The afternoon of my third day in Prague, after lunch with Z, I wandered down to the Jewish Quarter where there was a fabulous collection of Synagogues that, together with the Jewish Cemetery, made up the Jewish Museum in Prague. Set up in the early 20th century to preserve valuable Jewish artefacts, it managed to survive Nazi occupation in 1939 after extensive negotiations to create a central repository for confiscated Jewish items were successful (albeit with varying motives).
It was a rather reflective wander through the Old Jewish Cemetery, where over 12,000 tombstones remember the passing of the Jewish deceased since the 15th century stood, & many thousands more were buried in layers due to restrictions on space here.
It was in the Maisel Synagogue that many of the questions streaming through my mind about the discrimination suffered by Jewish peoples over the centuries were finally answered. Seemingly, when the early Christian Church realised their attempts to convert Jews to Christianity were failing, the discrimination began. Many myths were created over the years & Jews were blamed for all types of crimes from murder to the bleeding of children for the purpose of religious ceremony. My gut tells me that there was also a significant degree of fear (of the presumed occultist powers of the Jews) & envy (of the Jewish learnedness & business acuity) involved in the repression & inferiorising of the Jewish people.
The Pinkas Synagogue remembers all the Jewish people from Bohemia & Moravia killed in the Holocaust - the names of all murdered by the Nazis are printed over the walls of the Synagogue. There is also a small gallery of children’s paintings/drawings depicted life during the Nazi occupation - very moving.
The Klausen Synagogue presented a wonderful outline of Jewish ceremonies & religious definitions together with a display of various Jewish artefacts. And finally the Ceremonial Hall completed the Jewish Museum trip for me - an incredibly insightful afternoon.
It was a rather reflective wander through the Old Jewish Cemetery, where over 12,000 tombstones remember the passing of the Jewish deceased since the 15th century stood, & many thousands more were buried in layers due to restrictions on space here.
It was in the Maisel Synagogue that many of the questions streaming through my mind about the discrimination suffered by Jewish peoples over the centuries were finally answered. Seemingly, when the early Christian Church realised their attempts to convert Jews to Christianity were failing, the discrimination began. Many myths were created over the years & Jews were blamed for all types of crimes from murder to the bleeding of children for the purpose of religious ceremony. My gut tells me that there was also a significant degree of fear (of the presumed occultist powers of the Jews) & envy (of the Jewish learnedness & business acuity) involved in the repression & inferiorising of the Jewish people.
The Pinkas Synagogue remembers all the Jewish people from Bohemia & Moravia killed in the Holocaust - the names of all murdered by the Nazis are printed over the walls of the Synagogue. There is also a small gallery of children’s paintings/drawings depicted life during the Nazi occupation - very moving.
The Klausen Synagogue presented a wonderful outline of Jewish ceremonies & religious definitions together with a display of various Jewish artefacts. And finally the Ceremonial Hall completed the Jewish Museum trip for me - an incredibly insightful afternoon.
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