Frankfurt, Germany

We made it to Germany!  First, a disclaimer.  I am wiring this blog at 11 a.m. Charlotte time, 5 p.m. Germany time after being up for over 30 hours.  Please keep this in mind J

We left Dulles at 3 p.m. yesterday, the group was excited to begin the Eurporean portion of our journey.  After a one hour bus ride, three hour wait, seven hour flight, and a one half hour bus ride we arrived at our hotel in Frankfurt Germany.  We landed in 60 degree weather which was exactly how I envisioned the weather in Germany, cool and overcast.

We arrived at 5 a.m. local time, and after discovering that our rooms would not be ready until later in the day we set out for some adventure. First on the list was exploring Jewish Frankfurt, or I should say-what is left of Jewish Frankfurt.  We drove by the house where Anne Frank was born and spent the first few years of her life. Prior to going into hiding the Frank family has called Frankfurt home and their heritage goes all the way back to the 15th Century.

We stopped at the Holocaust Memorial for the Jews of Frankfurt.  The memorial consist of three distinct sections, trees with five branches (Star of David), stones on the ground (to remind us of the unsteady footing that the Jews experienced thorough the history of life in Frankfurt) and a stark white wall lined with small metal blocks with engraved biographical information of the more than 11,000 Frankfurt Jews who died during the holocaust.  Each name has several stones placed on top of it, as required by the Jewish ritual of mourning.  

The memorial was moving, and shocking to see a representation of the lives that were, could have been, but were no longer.

The most difficult part for me was the outline of a synagogue that was burned during kristalnacht.  I was standing on the outline of where the temple was located, a huge temple that held over 12,000 people.  Tomorrow I will post pictures of the Synagoge burning on that night as well as the outline of what remains today (hoping that my internet connection cooperates).  Just standing there caused me to shiver .  The location is where the Frankfurt Jewish Museum is located and is surrounded by a medieval cemetery. 

I knew some things about Frankfurt, but I was overwhelmed to have all of the demographic and historical detail presented in such clarity.  Jews have lived in Frankfurt for over 900 years.  The Jewish community can be traced back to the 12th century.  Jews were integral in every aspect of life here.  In the 19th Century Frankfurt played an important role for the Reform and Neo-Orthodox movements.  In 1933 Frankfurt’s Jewish population numbered 26,158, by 1945 only 160 people remained!  Over 12,000 were deported, many were able to flee and many elderly committed suicide upon learning their fate.   Currently Frankfurt has one of the four largest Jewish communities in Germany, with over 7,000 Jewish residents.

We visited the Jewish Museum of Frankfurt.  I felt like the artifacts on display were the equivalent of visiting ancient artifacts like the dinosaur remains at the Smithsonian.  They are from a world long ago, and represent a life that is now distinctly different from ours.  The exhibit was not vibrant and seemed as lifeless as the Jewish community of Frankfurt past.  The collection was broken down into Jews in Frankfurt from 1100 to 1800, including a model of the "Judengasse" or Ghetto in Frankfurt according to the plans in 1711, Jewish Life through Jewish Rituals and Jews in Frankfurt from 1800 through 1950s. 

We ended the day with a lovely walk where we enjoyed a beer outside the Opera House. 

Frankfurt felt very much like the first stop in a devastating and devastated history. 

Tonight we are all looking forward to collapsing in our beds.  Tomorrow we continue on to Hadimar Euthenasia Center and end the day in Celle.