Josefov - Prague's Jewish Ghetto

Eastern Europe and its Jewish inhabitants are inextricably linked over centuries of involvement. Josefov, or the Jewish ghetto in Prague, is one such example. Josefov's history began in medieval times, and visitors today can see relics of Josefov's past that include the Old Jewish Cemetery - which is a testament to Prague's Jewish population, the size of which had, at times, no rival in Europe. Up until the 19th century, stringent laws kept Jews in Josefov.

Many Jews in Central Europe were sent to the Terezin concentration camp. However, Jews all over Eastern Europe saw the inside of Terezin, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and other concentration camps.

Today, the relationship between Jews and their communities in Eastern Europe is still strained. Anti-Jewish sentiments run rampant in traditional communities. Even if a citizen is Jewish by heritage only, they may still be subject to discrimination and abuse.

Alfons Mucha - Forget "The Four Seasons"

Alfons Mucha is best known for his commercial art - posters of Sarah Bernhardt, The Four Seasons prints. These images have, for better or for worse, entered the popular consciousness as ideal for dormroom prints, stock decoration for cards and stationery, and even inspiration for tableware. But Mucha was much more than a graphic artist who sought to appeal to the world of marketing. The Czech painter was more interested in the spirituality of art, which is expressed most meaningfully in his existing non-commercial art.

Mucha's Slav Epic was intended to tell the history of the slavs in 20 enormous canvasses. This highly detailed series of paintings was nationalistic in nature and popular with the Prague locals. The Slav Epic scenes are, unfortunately, not exhibited at the Mucha Museum in Prague, even though Mucha considered them his masterpieces.

However, visitors to Prague can see his work in the stained glass windows of St. Vitus Cathedral. The historic cathedral, the most important in Prague, took 600 years to complete. If Mucha had been a lesser artist, it is doubtful that he would have a part of the construction of this iconic, historic structure.

Romania's Blood-Sucking Rulers

Romania, home of Vlad the Impaler, the real Dracula, was witness to a more recent ruthless ruler - Nikolai Ceaucescu. Vlad Tepes, a legendary Romanian hero, squashed his opponents and wandered among the commoners to seek and destroy unjust behavior. Ceaucescu, with his vast network of secret police, did the same thing in a manner. Securitate members and their loyals would rat out opponents to the Stalinist regime, particularly those of minority groups.

Both leaders were ousted by those closest to them. Vlad Tepes' brother was responsible for Vlad's demise, while two of Ceaucescu's closest security advisors and military generals staged a coup in 1989 to rid the country of the megalomaniacal leader. Targoviste was home to Vlad's throne, but it was also the location of Ceaucescu's execution. In a strange circumstance of opposites, Snagov is Vlad the Impaler's supposed place of eternal rest - but Ceaucescu and his wife maintained a residence in that little village.

It proabably goes without saying that Ceaucescu was not exactly Dracula incarnate, but that Romania's experiences with totalitarian brutality extend across centuries makes one wonder what other connections can be made between two of Romania's most famous rulers.

Pedo File

The Writer's Almanac for today mentioned two important dates for fellow Slavophiles. In 1955, Lolita was published, a book that is both horrifying and beautiful and that solidified Nabokov's position in the cannon of American writers. It is also the birthday of the Polish film director, Roman Polanski, who fled the States after his arrest for the sexual abuse of a 13 year-old girl. While the crime has not prevented him from winning numerous awards, Polanski has not been back to the States for almost three decades. He was not as tenacious, but his behavior still resembles that of Humbert Humbert.