Jerusalem, Israel The catastrophic events of the Holocaust are so closely tied to the rebirth of the State of Israel that Hitler’s murder of six million European Jews will always be an integral part of the nation’s zeitgeist. It was the Holocaust that at last convinced the surviving Jews that there would never be peace for them among the other peoples of the world. It is … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2014
AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU DEATH CAMP
Osweicim, Poland Throughout history, one of the saddest and darkest realities of religious and ethnic fundamentalism has been genocide. Jews, Christians, Muslims and others have all been victims of religious massacres at each other’s hands, but no such chapter of history has reached the heights of infamy as the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany under Hitler. Between … [Read more...]
DANISH JEWISH MUSEUM
Copenhagen, Denmark Not every story of the Holocaust had a heartbreaking and catastrophic ending. Such was the case of the Jews of Denmark, almost all of whom survived Hitler’s genocide thanks to the heroic and miraculous efforts of the Danish people. The tale of the escape of Denmark’s Jews to Sweden may be one of history’s greatest moments of courage and humanity. … [Read more...]
PAWIAK MUSEUM
Warsaw, Poland By the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of confinement to a ghetto as a way of life for Jews had been all but abolished. However, the concept was reintroduced and took on a whole new meaning under the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. In the Third Reich, the ghettos of Europe went from being thriving Jewish neighborhoods to virtual prisons from which Jews … [Read more...]
ANNE FRANK HOUSE
Amsterdam, The Netherlands The somewhat misnamed Anne Frank House is actually a former office-warehouse building where the famous young Jewish girl lived in hiding with her family for two years. She chronicled her experience in one of history’s most famous diaries. Though there were many places throughout Nazi-occupied Europe where compassionate and courageous people … [Read more...]
HOUSE OF THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE
Wannsee, Germany The persecution and ostracization of the Jewish people was a keystone of the Nazi party platform from the moment of its inception, and these formally became public policy with the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. But it was not until 1942 that the terrifying idea of a ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question’ was officially implemented. On January … [Read more...]
HOME OF PEACE MEMORIAL PARK
Los Angeles, California Hollywood, the iconic city of American culture in the 20th century, was heir to the New York Jewish entertainment industry and home to the greatest period of Jewish artistic expression in history. The Hollywood studio system, practically invented by Jewish immigrants from Europe and transplants from New York City’s vaudeville scene at the turn of the … [Read more...]
MOUNT CARMEL & THE CEMETERY BELT
Glendale, New York As New York City evolved into a major center of world Judaism in the early 20th century, it became home to a vibrant Jewish culture that played an integral role in the development of contemporary America. New York Jews thrived in every profession, including finance, law, medicine, academia and countless other areas. However, it is for its contribution to … [Read more...]
HOME & GRAVESITE OF BARUCH SPINOZA
Several Locations, The Netherlands Baruch Spinoza is regarded by many to have been the first great Jewish intellectual of the Modern Age. His philosophical ideas and writings were among the most important of his day, and he is credited by both Jews and non-Jews as having been a key figure of the beginning of the Enlightenment. Ironically, his teachings also challenged … [Read more...]
GRAVESITE OF MARC CHAGALL
Nice, France The name Marc Chagall is virtually synonymous with modern Jewish art. One of the giants of European Modernism, Marc Chagall was one of the preeminent artists of the 20th century. His work spanned the better part of eight decades, and was heavily influenced by the experience of Jews in Czarist Russia, Communist Russia, Nazi Germany and modern Israel. His … [Read more...]
