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Published: April 12th 2018
Dohány Street Synagogue
Built in 1859 and now holds 2900 people.I wake up this morning to birds. Early light and twitter stream through the small window that overlooks a cared for garden surrounded by walls of vines waiting for the warm cover of spring. The largest tree towers over our 3rd floor room and small birds busily swap branches, then swap again, as a cold breeze drifts into our room. It’s 6.30am. I am also an early bird.
Last night we visited the Brandenburg Gate, the Deutscher Bundestag, the Germany’s Parliament, and followed the path of the Berlin Wall which has the original site outlined by a double row of cobbled pavers faithfully tracing the route, often disappearing into the wall of a building only to reappear further along the way.
It’s always been foremost in my mind that the places we visit have a deeper and often darker history than I have had, but what is beginning to emerge is the realisation that for many people this past is still present and, in the current climate of displacement and the insular approaches of governments to hype up the need to ‘protect our borders’, the concerns of many marginalised ethnic and religious groups are well founded.
Two days
ago Sue and I were going to visit the Jewish Quarter in Budapest but never made it past the Main Synagogue.
At the ticket sales window I encountered the rudest person so far on this trip. I was the only customer on her queue and stood about a meter from the window. After watching her eating and constantly checking her phone with the occasional glance in my direction, I asked her if she was open. In a tone that waivered between blank indifference and cold contempt, she dragged herself away from her screen to spend about 3 minutes of her time to do her job.She was no public relations wiz, I can assure you.
Without any directives to guide us we passed a security check that was more thorough than at an airport, and entered the Garden of Remembrance, a memorial garden established over an area where 2281 Jews were buried in 24 mass graves in 1945.
It’s probably worth noting here that, while the Nazis annexed Hungary during WW2, it was the Hungarian government and the state sanctioned fascists, the Arrow Cross, who created the Budapest Ghetto, and by the wars end were responsible for the
The Garden Of Remembrance
Has the remains of 2281 Jewish victims and there are many plaques to remember the dead. deaths of 6000,000 Hungarian Jews. When the ghetto was repatriated, thousands of bodies that had died of starvation, freezing or brutalicy, were found in buildings and in the streets. Gozsdu Court, where, we stayed was part of the ghetto, as was Szimpla Kertmozi, the Ruin Bar where we were to eat lunch this day. We had been living in the shadow of part of the holocaust, enjoying what Budapest had to offer, unaware of the magnitude of this bit of history. I knew our area had been the ghetto but not really what had occurred there. Walking the streets many older buildings still displayed bullet holes but what horrors had Gozsdu Court and Szimpla seen.
After the Garden we visited the museum where many treasures and icons of the Jewish faith were displayed. Customs and traditions became much clearer and you could see the structures and rules of over a thousand years are still firmly adhered to today.
The Synagogue was our last port of call and we joined a group in the ‘english ‘ spoken part of the church. The guide who explained the basis of being a neolog jew and how the synagogue operates was a
Holocaust Commemorative Tree
Made of stainless steel, this tree commemorates those who were lost in the Budapest Ghetto young man of about thirty. He was very reflective of his religion and how it was going and openly but carefully answered all questions . He spoke of his concerns today of the antI-Semitic views that are gaining strength in the world and then apologised for being a bit political but mentioned the elections 2 days earlier that had returned a very divisive government. He noted that that’s how democracy works but was a bit fearful of the future. It was then it dawned on me that the holocaust still a constant reminder of what is still seen as a possibility. History can repeat if the wrong social atmosphere is encouraged,
As I said earlier, we had lunch upstairs in the very rundown but amazing Szimpla Kertmozi cafe and I ate wondering what this small part of the ghetto experienced during the siege .The lunch was cheap and tasty and a bit rushed, as we were meant to meet Tim and had used our whole time this morning at the Synagogue.
In the afternoon we all walked to the National Museum of Hungary where a couple of hours only covered the period from the 16th century until the
Leaves Of The Commemorative Tree
Each leaf is inscribed with the name of a family or victim lost in the Holocaust 20th century. It is an incredibly well displayed exhibition and I’ll admit I had little enthusiasm for the visit prior to going. A mild case of ‘man flu’ has dulled my enthusiasm lately and I thought a rest would be better. I was wrong. I was surprised by the beauty of the building that was purpose built as a museum and the depth and extent of the exhibits. The later years jolted some memories but the turbulent carving up and reclaiming, or not, of sections Hungary and indeed Europe was interesting. We had never studied European history at school; for some absurd reason we studied American history, so I did learn a bit today.
The next morning, about 3 hours after a last morning tea in one of Budapest‘s best cafes’, we landed in Berlin, Germany. The train ride from the airport through part of East Germany was pretty uninspiring, as we passed barren waste land, old industrial areas and an endless amount of multi-storey apartment blocks that look like they were built by the state and didn’t have to look too classy to fill with tenants. First impressions can be deceptive though, and too quickly formed. We had
Szimpla Kertmozi
Once a house in the ghetto, it is now one of the Ruin Bars. Very hip and wonderful to experience. to change a few trains to reach our destination and it’s clear that Germany is a much more liberal country than Australia. Public drinking is OK, even if you only look 14, and I’m including on a train, on the streets, on a bus, anywhere really. It’s acceptable and very non- threatening so go for it I say. The rail system is fast and efficient but trains stlii fill up and people stand; it’s not perfect but trains run more often than home and the ticket system makes more sense.
After settling into our hotel we went to visit the German Parliament, passing the site of the Berlin Wall and the Brandenburg Gates. More on those tomorrow as today was to just ‘dip our toes in the water’ before 2 days of serious looking around. The Deutscher Bundestag, or Parliament House is like many governmen buildings but was heavily damaged during WW2. A glass dome was built to replace the traditional one that was blown up in the war and it is meant to represent open and transparent government; maybe all parliments should have one but I don’t think the German one is true to its intentions.
If
it seems I’ve gone a bit political and serious with this one. and probably expressed a few thinly disguised views I hold, well the last few days haven’t been all strudel and goulash, although a lot of it has, and confronting some of these circumstances alters the outlook of the trip a little. No apologies but I think things are looking up. Berlin looks to be intriguing and the Berlin Wall, a relatively recent situation, has plenty to see and I’m looking forward to it.
We had a traditional dinner at a brewery and my contribution was curry wurst which is a large spicy sausage in a tomato sauce that has curry powder in it. It’s very Berlin and probably not very good for you but hey, when in Rome ( or Berlin)..........
Tomorrow, Tim has an agenda worked out so after a good sleep we’ll be ready for him..
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Susan
non-member comment
Thoughtful
It's good to remind us of the end result of extremely divisive social conditioning. I believe that under the right social conditions, these things could happen again.