| 2 Spanish Synagogue |
Spanish Synagogue
History of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia - Part
II
Part II: From Emancipation to the Present
The
permanent exhibition which opened in the Spanish Synagogue on 25 November
1998 is dedicated to the history of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia
from emancipation to the present. It follows on from the first part
of the historical exhibition (from the establishment of Jewish settlements
until 1780), which is housed in the Maisel Synagogue.
The exhibition is installed along the perimeter of the main hall of the ground floor of the Spanish Synagogue and in the upper-floor gallery.
On the ground floor, visitors can become acquainted with the history of the Jews from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries, when the Czech lands formed part of the Habsburg Empire. The gradual broadening of Jewish freedoms from the reforms of Joseph II to the proclamation of full political emancipation in 1867 are illustrated primarily through archive documents and small printed books of the day. Portraits of prominent figures, together with examples of their works, highlight traditional Jewish learning, enlightenment, education and science from the late 18th and first half of the 19th centuries. A separate vitrine is dedicated to attempts at service reform, which in the 1830s were focused on the Old Shul, where several of the most prominent representatives of Jewish enlightenment and science were active as preachers. The composer of the Czech national anthem, František Škroup, was choirmaster here between 1836 and 1845.
For
a considerable part of the Jewish population, the culmination of the
emancipation process meant complete assimilation. In the Czech lands
this involved initially German assimilation, both in terms of language
and culture. In the exhibition, this is illustrated primarily by the
books of Moses Israel Landau and Pascheles and Brandeis Publishing Houses.
The problems of Czech assimilation are reflected in a vitrine dedicated
to the Czech-Jewish Movement. A wave of anti-Semitism at the end of
the 19th century put in doubt the possibility of settling the Jewish
question by means of assimilation. It was at this time that the Jewish
national movement - Zionism - was formed. This exhibition covers the
cultural, social and sporting activities of Zionist associations and
organizations. The contribution of the Jews to the development of industry
is represented by a number of prominent, and still thriving, enterprises,
which were founded by Jewish entrepreneurs (for example, a match factory
in Sušice, Moser Glass Works in Karlovy Vary, ČKD Factory in Prague).
The
part of the exhibition that is located in the west gallery deals with
the Jews in the Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938). During this time,
Jewish nationhood was recognized by the state and the Jews played a
major role in the political and economic life of the country. The exhibition
spotlights, above all, prominent figures from the world of culture -
writers and poets who wrote in German and Czech, scientists and artists.
The connected part of the exhibition in the north gallery is dedicated
to the Holocaust of Bohemian and Moravian Jews (1939-1945). Archive
sources and photographs from the Museum’s collections document the persecution
of the Jews in the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, mass transports,
and life in the Terezín ghetto. The last two vitrines contain a brief
outline of the history of Jews in the Czech lands after 1945 and a look
at relations between Czechoslovakia and Israel. The exhibits featured
in the southern gallery deal with the history and rebuilding of the
Prague ghetto, together with other Jewish sites in Bohemia and Moravia.
The remaining part of the exhibition includes a brief introduction to
the history of the Jewish museums in Prague and Mikulov in the period
before the Second World War, the war-time Central Jewish Museum and
related activities of the Jewish Museum in Prague from 1945 until the
present day.
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