Our Last Field Studies! Unbelievable! - Holocaust Memorial Center

       Today the JSBPer’s and I set out for our last field studies experience, which was not only unreal because we are going back to America SO SOON, but also very sad because we visited, what I think, as one of the most depressing places in Budapest we have seen. The place we visited today was the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Before going here I was not sure what to expect, but one thing’s for sure, I was blown away by what I saw. Since Mary, Courtney and I recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau it was easy to relate the two, especially during the aspects of the museum that discussed this “hell on earth” directly. I was surprised that some parts of the Holocaust Memorial were more disturbing than what I saw in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The feeling of physically standing where the Jewish people marched was by far indescribable, don’t get me wrong, but some of the videos and pictures within this Budapest memorial are equally disgusting and seemingly inexpressible. 

This was at the beginning of the Museum. It was an interesting exhibition because it showed how the Jewish people has to assimilate with the other people of Hungary after the 1867 Compromise, when the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy was formed. There were three things, a prayer book, a small bag, and candle sticks which were set apart from the other part of the exhibition. This was to show that nothing was different about the Jewish people except their religion.

These are signs which Jewish people had to put in their shops after the anti-Jewish laws were established.

"The 8 meter tall wall surrounding the courtyard of the Memorial Center serves as a memento for the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust. The names of the victims are engraved onto the glass wall..." - This was on the Holocaust Memorial Website. We didn't see this part of the memorial unfortunately, but it is worth discussing and showing this picture. This is the website for the memorial

"The 8 meter tall wall surrounding the courtyard of the Memorial Center serves as a memento for the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust. The names of the victims are engraved onto the glass wall..." - This was on the Holocaust Memorial Website. We didn't see this part of the memorial unfortunately, but it is worth discussing and showing this picture.

This is the website for the memorial

            Our tour guide for today’s field studies was extremely knowledgeable, explaining at the very beginning that the government built the memorial in order to take responsibility for what happened to the Hungarian Jewish people. Since the Hungarians accounted for the most (430,000) of the Jewish population at Auschwitz-Birkenau, knowing that the government did such a great thing was this was very interesting to me and made me feel at ease. I remember learning that the Terror House, which we visited much earlier in the semester, was also built for this reason. It is nice to know that the government actually takes some responsibility for the horrible deprivation that was present within Hungary throughout the Holocaust and Stalinist regimes.

            Another impressive part of the Holocaust Memorial was how it was setup. It was interesting because rather than being in chronological order the museum showed the deprivation of the Jewish people from their belongings being taken to their human dignity being destroyed. Each room was a different experience for the Jews and the memorial ended in a beautiful synagogue. Since the museum was set up this way, it really allowed my mind to imagine what these people went through.

This is inside the beautiful synagogue - it is the second largest one in Budapest, next to the Great Synagogue we visited next week. There was only one picture of it left after the World War II but they restored everything as perfect as they could.

These are the original benches of the Synagogue.

This is part of the memorial - one top of these glass chairs are people's names who died in the Holocaust and a short description, as well as a picture of them. This was very depressing, especially because there were some of the little kids.

            The two best parts about this field studies for me were being able to connect the experience with my trip to Poland and also to associate all of the history and culture we have learned from Laszlo and Agnes, to the museum. Each time we saw a picture from Auschwitz-Birkenau today I was taken back to the day, about a month ago that I spent touring the grounds of the camp. It was a terrifying experience then but it was also eye-opening and interesting. Since I have now been living here for four months, learning more about the Hungarians experience has been what I have enjoyed the most. It is mind boggling to live in the streets where these people were kept in ghettos and the first anti-semantic laws were enacted. It makes me proud that I chose the Justice Studies Budapest Program. I really feel as though I understand the Hungarian people and can sympathize with their consistent fight for freedom. Even though I never leave with a smile on my face from places like Auschwitz-Birkenau or the Holocaust museum today, I am so thankful to have learned all I have from these experiences. Further, as discussed in past blog posts, being able to connect the dots with what Laszlo and Agnes have taught us is really a great feeling. Seeing a picture of Parliament or hearing Regent Horthy’s name and recognizing these things makes me feel very accomplished. I am so fortunate to have learned Hungarian history and physically see its colors through these amazing field studies.

            Overall, this was a wonderful last field experience with the JSBP program. I am more than sad that it is over but I am so grateful for everything we have done. The Holocaust Memorial Center is definitely a keeper, the only change I might make is allowing the students to walk around by themselves rather than a tour guide. Even though the tour guide extremely knowledgeable, kind and helpful, I could not help but want to wander and watch the films or read the descriptions on the wall. Besides this minor desire of mine it was a perfect last field studies trip!

This is the museum.

This is a video from Holocaust Memorial Day - January 27, 2011. Very sad and disturbing, but interesting.

THANK YOU JSBP FIELD STUDIES FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME!