JSBP Visits Holocaust Museum

            The holocaust is one of the few events in world history that is regarded by a vast majority as being one of the most horrible acts ever done to mankind.  The atrocities are so great that it is difficult for the average person to perceive such a thing.  No matter how many times a person learns about it in school there is no way to understand just how horrible it was than by visiting an actual holocaust museum.   This week, for the final field studies excursion, the JSBP visited the Budapest Holocaust Museum and we were all able to get a little bit closer to understanding the tragedy that so many Jews felt.

Above view of Holocaust Museum

            The first room we were shown was dedicated to the assimilation of the Jewish population in Hungary.  Our guide explained to us how the Jews living in Hungary were not allowed to own land, and therefore could not work in agriculture.  Because of this, many Jewish people lived in the cities, mainly Budapest, where they could be bankers, lawyers, accountants, or doctors.  The room was lined with pictures that illustrated how similar in appearance the Jews were to the native Hungarians.  The only thing that set them apart from the rest of society was the conspicuous practice of their religion.  However, in appearance alone there was no distinction.

            The next couple of rooms were dedicated to the anti-Semitic laws that were past following the end of the First World War and the propaganda campaign that followed.  Under the charge of Regent Miklos Horthy, ally of Adolf Hitler, Hungary enacted the first anti-Semitic laws in Europe.  Jews were restricted from certain professions and many were turned away from universities.  They were also forced to carry documentation that stated they were Jewish, as well as wear a yellow star on their clothing.   Complementary to this was a campaign done by the Hungarian Nazi Party, or Arrow-Cross Party, as a way of identifying Jews.  Cartoon images of people with exaggerated facial features were displayed all over the city, explaining that this is what Jews look like.  The Jewish people had become a race rather than a religious group and were being ostracized.

Anti-Semitic drawing of what a Jew looks like

            The next rooms were devoted to the actual harm done to the Jewish people at home and in the concentration camps they were sent to.  This room had famous images recovered from a photo album known as “The Auschwitz Album” that were so grotesque and life changing, words cannot describe them.  After the more visually offensive rooms we entered into a mock synagogue that was meant to represent a famous synagogue in the Jewish Quartier.  This is where I found the most fascinating display.  Along the back row of pews were glass pews, each one containing the portrait of someone who was a victim of the holocaust.  I found myself looking at these portraits with the image of the cartoon propaganda still in my mind and could not help noticing how different each person looked and how not one of them had any of the traits that were described in the posters.  Each person had his or her own unique qualities and looked like they could be from anywhere in the world. 

Glass pews

Jews And Gentiles: JSBP Visits the Synagogue

            The JSBP field studies excursions have given the group a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience aspects of cultures that are unique and might be vastly different from what the group is used to.  This week’s field visit was no exception.  This past Wednesday the JSBP was able to visit the famous Dohány Street Synagogue and Jewish museum located in an area of Budapest known as the Jewish quartier.  The synagogue is the second largest in the world in terms of size, after the Satmar Synagogue in New York, and is currently the largest in Europe.  However, the largest in terms of capacity is Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.

View of the synagogue from the street

            To say that the architecture of the synagogue was beautiful would be a gross understatement, because the structure is actually an architectural miracle.  The whole building is supported by sections of steel columns stacked side by side in groups of two.  Aesthetically, this method was seen as avant-garde and was not well liked by the hoi polloi.  However, when the synagogue was bombed during the Second World War it was because of the steel column structure that the building remained standing and was not destroyed.  Another unique aspect of the buildings architecture was how the interior of the building mimics the layout of a basilica instead of a typical Jewish temple.  It was explained to us that this was done as a way of assimilating to the Christian majority present in Budapest.

Temple or Basilica? Temple.

            Since most of the group has never visited a synagogue before we were able to find some very interesting things about how they are built.  For example, one of the most fascinating things we found out was that according to Jewish tradition the holiest place in the temple must face Jerusalem.  Another interesting thing about this particular synagogue is that behind the altar there is a pipe organ, something not commonly found in a synagogue.  According to the Jewish faith, one cannot work on the Sabbath and since organ playing is considered a profession the organ cannot be played during services.  However, in order to work around this the synagogue employs an outsider to Judaism—a gentile—to play the organ.

Altar that faces Jerusalem

            Attached to the synagogue was the Jewish Museum of Budapest.  This was a very interesting experience, because many of the holy relics that were in the synagogue were explained.  Some of the most interesting things we saw there were the special pieces designated to the Torah—the sacred texts of Judaism.  There were many pieces designed to adorn the scroll when it is out away, such as, a chest plate, a crown, and a fabric cover.  Another interesting thing we learned was that the Torah is always hand written and human hands can never touch it.  In order to read the document one must use a pointer tool, the tip of which resembles a human right hand with the index finger extended.

Pajamas and other articles of clothing worn by jews in concentration camps

            The last stop on our tour was to a room dedicated to remembering the holocaust.  Not matter how much one has learned about the atrocities of the holocaust, the extraordinary feeling one gets when seeing actual artifacts is always overwhelming.  In one particular display case were two pairs of pajamas, a man’s and a woman’s that were worn in a concentration camp.  Each stain and tare on the garments had their own horrible story.  This exhibition was heart wrenching.

JSBP's Long Awaited Field Study. . . Parliament!

            Beautiful view of Parliament from across the Danube River

           This week JSBP finally had its chance to visit the Hungarian Parliament building, a trip that we have all been looking forward too.  It is one of the top ten sites in Budapest; it is one of the largest buildings in Hungary, and it is one of the most important places in the country.  The outside of the building is loosely based off the Palace of Westminster in the United Kingdom, with its many spires and gothic inspired architecture.  The entire building dons the national colors of Hungary: white bricks, red tiled roofs, and green trimmings.  The interior of the building is even more impressive than the exterior.

Another great shot of the building at night

            The main corridor of the building resembles that of a palace, red carpets lining the floors, marble brick along the walls, gold detailing on every column and banister.  In the main lobby we were told that a recurring theme in the architecture of the interior is the number 96.  For example, there are 96 stairs in the main lobby of the building and the building itself is 96 meters high.  This concept represents Hungary’s millennium in 1896 and the conquest of the Kingdom of Hungary in 896.  It was explained to us that many of the columns in the main hall were rare granite that were each cut out of one single rock and given to Hungary as a gift.

Main staircase in the interior (notice the columns and gold detail)

            Our tour guide explained to us that the building is historically separated in half, one side being used for what would be called the House of Commons and the other side being used for the House of Representatives.  She also explained to us that the Hungarian Parliament is a bicameral system but during the period of Communism—over fifty years—their Parliament was a unicameral system. 

One of the two identical conference halls

One of the more interesting and insightful things that JSBP was able to do while visiting was sit in on an actual Parliamentary assembly that was going on.  Though we could not understand what the assembly was meeting about, it was very interesting to see how the meeting was conducted and how a typical day went.  We were intrigued to find many of the assembly members reading emails, reading newspapers, and in one case napping while the meeting was in progress.  However, it was explained to us that this is meeting was called about an issue involving media censorship and that for whatever reasons was not a very important meeting.  That is why we saw some of the behavior we did.  Despite the unenthused participants, it was a great experience to witness and makes for a great story to tell.  Never in my life did I imagine that I would be sitting in on a foreign national assembly meeting.

ILEA and Soccer Diplomacy

Seal of the International Law Enforcement Academy: Budapest

This week JSBP had the wonderful opportunity to go on a visit to the ILEA, or the International Law Enforcement Academy, in Budapest.  ILEA is an American run international academy that provides further training for law enforcement officials throughout the world.  The academy offers one, two, and eight week programs in which participants can gain further law enforcement training in the United States’ method.  There are four ILEA programs set up all around the world located in: Hungary, El Salvador, Thailand, and Botswana.  It was very interesting to find out that the United States has these types of training outposts set up around the world not only for the benefit of universal law enforcement, but also for diplomatic purposes.  The United States can build relationships with the participating countries and by using American methods to train the participants they can nurture a universal code of morals throughout different cultures.

ILEA students practicing a raid drilling

Our day was spent under the warm and friendly guidance of Tom Stocking, the Deputy Director of the Academy and an agent in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.  He gave our group a tour of the grounds and after seeing all of the inviting facilities I began to think about how even the facilities themselves are tools in the process of building relationships.  If the environment is welcoming, enjoyable, and comfortable then the participants I the program will be more receptive to the American ideas.  For example, Tom explained to us that the Turkish national soccer team has a very important game coming up in order to qualify for the Euro Cup and this issue was of colossal importance for the group of Turkish.  So, Tom and his colleagues offered to designate the student center to show the game on a big screen.  Now this may seem very trivial, but it is actions like these that aid diplomacy.  To use very broad brushstrokes, the US is taking measures to make sure that a potential ally, i.e. Turkey, is well cared for.

The US is using a classic method known as Futbol Diplomacy 

The second half of our day was spent hearing about experiences had by other faculty at the Academy and a question and answer session with the current Director, John Terpinas.  Mr. Terpinas, an agent in the FBI and new to the ILEA, was very relaxing to talk with and seemed to have just as many questions for us as we did for him.  This was a very interesting part of the day because the group was able to ask some rather specific questions about US relations with Hungary and what it’s like for an American to be put in charge of an institution like the ILEA.  It was a very enjoyable experience, because it felt like a long time since we have heard another American’s perspective of being overseas.