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Very few large European cities escaped World War II, much less earlier wars, with minimal destruction. Prague, however, is a major exception. It contains buildings and entire sections of the city that date back to the 1500s and earlier, leading to its name "Golden Prague." In Prague we will turn our attention to the effects of the Final Solution in Europe. There has been a Jewish community in Prague since medieval times, though until the 1800s they were confined to a ghetto in the old town, among a variety of other restrictions. Though most of the old ghetto buildings were destroyed following the Jewish emancipation in the nineteenth century, some important buildings remain, including one of the oldest synagogues in central Europe. Many Jews actively contributed to the European-wide reputation of cultural life in Prague, including Franz Kafka and Rabbi Löw. But beginning in 1941 forty thousand Jews were transported to the concentration camps, and only a small fraction survived to return after the war and revive the Jewish community.
In Prague we will stay at the Hotel Europa on Wenceslas Square, right at the edge of the old district. We will have a guided tour of the former ghetto area, including the cemetery and the Old-New Synagogue, and, tentatively, we will have a talk by some Jewish residents who experienced Jewish life in Prague before and during the war. We will also tour the fortress and former concentration camp at Terezín/Theresienstadt north of Prague as well as the site of the village of Ledice, where the entire population of men, women and children were murdered in 1942 by the Nazis in retribution for the assassination of the Nazi governor of Bohemia, Reinhard Heydrich, whose sadistic and brutal reputation was unrivaled among the Nazi leadership.
 Golden Lane
in
the Hradcany Castle |
Old
Town Hall with its astronomical clock
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Old
town square
with
the Tyn Church  |
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Old-New
Synagogue Jewish
Cemetery has over |
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Interior of the Spanish Synagogue  |
Terezin/Theresianstadt:
this town north of Prague served as a concentration camp during the war.
The Small Fortress.  |
The
current museum served as one of the concentration camp's children's
home.  |
Prague -- The Golden City is a site run by a Danish travel agency, but it has lots information on a wide range of topics, from shopping to attractions to transportation. This is the place to start.
Prague Information Service page has lots of pictures and short descriptions on the major sights.
Lonely Planet: Czech Republic includes a section on Prague.
The Jewish Museum in Prague oversees the preservation of Jewish artifacts and buildings.
The Terezin Memorial is the website for the former ghetto/concentration camp.
University over the Abyss: Lectures in Ghetto Theresianstadt 1942-45 contains information on the intellectual life in the Ghetto.
Hotel Atlantic. Website for our hotel in Prague.
