Page 75 - Jan Sun Rays
P. 75
A sample of porcelain made by
Meissen, famous around the world for
more than 300 years for the quality
of its work.
to high-quality porcelain. Don’t bother weiser beer in the US is said to have been concentration camps. During our visit
souvenir shopping, though. The cheapest named after Budweiser in Prague in an we witnessed Israeli teenagers, some
piece of porcelain for sale was a plain effort to cash in on its known quality. wrapped in their country’s flag, stand-
white teacup for 60Euros ($67). ing amongst these reminders of death,
Jews have lived in Prague since the absorbed and somber as they learned of
Just south of Meissen we came to Dres- 10th century, and by the 18th century, a past that in many cases had personal
den. A vibrant artistic center before more Jews lived here than anywhere application to their families.
the war, it was reduced to a bombed- else in the world. During the Holocaust,
out shell of a city afterward. We met a 77,000 of Prague’s 118,000 Jews were Not far away, Krakow, home of the priest
“rubble lady” here, one of thousands of killed. Just across the border in Poland who would one day become Pope John
citizens paid by the government to dig lay Auschwitz, a stark reminder that Paul II, gave us another perspective on
through the war rubble to find salvage- simply being Jewish during the last the life of Jews during World War II. Os-
able material for rebuilding. Not until century in Europe could be a death kar Schindler ran a factory here which,
seven years after the close of the war warrant. Originally a military base, for four years, employed Jews who would
was the last of the rubble finally cleared. the site’s trim, brick buildings belie the otherwise have been exterminated. His
Today, Dresden has been rebuilt as an horror of the 1.3 million people murdered old offices are now a museum that tells
exact replica of its pre-war self. A not-to- there. Converted into a memorial and the story of the Krakow Jewish ghetto
be-missed exhibit is the Green Vault, a museum in 1947, the exhibits now dis- and of his struggle to save those he could.
unique historic museum that houses one played inside tell a horrific story: piles
of the largest collections of treasures in of tagged luggage; mountains of canes, The scars of history go deep in these
Europe, including crown jewels. prosthetic legs, combs and other personal countries, many of which are still strug-
items collected from prisoners; masses gling to reinvent their world. Learning
We left our ship in Dresden, traveling of hair cut from women, which was later and sharing briefly in the lives of people
southeast to the Czech Republic and sold as stiffening material in suit lapels; who have lived it shapes our own lives
Poland. Prague, in the Czech Republic, heaps of Zyklon-B canisters that had and is the true value of travel.
is arguably Paris’ equal in beauty, and held the cyanide pellets used in the gas
the beer is the best in Europe (accord- chambers. 90% of Poland’s Jews died in
ing to people who know). In fact, Bud-
ONLINE: SCTEXAS.ORG J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 SUNRAYS | 73
