Budapest Day 3: Jewish Life

4/7

We knew that we only had about a half day for out last day in Budapest, since we  didn’t want to get back to Vienna too late because Shiri had to work the following morning, and we needed to find our new lodgings. Without a good book it was hard to know what to do, but the Great Synagogue definitely interested us, and we had gone onto Rick Steves’ App on my phone the night before and done multiple screen shots of the walking tour of the Jewish Quarter, so we decided to follow that. The synagogue itself was really impressive, but the Jewish Quarter, not so much. We actually did the quarter first, following the walking tour. It was really quite sad. Apparently, before WWII 25% of Budapest’s residents were Jewish. But Hungary was the first European country to enforce Jewish Laws, maybe because of a perceived connection between the Jews and Communism. At any rate, Hungary lost 600,000 Jews to the Holocaust, and now that population is less than 1%.  (See the post on Budapest Day 2, with the shoe memorial near the Danube.) We wandered through the former Jewish Quarter, and where we were supposed to find bustling markets, revitalized neighborhoods and restored old synagogues; we in reality met still streets, decrepit grey buildings, and disproportionally high entrance fees to the few semi-restored synagogues.  We definitely felt like we were in an East Bloc country, more here than up to this point in the entire trip. I can’t quite remember which synagogue was which, but these are photos of some of them. The last one was a Chabad Synagogue, which was the only place where there seemed to be any semblance of activity at all. There was a really moving monument, though, right across from one of the Synagogues, a memorial to Carl Lutz, who was the Swiss Vice-consul to Hungary during WWII. By setting up safe houses for Jews around the city, and issuing permission for  many others to emigrate, he was able to save 62,000 Jews from being slaughtered by the Nazis. So sad to see the graffiti marking this wall. If you read the news, Hungary is not entirely free from Nazi sentiments, even at this time...

Carl Lutz Monument

Wedding "Chupa" outside one of the synagogues

Sanctuary of the Chabad synagogue

 

 

We didn’t quite have enough Hungarian money for the entry fees to the Great Synagogue and Jewish Museum, Memorial Gardens, etc. but the woman at the entry booth decided that we were close enough, and we entered the complex. I’m really glad we did, because there was much to see, though it wasn’t quite as dazzling outside by day as it had been all lit up the night before, when it almost looked golden! The Synagogue was built in 1859, loosely based on the descriptions of the temple in Jerusalem, and in an attempt to outdo the synagogue in Vienna.  It sat idle for 40 years after the Holocaust, but with the fall of Communism, and the help of wealthy American/Hungarian Jews (Tony Curtis being the main sponsor) the building was restored to the grand place it is today; second largest synagogue in the world, and largest in Europe.

Stained Glass windows from the outside

Twelve Tribes of Israel

 Inside the synagogue almost looks like a basilica, but with Jewish symbols instead of Christian--the nave, the arches, even an organ (played by Franz Liszt at the building's inauguration), and the unique pulpit led to by a spiral staircase where the priest would preach from (don't know what that's called--help anyone?) The Torah scrolls were hidden during WWII by Catholic Priests, and the chandeliers (better suited to a concert hall) are recast versions of those what were there during the war, which were melted down to use for bullets. The synagogue itself escaped destruction probably partially because the Nazi's put radio antennas in the towers, stabled horses in the nave and (according to Rick Steves) had a Gestapo base in the balcony.

Outside the synagogue, but still on the grounds, is the Memorial Garden. Originally, it was a beautiful reflecting pool and garden for meditation. But so many Jews died of exposure and starvation during the Soviet siege that ended the Nazi occupation in 1944-45, that 2281 of them were buried in a mass grave here in the garden. After the war it was turned into a memorial for the fallen, with headstones for some added later. At the end of the garden is a small pedestal by Imre Varga, a Hungarian sculptor who managed to walk the fine line which allowed him to continue to be active as an artist during the Communist years. It commemorates the lives of the Jews who were sent on a death march when the Hungarian Arrow Cross regime (supporters of the Nazis) tried to rid the country of all Jews, and the trains couldn't take them away fast enough.

Memorial Garden

Varga Memorial

 On back of the synagogue is the Raoul Wallenberg Garden with the Tree of Life, also by Imre Varga. I'll use Rick Steves' words to describe it, "...erected in 1990, soon after the fall of Communism made it possible to acknowledge the Holocaust. The willow makes an upside-down menorah, and each of the 4000 metal leaves is etched with the name of a Holocaust victim. New leaves are being added all the time, donated my the families of the victims. ..The large black-marble gateway represents a temple; the Hebrew inscription reads, "Is there a pain bigger than mine?"

In the middle of the garden is a symbolic grave for Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who gave Swedish passports to Jews and admitted them to safe houses saving tens of thousands of Jews from slaughter. He was arrested by the Soviets, accused of being an American spy and sent to a Gulag, never to be seen again. Also engraved are the names of other "righteous Gentiles" who went above and beyond to save as many Jews as possible. In the stained glass window, the fire represents the Holocaust and the snake is Fascism.

Wallenberg grave

Finally, the last building in the complex housed the Jewish Museum, which was basically a smaller version of the vast collections we encountered in Prague but all in 1 place. The exhibits showed artifacts from Jewish daily and yearly rites and rituals.

Torah scrolls

Shabbat

Awesome Seder plate!

This is cut paper!

 

There was a small exhibit commemorating the Holocaust, including drums made out of torah scrolls, and a photo of the corpses waiting to be buried in the courtyard (see above).

Finally there was a small exhibit of Jewish art that survived the Holocaust and subsequent Soviet regime.

By late afternoon, we boarded the bus to head back to Vienna after an incredibly jam-packed, fascinating and rich week in the former East Bloc. We reached Vienna in the evening parted ways from Shiri and tried to find our lodgings for the week. Unfortunately, the guy at Kebab Kiosk on the corner sent us in the wrong directions and the 3 minute walk took us about 20, but we finally found our place and settled down for the night. We were somewhat surprised to find that this airbnb room was the living room of the apartment, but the single, young woman who was the owner was hardly there, so it turned out to be just fine. It was time to rest, and repack for the trip to Salzburg the next morning.