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The gate of the synagogue courtyard |
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the gorgeous Great Synagogue of Budapest |
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tracery on the synagogue |
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just one example of the intricate detail carved upon the synagogue |
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headstones awaiting return to their original sites |
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the weeping willow within Raoul Wallenburg park |
While at the Marco Polo, we had no idea we were staying in the Jewish Quarter. The Great Synagogue of Budapest, in all its majesty, was only meters away! No words or picture can do it proper justice
. It is a golden, filigreed compound that exudes a sacred gravity that even the most staunch atheist could not deny...also the second largest synagogue in the world. The tragic history of the place can still be felt. When Hitler established a ghetto for Hungarian Jews, many of them sought refuge at the synagogue. The deadly winter of '44-45 killed thousands of people and many of them are buried in the synagogue courtyard.
The Jewish citizens of Budapest had at least one valuable ally during those nightmarish times, the Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenburg. From the summer to the winter of 1944, he issued Jewish citizens Swedish passports and housed them in buildings established as Swedish property. In doing so, he saved thousands of doomed Hungarians. Sadly, he died while in Russian custody under mysterious circumstances. Here's to his memory.
The Jewish people of Budapest have been able to glean a trace of beauty from the colossal tragedy of the Holocaust. A park within the synagogue compound honoring Raoul Wallenburg contains a Holocaust memorial and there stands a beautiful metal sculpture. It is a graceful weeping willow and etched upon each of its slender leaves is the name of a Hungarian victim of Hitler's hideous wrath.
1 comment:
Wow. Very powerful public art.
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