Violence against Jews began in Germany 70 years ago. Seven places to go to remember

by Jamie Rhein on

Kristallnacht, also known as “The Night of Broken Glass” began November 9, 1938 in Germany. On that night, Germans began attacking Jews in full force.

Over the course of two days, synagogues were burned, and Jewish businesses, cemeteries, hospitals and schools were ransacked and destroyed. Jewish homes were also trashed and looted and many Jews were killed.

The morning after these pogroms, the round-up started. Thousands of Jewish men were sent to concentration camps.

This day would have slipped past me if I hadn’t been listening to the radio last night when a local radio personality mentioned it.

As a commemoration of this horrible time in human history, here are seven places I’ve visited that have left me feeling somber and reflective. Each are places I think should be on a list of must sees. Feel free to add your own based on where you have been.

Anne Frank’s house and museum in Amsterdam. Although the rooms are bare, when you see the stairs that were once hidden behind the bookcase that lead to the attic where Anne lived with her family, you can get the feeling of hope and desperation that the Franks must have felt when they went into hiding. Anne’s diary is also on display.

Danish Resistance Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sometimes small countries can foil a bully. This museum offers a look at how the Danes would not bow down to German might. During their struggle against the Germans, many Jews were helped to safety in Sweden.

Josefov, the Jewish Quarter in Prague, Czech Republic. Still well-preserved, you can see six synagogues and the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe.

Monument to the Heroes in the Warsaw Ghetto, Warsaw, Poland- This monument is located in what was once the heart of the Warsaw Ghetto where Jews were forced to live. It symbolizes their enormous resistance movement.

Auschwitz concentration camp outside of Krakow, Poland–Now a World Heritage site, this camp is a well-preserved documentation of how dastardly humanity can be. The grounds are lovely which adds to its horror.

Dachau outside of Munich, Germany- This was the first concentration camp and served as a model for the others. There is a memorial here written in several languages that says, “Never again.”

The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California. Although the Holocaust is a substantial part of this museum, the purpose of the exhibits is to teach and promote tolerance among all people.

It’s burčák season in Prague! Try it, with caution

by Jeffrey White on

This weekend I was in Prague, happy to be reminded, thanks to signs hung in pretty much every bar and cafe window, that it’s once again bur?ák season!

Huh? you say.

From now into November, most drinking holes outside of seedy herna, or gambling, bars will be offering bur?ák, which is barely fermented wine.

If Beaujolais is the French answer to early wine, bur?ák — pronounced, more or less, bore-chuck — is the Czechs’, though you really can’t compare the two. Some describe bur?ák as having a taste much like orange juice. The white version is cloudy in the glass (to me it looks like pear juice), and while I don’t get a lot of orange taste, it definitely reminds one of fruit. It’s sweet, somewhat refreshing, and very drinkable.

That’s why you’ve got to be careful: It’s very easy to overdue it on a drink that taste good and doesn’t appear to be that alcoholic (hey, it’s only partially fermented, right?)

Don’t let bur?ák’s sweet taste and benign appearance fool you. Glasses are still around 5-8 percent alcohol (though fully fermented wine usually hovers around 11-12 percent). And bur?ák is one of those odd drinks (actually, I can’t think of another one like it) that actually gets more alcoholic as it sits on the table. It is fermenting right in front of your eyes. So the pitcher that you gamely order up is going to be more alcoholic by the time you reach the bottom.

But that’s only one reason to be careful. Really, it is not a good idea to have so much of this stuff, uh, fermenting in your stomach. Now, people will tell you that it is a myth that bur?ák continues fermenting in the blood stream. Maybe it is scientifically impossible. But I know what my stomach feels like a few hours after 4-5 good-size glasses of the stuff. It’s unsettled, to put it mildly.

I don’t want to imply that bur?ák is some kind of unique drink; many European countries mark the early grape harvest with their own versions. In Germany, where I live, feder weisen, which is quite similar to bur?ák, is currently in most establishments. But bur?ák does have a unique taste, and if nothing else it’s a reminder of how, in Europe at least, we mark the change in seasons less by meteorological and arboreal observation as by the food and drink that begins showing up in the places where we like to eat and drink.

The stuff is here one day, and gone before you know it.

What I learned about the Prague-Berlin train

by Iva Skoch on

I just got back to Prague from Russia and went straight to Berlin. How is that for a grand tour of War War II history? Completely unintentional, mind you.

I took the train from Prague to Berlin yesterday. It’s a great way to travel between the two cities. The train follows the river Labe (Elbe] for much of the route and takes you through what Czechs call the “Czech Switzerland” area, a picturesque gorge area.

One thing to keep in mind if you want to take this train is that you should buy tickets at least three days in advance. I didn’t and it cost me twice as much. I paid roughly $150 for a roundtrip Prague-Berlin ticket. If you book in advance, you pay as little as $70, even less if you are a student or purchase a Czech rail pass. Schedules are here.

The train ride takes 4 and 1/2 hours and is clean and comfortable. They even have a few tables where you can plug in your laptop. It is a good idea to purchase an assigned seat for an extra $5 each way. I didn’t and was kicked out of my seat no less than three times. The train isn’t crowded on the Czech side of the trip, but once we crossed the border with Germany, literally the entire East German population over 60 years got on my train for some peculiar reason.

Arriving at the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof is pretty amazing, too. Finally, a train station that looks cool and smells good. Which, certainly, cannot be said about Prague’s main train station. What a dump that place is. They are, however, renovating it. Keep your fingers crossed.

More from Berlin later.

Bolshoi in Russia: How to turn Prague into Moscow in 7 easy steps

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Moscow! Bolshoi in Russia is my variation on Big in Japan. (Bolshoi means “Big” in Russian. Get it?) Stay tuned for my live dispatches from Russia this week.

Needless to say, the similarities between Prague and Moscow have been on my mind lately. With a group of friends, this is the summary we came up with over a few drinks.

How to turn Prague into Moscow:

1) Turn back time at least 10, preferably 15 years.
2) Tear down 95.3% of the old buildings and replace with communist
realism buildings.
3) Reduce number of pretty women by 20%, primarily through the use
of bad make-up, bad hair dye, bad clothing, and gold teeth.
4) Increase the population by ten-fold.
5) Increase prices to New York City standard.
6) Replace every third car with a Mercedes and one of the two
remaining with a BMW, give everyone two, and park them all on the
sidewalks.
7) Widen every other street and turn it into a likeness of the
Magistrala, then remove all speed limits.

I know, I know. Probably not the most insightful thing you ever read in your life. Isn’t it strange how things always sound better over drinks?

From Russia, with love.

From the New Europe: How do you like the new library design?

by Iva Skoch on

Perhaps never before has the Czech Republic been so divided over a piece of architecture. The winning proposal for a new National Library in Prague, which is supposed to be built in Letna, in the Prague 7 district, not far from the Castle, is a source of major controversy in the country.

The purple-and-yellow building proposal (see photo) has been designed by Jan Kaplicky, an architect of the London architecture firm Future Systems. Yes, it is an extremely bold design, for a city known for its Gothic and Baroque architecture.

People call it all kinds of things…octopus, jellyfish, blob, phlegm are among the nicer ones. I personally like it. But I like cities that mix and match their architecture, like New York.

What about you? How do you like it?