Prague was a city of immense, stunning, almost imposing beauty. Its history, architecture, and natural majesty contributed to a sense almost of regality. Krakow, however, has a more homey, accessible splendor to it. The city is just as beautiful, in some ways more, but lacks the sheer sense of majesty. This made it, however, more easy to feel at home there. I also felt like there was a lot more I could have done, while I didn't get that sense in Prague (though I'm sure there was a lot more to see there, as well).
 |
| The old Cloth House in the market square with a fountain in front of it on my first night |
The first night of our stay in Krakow we were to find a meal on our own, which I did. The food was not authentic (carbonara) but it was very tasty. After our nine hour bus ride, checking into the hostel, and dinner, I didn't really have time to do much else, but I did walk around Krakow's Market Square at night with the near full moon, the center of the city (our hostel was on the center square - amazing).
 |
| The wall (the synagogue is on top and to the left |
The second day was a long one, but well worth it. The morning consisted of a three hour tour of the historical delights of the city of Krakow. We began in the Jewish District. The Jewish District in Prague was interesting, ancient, and important, but the one in Krakow was the center of the Jewish diaspora prior to the Holocaust, and hit the hardest by that catastrophic event. We had the opportunity to see the original outer wall of the city with one of the oldest synagogues interposed in the wall. Apparently the Jews were not as concerned as the rest of the inhabitants about an attack.
 |
| Rich, anonymously generous man's tombstone |
From here we proceeded onward inside of the synagogue and saw how old and relatively simple it was, save for the ornamentation around the Torah. It was fascinating to see the inside of this synagogue, still used, and compare it to the various cathedrals we've visited. The guide also pointed out other synagogues, no longer in use (due to the greatly diminished Jewish population). After leaving the synagogue we went to the graveyard just outside. This graveyard was very ancient, ranging back hundreds of years. When the Nazis were approaching, however, it was threatened, as reports were that they were destroying such graveyards. Because of this, the local Jews filled it in with dirt and covered all the gravestones over. It subsequently took thirty years to uncover it, and unfortunately the gravestones had to be replaced generally, not over the original graves, but it is still quite a monument to resilience. We also heard a story about a man who was hated because he was wealthy but gave no donations to the synagogue. He was therefore buried at the back. After he died, though, a substantial anonymous donation ceased to come in. He had wanted to be respected for who he was, not what money he gave. The people realized they had made a terrible mistake, and the rabbi asked that he be buried next to the man, even at the dishonorable back of the graveyard. Others followed suit, and it now has some of the most reputable tombstones.
 |
| A very early, simple cathedral |
 |
| A slightly later cathedral - clearly more ornate |
After this leg of the tour we continued on through the old city, viewing some cathedrals, some of which were almost 1000 years old. Apparently the Austrians took over and demolished some cathedrals or parts of some cathedrals because it was easier to demolish old-looking things than refurbish them to create a pristine city. Still, there were beautiful remnants despite those violent Austrians.
 |
| The opening gate to Auschwitz, "Work makes you free" - free through death. |
 |
| Shoes |
 |
| Barracks in Auschwitz |
To speak of violence, but in a deadly serious tone, after an authentic pierogi lunch, we headed out to the Nazi joint concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Afterward, we went to an authentic Jewish restaurant and heard an incredible trio of violinist/violist, bassist, and accordionist play traditional Jewish music, which brought home the horror of what the Holocaust sought to destroy. We spent an hour walking through the camp of Auschwitz. It was very impressive. People were incredibly quiet and reverential. The sense was that we were walking on hallowed ground, consecrated by the blood of the innocent. The walk through the camp took us inside the very buildings in which people were kept in awful conditions. Inside we saw statistics, drawings, documents, and photographs that related to the actual events. We also saw clothes, prosthetic limbs, eyeglasses, woman's hair, and gas canisters. We also witnessed horrible cells meant to force people to stand for weeks on end, deprive them of light, or force them in with twenty or thirty others. Finally, we visited the spots where executions by shooting and hanging were committed (also a gallows set up afterward for the camp's commandant). This was all a build up, however, to seeing the gas-chamber and crematorium - the places where 1.1 million people lost their lives.
 |
| The barracks in Birkenau |
After this extensive walkthrough we went to see Birkenau, a much less developed, but incidentally much larger camp. It was like a rail-yard with a bunch of low longhouses arrayed in rows. It was on the train that people arrived to be put to work, and ultimately, to death. We took a look at one of the bunkhouses and the awful toilet facilities before moving back to stand centrally on the tracks with the camp extending to the left and right. In front of us, the sun was setting behind tree and mountain lines in a blood red sky, casting a heated glow, as well as haunting shadows, across the camp. Behind us, the full moon was rising in a deep velvet blue nightscape. Left alone for literally as long as we needed, for twenty minutes, not one word was uttered amongst our forty-five person group. A silence commanded by the juxtaposition of Earth's immortal beauty and the grave transgressions of the Holocaust.
Comments
Post a Comment