This morning a group of us left our Park Hotel and traveled about an hour to Terezin, site of a concentration camp. This wasn't an extermination camp, but really a transfer camp where prisoners were held for transport, mainly to Auschwitz. It was located in the fortress of Theresienstadt, named for Maria Theresa. It really was a propaganda camp in that life was staged for documentaries and the American Red Cross as a spa. Jews were sent here to wait for resettlement or elderly Jews could "retire" here. It is truly amazing how so many organizations and governments were duped by the Nazis.
As we approached the camp, we saw a cemetery with graves, roses, a cross and the Star of David. Most of the graves had stones on them as is customary for the way the Jewish remember the dead.
We toured the camp with Peter, an excellent interpreter, and another person so devoted to getting the message out about such inhumanity to man. The cells were inhumanely small for the number of people they held. There were actual showers and wash basins to show what a pleasant place it was. We saw a documentary that showed the conditions and happy people, voiced over by the truth.
Then it was to the Ghetto Museum where we saw many artifacts from the camp, documents, and most importantly all the drawings that were done by the children. It was so emotional and heart wrenching. We bought a couple of books since we couldn't take pictures.
Then a bit of a suprise to one of the homes in the town that was used to hold up to 15 people before they were transported to one of the extermination camps. This one is called the Hidden Synagogue because one of the imprisoned had made a small prayer hole. Again, the inhumanity sickens one.
From there we went to the crematorium and cemetery. The crematorium was damaged heavily by the floods of 2009 and was not opened. The number of graves of those who died while waiting for transport is unknown since many were mass graves.
Back to the hotel around 2:15. We showed one of the Program Directors the brochure on Cranach and he told us how to find The Sternberg Palace where the exhibit was. We took a cab that was cheaper than the public transportation and found the Palace. There were about 35 paintings and a very informative article on his life. It added much to my family history. What a bit of serendipity that we saw the poster in the Old Town.
We were going to take the tram back to the hotel, but it started storming as soon as we were leaving the gallery and so we took a cab. I mistakenly gave the driver the wrong hotel and it cost us about 3 times as much going back. On the way the hail and rain pounded the car. Poor Mercedes.
Met Barbara and Charles for a beer before dinner. Did a little packing and then we walked to a little Czech restaurant a couple of blocks from the hotel. Great ribs for me and a chicken dish for Earle.
Sat on the terrace of the hotel for a bit before going back to the room About 11 there was an incredible light show and thunder. I am glad for the stay at this hotel to be over, although Prague is a charming and beautiful city. The Czech beer isn't bad, either.
Cranach - He's everywhere! He's everywhere! Glad to see pictures of Barbara and Charles to go with their names. Are you on your way to Linz, or are you there? Now you can relax a bit on the cruise.
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