeing thousands, thousands of names up there, all the victims from Bohemia and Moravia was shocking. Seeing last names like mine up there was never ending. This is one of the simplest, but absolutely most effective memorials I have ever witnessed. The names were originally written between 1954-1959, but under the Communist regime, the building was kept in disrepair and the names were all damaged. They were rewritten after the fall of communism and the memorial was reopened in 1996. This is a process in remembering. Being surrounded by all the names of people who were murdered, all the names of a community destroyed… Yet there were still people to make a memorial. But the room itself is so somber, so devastating. It is the remembrance for all those who never had a tombstone, who never had a proper Jewish burial. It was a sad experience, and I don’t yet know how to reflect upon it properly.

The Pinkas Synagogue also features children’s drawings from Terezín (also known as Theresienstadt in German, where Ruth Kluger was and what she described as “the stable that supplied the slaughterhouse”). The teacher who encouraged these wanted to import the need to remember, even at the time of the occurrence. Thousands of drawings survived… but I know the same cannot be said for those same children who drew them. The room was claustrophobic, filled with many upset people. Part of me did not want to deal with the experience, seeing all the talent, the reality through a child’s eyes. But I stayed, I looked at each one. Yet it reminded me of the part in Kluger’s book, where she tries to engage intellectually in the world – listening to the Rabbi, reading books – and I realized the drawings mirror that. All the horrors and death were a reality, but that did not always stop creativity, of trying to discover things in life.

I found the museum visit very enlightening. The synagogues were gorgeous, the place packed with visitors, the exhibits impressive. I was sorry to see Irena go, and to realize our time in Prague would soon be over.

I finished the day off with some hilarity. Yesterday, I attempted to go to Café Imperial, which the guidebook swore up and down provided a free donut. Unfortunately, this was not the case. After questioning about “the donut situation” and experiencing a language barrier – (“donut?” “donut?”, to which I discovered donut in Czech is kobliha – good to know for the future) – it turned out the free donut promised by the Rough Guide is sadly mythical. However, they were very cheap so I bought one anyway and it was delicious, although not as satisfying as if the guidebook had been right. I suggest doing away with the Rough Guide – it lies about donuts and mirrormazes!

However, it was such a hilarious experience and made “the donut situation” quite the catch phrase. As if the second half of the day could not get more ridiculous, we met a mole (apparently from a popular children’s cartoon show, translated into “The Adventures of the Mole,” which, from the few minutes I saw, appears slightly environmental in nature). This mole was a man dressed in a mole costume, which apparently must come complete with skinny legs and tevas. Of course, we all wanted a picture with this random dressed up mole wandering the streets of Prague… However, I’m sure none of us wanted a surprise tickling from him. This mole was a creep – he tickled us and said such things as “Come on!” as we tried to escape (if only to escape into the store to buy some mole merchandise). Overall, it was one of the most bizarre and hilarious episodes in Europe I’ve had thus far. Of course, Prague gave much hilarity, from hearing the Baywatch theme, to “No sparkle shop for play!” and “donut” language issues, and my new favorite creepy cartoon character.

The day ended with a trip to the amazing Museum of Communism in Prague, which is, as they love to advertise, located above a McDonald’s. As they say, “Viva la Imperialism!” The museum gave a detailed history from the Czech perspective, with tons of propaganda poster, great video footage, and areas set up to look as they would during the Communist era. One interesting display discussed Jan Palach, a young Czech who set himself on fire to protest the Soviet tanks entering Prague during the Prague Spring of 1969. His funeral became another major protest point again the Communist occupation and his death has inspired many Czechs – he has become a national hero (and sadly, it turns out, his self-immolation has been copied, notably by six young Czechs in 2003).

After a delicious dinner, some hanging out, and some dancing, it was time to go to sleep and unfortunately, get ready to leave Prague in the morning. The city was gorgeous, filled with such interesting sites, good times, and great food that I did not want to leave! But, as always, I cannot wait to return to Vienna!