T THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS 32 Travel JUNE 20, 2019 – the past and the present

Sandy Bornstein ing the Early Modern Period and simul- Special to The CJN, Frankfurt taneously tell the story of Frankfurt’s Jews. Many of the displays on both sides of the A desire to experience Jewish life in Ger- suspended Plexiglas bridge with metal many 80 years after the start of the Second railings are geared toward individuals with World War precipitated an eight-day trip a limited background of Jewish customs to a country I once vehemently avoided. and traditions. From the time I studied the Holocaust at The first set of exhibits emphasizes reli- Spertus College in Chicago, had gious life, Jewish-Christian relations, and remained on the top of my “never visit” the Old Cemetery. After crossing to the list. For decades, I cringed whenever our other side, visitors learn about ghetto oc- family had a brief stopover in Frankfurt on cupations and can listen to personal stor- the way to, or from, Israel or India. ies harvested from archival research. I can’t explain why my intense feelings On the upper and lower levels, abated. Perhaps, the passage of time can child-friendly stations encourage school- transform ingrained beliefs. While I never aged children to accept the opportunity to imagined that I’d visit the pyramids in understand this period. Walking along the Egypt or Petra in Jordan, I cherish the suspended corridor, we peered into the memories from both of those extraordin- foundations of former Judengasse resi- ary adventures. Was it possible to walk dences. away from a trip to Germany with some- The Westend Synagogue in Frankfurt, Germany. sandy Bornstein photos The most fascinating aspect of this mu- thing equally as poignant? I wasn’t sure, seum was the opportunity to descend but I was ready to explore the possibilities. into the lower level where we traversed Lingering fears resurfaced as I planned To find out about Jewish life today, we hangs from a vaulted arched ceiling over through the partially restored foundation the trip. Germany’s train system was headed to the Westend Synagogue. We a central prayer desk. A beautiful blue walls. At times, it appeared like a maze as recommended as an efficient form of couldn’t miss the Egyptian-Assyrian style and gold coloured wall is the backdrop for we entered former residences, explored transportation, but images of Jews being reddish-brown dome and the tiled roof the elevated Aron Kodesh. Rows of prayer the nooks and crannies, and also took herded into boxcars flooded my thoughts. that was out of sync with the surround- tables with chairs are arranged on a bur- steep, stone steps to an old mikveh. Suddenly, renting a car became the sim- ing affluent residential neighbourhood. gundy carpet. Positioned in the back bal- After exiting the museum, Bauerfeind plest way to travel. At the entryway, Gabriela Schlick-Bam- cony is a massive organ dating back to the unlocked the gate to the cemetery, the On our first morning, we strolled berger warmly greeted us. She guided us time when the synagogue’s congregants oldest Jewish cemetery in Frankfurt. Bur- through the blustery downtown streets through the hallways of the synagogue were liberal Jews. ials took place in this cemetery from the as our guide, Wiebke Singer, offered an and offered us an overview of the syna- As we stepped back onto the street and late 13th century to the first quarter of the abbreviated history lesson each time gogue’s history and life in Frankfurt today. gazed one last time at the synagogue, I 19th century, with the oldest gravestone we paused at a place of interest. A small She casually mentioned the presence of found it hard to comprehend how this reno- dating to 1272. During the Second World plaque pinpointed the location where two other synagogues and Chabad. Like vated building was the only tangible evi- War, the majority of the headstones were Oskar Schindler resided from 1965 until other synagogues around the world, the dence of a vibrant Jewish community that destroyed and displaced. Decades later, it his death in 1974. Instead of recognizing Westend leadership is struggling with the numbered approximately 30,000 in 1930. is impossible to restore any of the markers Schindler’s heroic deeds while he was best ways to educate its youth. Moritz Bauerfeind accompanied us to to their appropriate places. alive, German society totally disregarded Unlike Frankfurt’s other Jewish houses Museum Judengasse, the cemeteries, and My eyes scanned to my side where his humanitarian efforts. In the aftermath of worship, this early 20th century struc- the memorial. Until 1987, when construc- gravestones were propped up against the of Steven Spielberg’s award-winning film, ture is the only synagogue to survive the tion workers discovered numerous house wall. These gravestones had been culled Schindler’s laudable actions were finally Kristallnacht pogroms on Nov. 9-10,1938 foundations from the Judengasse, the for- out from the masses due to their perceived applauded worldwide. – when only the interior was damaged – as mer Jewish quarter dating back to the 15th historical value. As we walked further into Only a few vestiges of life before the war well as the extensive bombings of the city century, Jewish history had disappeared a grassy area dotted with mature decidu- remain. Most of the buildings were con- during the war. The synagogue’s proxim- in Frankfurt. This segment of Jewish exist- ous trees, we came upon piles of toppled structed after the war. Occasionally, Sing- ity to residences of prominent individuals ence was buried and forgotten. Frankfurt’s gravestones. While circling back to the er shared black and white images so that and important structures spared it from Jews, who had lived in the centre of the entrance, Bauerfeind showed us a small we could appreciate what once stood on a destruction. city since the 12th century, were forcibly grouping of gravestones that he identified particular site. Almost all of the descendants of this moved in 1462 to a peripheral location as famous rabbis. Previous visitors had Early on, our attention was drawn to once liberal community have gone else- surrounded by a wall with controlled ac- left behind mounds of stones, small rocks, brass inscribed square blocks in the pave- where. When the synagogue was restored cess through gates. According to museum little scraps of paper, and yahrzeit candles. ment. We paused and bent down to get a in 1950, Orthodox Jews from Poland and documents, this was the first Jewish ghet- Unlike modern cemeteries with just a closer look. Since 1996, these controver- Russia became its new congregants. to in Europe. few lines of identifying information chi- sial Stumbling Stones (Stolpersteine) have The synagogue’s gabbai, Fiszel Ajnwo- To settle the controversy over what to do seled onto gravestones, these moss-cov- been placed in front of Holocaust victims’ jner, offered us refreshments and shared with this archeological site, the city decid- ered tablets offer detailed testimonies former residences as a visual reminder some of his family’s history. Ajnwojner ed to reconstruct a part of the Judengasse in Hebrew to centuries of Jewish life. of the atrocities that occurred when the was born in a DP camp and was among inside a museum located on the ground I stopped periodically to examine the Nazis were in power. the eastern European Jews who chose to floor of the public utilities building. The images that represented family names. The fate of an individual is noted on resettle in Germany. His family moved to museum opened in 1992, updated in While I have no direct connection to these each plaque. While these individual me- Frankfurt when he was two years old. He 2016, and was subsequently awarded the Jews, I was profoundly moved by the hel- morials are a chilling reminder of the grew up in a Jewish enclave on the east Museum Prize of the Sparkassen-Kul- ter-skelter arrangements of headstones. Holocaust, I could understand why some end of Frankfurt. turstiftung Hessen-Thüringen. We joined Bauerfeind on a train ride to would object to the fact that Jewish vic- The magnitude of the synagogue’s ex- Artifacts and exhibits on the main floor visit a more modern Jewish cemetery in a tims are demeaned when the plaques are terior dome is carried into the sanctuary offer a glimpse into the daily life of the less central location. stepped on every day. where an oversized crystal chandelier Jews who resided in the Judengasse dur- Continued on next page THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS T JUNE 20, 2019 Travel 33

A grouping of dormant plane trees guard the stark memorial at the Bornplatz Synagogue. Inside the Jewish Museum Frankfurt.

At the Old Jewish Cemetery in Rat Beil- ais’ renaissance design, and other trades- return to Frankfurt. Their Polish grand- Strasse (Frankfurt-Nordend) the sanctity men were working inside the modern parents were concentration camp surviv- of the departed had not been disturbed. building with a plethora of windows. ors. The brothers work hand in hand with Near the entrance, a map pinpoints the With power tools booming in the back- Chef Yossi Elad, the founder of the Mach- location of notable grave sites from the These small plaques ground, I imagined spaces that will even- neyuda in Jerusalem and The Palomar in 19th and 20th centuries. Many of these remind people passing tually illustrate Frankfurt’s Jewish history . Bar Shuka, a trendy spot near the individuals were the movers and shak- from the transformation out of the ghetto Central Train Station, will appeal to any- ers of Frankfurt society before the rise of by of the approximately through today, as well as a room for a library one who loves shakshuka for breakfast Nazism. 12,000 Frankfurt Jews and a designated spot for a kosher deli. and a dynamic Middle Eastern market- Walking in and out of the Old Cemetery who were deported and Mirjam Wenzel, the director of the mu- place environment for dinner. adjacent to the museum, I glanced at the murdered seum, pointed to an open area between In conclusion, visiting Frankfurt re- gray rectangular nameplates arranged in the old building and the contemporary affirmed my prior belief that it is a vital alphabetical order fastened to the outside structure where the museum plans to part of life’s journey to visit places with less cemetery wall. Bauerfeind told us that showcase a 12-metre high sculpture with than stellar histories. Books and movies these small plaques remind people pass- interlocking skeleton trees having one set can only retell part of their troubling story. ing by of the approximately 12,000 Frank- site where Frankfurt’s Jews were assem- of roots reaching toward the sky and an- In Frankfurt, I paid tribute to the Jews furt Jews who were deported and mur- bled before they were deported. From the other into the ground, by Israeli artist Ariel who proudly strolled in the Judengasse dered. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the city fall of 1941 to the spring of 1945, more Schlesinger. centuries ago as well as the Jews who fled chose to remember these victims by cre- than 10,000 Jews from Frankfurt and the We strolled by another area where an in fear after Kristallnacht or perished dur- ating this minuscule tribute to their lives. Wiesbaden administrative region were exclusive collection will be ing the Shoah. My eyes watered as I learn- On the way to the memorial site, we sent from this location to ghettos, concen- housed. The Frank family lived in Frank- ed about the small Jewish communities stopped to read a more significant plaque tration camps, and extermination camps. furt before relocating to Amsterdam. massacred in the 13th and 14th centuries attached to the back of the public utilities Disappointingly, this was not included in Before ending our tour, Wenzel men- and stood in silence in two Jewish cem- building that memorializes the destruc- our itinerary. Anyone wishing to visit the tioned a temporary exhibit focusing on eteries. tion of the Bornplatz Synagogue, which memorial at the Frankfurt Grossmarkthal- the aftermath of the Second World War. I ingested an unsettling number of dis- occurred on Nov. 9, 1938. Inside the mu- le should be aware that advance reserva- She proudly boasted that this would be turbing facts during my three days in seum, we had watched a 1946 film clip of tions are necessary for part of the tour. the first European exhibit to examine the Frankfurt, but I simultaneously witnessed the postwar dedication. In 2012, the Frankfurt city councillors immediate postwar years. Since a set re- the rebirth of a Jewish community in a A few steps further we stood in front of agreed to renovate the Jewish Museum, opening date for the museum has yet to place offering little hope after the Second a large stone cube made up of bits and the oldest independent museum in Ger- be scheduled, I recommend checking the World War. Frankfurt’s Jews’ commitment pieces from the excavation of the former many committed to preserving Ger- website for updates. to Jewish culture and traditions, along ghetto. A small grouping of dormant plane man-Jewish culture and history, and to As guests of the 25Hours Hotel The Trip, with the surrounding communities’ re- trees appeared to guard this stark memor- also build an adjacent building to expand we dined several times at the onsite res- sponse to a rise in worldwide anti-Semit- ial. Bauerfeind pointed to strips that out- the available exhibition area. Since 1988 taurant, Bar Shuka. Israeli cuisine and ism, will ultimately determine the future lined the footprint of the destroyed syna- the Jewish Museum Frankfurt was housed a lively atmosphere are the main draws of Frankfurt’s small Jewish community. n gogue and also described the five street in a building once owned by Baron Mayer to this favourite spot for locals and ho- signs that were just a short distance away. Carl von Rothschild. tel guests. James and David Ardinast, Sandy Bornstein holds an MA in Jewish Each recalled the different names that As we walked through the two buildings, two Jews who spent most of their lives in studies. She was a guest of the Frankfurt were given to this once crowded plaza. crews of construction workers were busy Frankfurt, own the restaurant. Both broth- Tourism Board, 25Hours Hotel The Trip, The European Central Bank sits on the rehabilitating the former Rothschild Pal- ers attended college abroad and opted to and the Bar Shuka restaurant.

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