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