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Place de Maimonides in Cordoba, Spain.Maimonides was a doctor, rabbi and Spanish exile whose most famous book was 'Guide for the Perplexed' |
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Statue of Moses Maimonides in the Place de Maimonides, Cordoba, Spain |
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Former synagogue - now a church - in Toledo, Spain |
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Interior of former synagogue in Toledo - note the ladies' gallery at the top of the arched wall |
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A real oddity - crucifix on King Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic. Note the Hebrew writing |
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The Hebrew above the cross says,"Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Hosts" from Isaiah Chpt 6 verse 3 |
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Hebrew lettered clock on 'Jewish' Town Hall, Prague, Czech republic, from where the Jewish ghetto was once governed.Few Jews now remain |
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Ancient Jewish Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic |
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The Golem of Prague was said to live in the attic of this tiny synagogue |
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Jewish Memorial in Theresienstadt (Terezin) Prison Transit camp, Czech Republic |
Theresienstadt was built as an Austro-Hungarian garrison/fortress at the end of C18th. The Nazis used it as a holding camp for Jews until vacancies arose in the death camps |
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Roof of secret synagogue in Theresienstadt created by Jewish inmates of this Nazi prison camp |
Theresienstadt was presented to the World as a model prison camp. The Nazis produced a propaganda film called 'The Gift of the Town' which purported to show Jews leading happy lives under benevolent Nazi rule. A fragment of this film survived the War and the video can be purchased in the Theresienstadt Holocaust memorial museum. |
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Another interior view of the secret synagogue of Theresienstadt |
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An entrance to Theresienstadt prison transit camp, Czech Republic. 'Work will make you free' |
Russian prisoners were kept here in WW1 and their graves with Cyrillic inscribed tombstones are visible at a cemetery on the edge of Theresienstadt |
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Entrance to derelict synagogue, Kazimierz Ghetto, Cracow, Poland. A 1937 photo of this same view is in Roman Vishniac's book 'A Vanished World' |
2005 update - this 'derelict' synagogue is now a very smart cafe, which is a good excuse for walking into their courtyard for a better look at the premises! |
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Jewish cemetery in Cracow, Poland |
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Interior of tiny synagogue adjacent to cemetery in Kazimierz Ghetto, Cracow, Poland |
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Exterior of synagogue, Kazimierz Ghetto, Cracow, Poland |
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Side view of synagogue in Kazimierz Ghetto, Cracow, adjacent to the cemetery |
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Lithuania,Vilnius.The 1903 Choral Synagogue,closed (2006) after a dispute between a local rabbi and a Chassidic rabbi on who should lead the community |
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Latvia - Riga,the Pietav synagogue built 1905 serving the 12,000 strong community in Riga |
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Latvia, Riga - another view of the Peitav synagogue in Peitavas St, Riga |
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Doheny Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary. |
Doheny Street is the largest Synagogue in Europe and seats 3000. It was neglected under the Communists and is currently undergoing restoration. Jewish life is thriving once again in Hungary where there are said to be around 100,000 Jews. The founder of modern Zionism Theodore Herzl lived close by. Theodre Herzl was an assimilated Jew working as a journalist who reported on the Dreyfus treason trial in France. He was so shocked at the anti-semitism he witnessed that he felt Jews could only ever live a free life if they had their own country. This led him to found the Zionist movement.
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Doheny Street Synagogue, Budapest. |
Interior view looking towards the ark showing one side of the raised ladies' gallery. The interior is breathtakingly beautiful. |
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Memorial to Raoul Wallenberg in the grounds of Doheny Street Synagogue in Budapest. |
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat in Budapest during World War 2. He issued Swedish visas to Jewish refugees and was responsible for saving 35,000 Jews from the Nazis. At the end of the War he was taken prisoner by occupying Russian forces and is presumed to have been murdered by them. |
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Memorial to Holocaust victims in grounds of Doheny Street Synagogue. |
Hungarian born actor Tony Curtis was largely responsible for financing this memorial and the on going restoration of Doheny Street Synagogue. |
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World War One Memorial in Perth, Australia |
The inscription reads: "To the memory of the soldiers of the Jewish Faith belonging to this state who were killed in action or who died of wounds on the battlefields of Gallipoli, France, Belgium and Palestine in the Great War 1914-1918. Erected by the members of the Perth Hebrew Congregation" |
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Side by side in Etaples World War One Military Cemetery, Northern France |
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