My Grandmother Told Me that Travel Is the Best Education

 

 

 

 

My grandmother taught me that travel provides the best education.  Her wisdom was evident a few weeks ago when a number of your Lexington friends and neighbors ventured on a two week European odyssey that took us to Hungary, Germany, Austria and The Czech Republic.  Two of these countries were behind the former Iron Curtain and I didn’t really know what to expect, but what I found was exciting and dynamic. 

I had heard that Prague was one of Europe’s most beautiful cities and I was not disappointed.  It was the only Central European capital to escape the bombing of the Second World War.  The city is gorgeous, but even more breathtaking was the joy and happiness that I found walking the streets.  The history of Prague is one of oppression.  Hitler seized Prague in 1938 and the horrors of the Holocaust decimated the Jewish population.  The Czechs acknowledge that they were “liberated” by the Soviets in 1945, but the problem was that the Soviets stayed.  Prague went from the Nazi frying pan into the Communist fire.  It was not until the student led “Velvet Revolution” of 1989 that freedom was finally realized and the Czechs have been celebrating ever since. 

The streets were alive with music, laughter, and energy.  Everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles and heartfelt welcomes.  The blessing of freedom is alive in the Czech Republic because most of the people remember life without it.  One of the lessons I learned is how precious freedom truly is. We talk about freedom.  These people live it. 

We found this to also be true in Budapest, a stunning and enchanting city filled with breathtaking beauty.  They have actually turned the former Nazi Gestapo and Communist Secret Police headquarters building into a museum that documents the atrocities of Fascism and Communism.  While I was not able to visit this museum I am told the experience is much like a Holocaust Museum.  It is called, “The House of Terror.”  They will never forget life without freedom.

While our trip was full of adventure, discovery, and beauty, the most powerful and moving moments for me were visits to the Jewish Quarters of both Prague and Budapest.  The Jews of Prague had been persecuted since the 12^th century when the Pope ruled that Jews and Christians should not live together.  Even so, there were over 120,000 Jews in Prague when Hitler invaded in 1938.  Only 5% survived the Holocaust. 

The Jews in Budapest were treated with more benevolence, at least at the beginning of the war.  The Budapest Jewish community had built the largest Synagogue in Europe, a stunning edifice that we visited.  While they were restricted in many ways, they had not been deported to Concentration Camps like the Jews in Prague.  But when Hungary started to show signs of resistance to Hitler’s maddening ways, the Nazis invaded Hungary and the full frenzy of Hitler’s rage was directed toward the Jews. 

There was a forced “death march” in which the sick, elderly and children were forced to walk until they collapsed and then were shot.  Over 2,000 Jews who were not deported died in the winter of 1944-45 of starvation, exposure, or disease.  The mass grave where they are buried is a peaceful memorial garden today.  Behind the iconic Synagogue is a powerful sculpture called the “Tree of Life.”  It is a Weeping Willow tree that forms an upside-down menorah.  There are over 4,000 metal branches, each containing the name of a Holocaust victim.  The Hebrew inscription on the sculpture reads:  “Is there a bigger pain than mine?”

I cannot comprehend how human beings can inflict such suffering and pain on other humans.  After visiting the two Jewish Quarters I felt much as I did after visiting the Holocaust museums in Jerusalem and Washington—sick at my stomach. 

We walked back from Prague’s Jewish Quarter to the historic Old Town Square.  There in front of the Old Town Hall we found 27 crosses imbedded in the pavement.  They represent 27 Protestant leaders who were beheaded on that Square in 1621 for rebelling against the Catholic Habsburgs.  Finding all of this almost too overwhelming to process, we returned to our hotel. 

I turned on the television to hear what was going on in the civilized world.  CNN was reporting the grisly execution of American journalist, James Foley . . .