The Charlotte Jewish News - December 1999 - Page 20

called Heroes Temple, a domed struc­ there it was noted that some names attire of the attendees was non-con­ For the past ten years, my husband Irving has had the desire to visit ture built in 1919-1931, in the same were added by pencil or ink by visi­ formist; plain white p ^ r yarmulkes Auschwitz/BiHcenau to say "Kaddish” fo r his sister, Helen, who perished style as the synagogue as a memorial tors who found that some individuals were handed out. After the service, there at the age o f 14 along with 20 other close relatives and many friends. to the thousands of Jewish soldiers had not been included. we had a Shabbat dinner at the hotel Knowing that this would be a traumatic experience, I had dissuaded him who died in World War I. with our group and then welcomed a from going there. Finally, this year. I relented and we went on Gate One i 15- The Holocaust Memorial, Wallenberg Monument much needed night’s sleep. day Jewish Interest tour to Eastern Europe (Budapest, Vienna, Prague, “Weeping Willow,” is located on the A sculptured monument honoring Little known fact: Jerry Lewis Terezin, Krakow, Auschwitz/Birkenau, cmd Warsaw). side rear of the E)ohany. It is in the Raoul Wallenbeig was dedicated in contributed a large sum of money form of a weeping willow tree, Buda, near a street also named for the towards the refurbishment of the though some say it looks m(Me like a Swedish diplomat He and the Swiss Dohany. Day 1 - Thurs. Sept 23 ing in age from 30-90 and from vari­ menorah. E>esigned in granite and c(xisul Charles Lutz and representa­ Day 3 — Sat Sept 25 We departed Charlotte via US Air ous places in the U.S. and Canada) in steel by Hungarian sculptor Imro tives of the Portuguese and Spanish “Day at Leisure” and boy, did we at 10:50 AM to Atlanta. From there our group. We were whisked away by Varga, it is dedicated to Raoul delegations set up “protected” houses need it after our exhausting fust day we went by Lufthansa to Frankfort... bus and then embarked upon an Wallenbei^g and is in remembrance of in Budapest. After a nice buffet a long, long trip! extensive walking tour of the E>ohany 500,000 Hungarian Jews who per­ breakfast, we took a short walk Day 2 • Fri. Sept 24 utca Synagogue and the surrounding ished under the Nazi reign. around our hotel, looking at the shops Arrived in Frankfort at 7:20 AM to area in the heart of the Jewish ghetto and outdoor cafes. That evening we change planes for Budapest where we of PesL (6ud^)est is divided by the Orthodox Synagogue had dinner at an elegant restaurant, finally arrived rather exhausted at Danube into two parts, Buda and We then proceeded to walk further the “Muzeum” located within one 9:40 (diere is a 6 hour difFeraice Pest.) and saw the Orthodox Synagogue, block of our hotel and right on the from Chailotte time). We no so(»ier The synagogue, designed by built in 1913, which though still in next coma- of the National Museum. checked into our hotel, the Mercure Ludwig von Forsta, was built in use, is in poor repair. It’s an intoest- Day 4 — Sun. Sept 26 Korona, when we were tokl that we 1859. It is the largest one in Europe ing building with a flat, brick face set After a way eariy breakfast, the had a moe one hour to iieshen up a (the sec(Hid lai^gest in the wwld). The at an angle to the narrow, crooked group had a tour of the city with our bit and then meet our tour guide, outer walls are of red brick, inlaid in street The courtyard behind the syn­ guide Peto- and the tour director, Peter, and the other 20 peq)le (rang- decorative patterns and set off by agogue is still one of the best pre­ Bogdan, who lives in Warsaw. (Note: coamic (rim. served traditi(»ial Jewish courtyards in each city we visited, as well as the BOOKKEEPERS ON CALL During World War U, the syna­ in Hungary. There are the foundations concentration camps, we had a sepa­ gogue was fenced off and its grounds of an outdo(M‘ chuppah and in the rate guide in addition to our tour Do you need more time for your busi­ were used as a concentration can^ building to the rear is a kosher restau­ PI director). ness and less time for your books? where Jews were massed before their rant We also saw Lubavitch men and We visited both sides of B u d i^ t deportation. In the synagogue court­ children busy decorating a sukkah Is your bookkeeping pile — Buda and Pest. On the Pest side, yard, enclosed by arcades, are the there. we saw the National Opera House, getting bigger instead of smaller? mass graves of thousands of victims the Zoo (from the outside only), What do you do now? of the wartime Budapest Ghetto. The Jewish Cemetery which is the 6th laigest in the worid, The Jewish Museum is situated The Jewish Cemetery, where as the Circus (also from the outside). C a l l J e a n ’s right next door to the Dohany many as 600,000 Budapest Jews are The Dohany utca Synagogue. Heroes Square (the Tomb of the B o o k k e e p in g S e r v ic e Synagogue, in a building built 1921- buri^, is awe-inspiring. Near the Unknown Soldier is there) and Park, • Payroll • Accounts Payable 1931 as a new wing of the syna­ huge Ceremonial Hall, there are located across from it, the Art • Billing • Accounts Receivable gogue, precisely at the site of the numerous ornate family tombs, many and a “protected” ghetto for the Jews Museum and the Fine Arts Gallery. • Collections • Emplyee Benefits house where Zionist leader Theodor of them in the Art Deco style of tum- with foreign identity papers — We crossed the bridge to Buda from Herzl was bom. Looking in from the of-the-century architects. One section “Wallenberg passports” — Swedish which one can see the Parliament • Bank Reconciliations outside, old Jewish tombstones were has been given over to a large certificates of protection. They Building to the area known as — Senior Citizen Discounts — seen. There is a tombstone dating Holocaust Memorial. The names of helped save more than 30,000 Jews. Fisherman’s Bastion. Also there, are J e a n ’s B o o k k e e p in g S e r v ic e from the third century, found at all of the thousands of Budapest Jews The memorial is in the form of a the Royal Palace and Coronation Esztergem. It is inscribed with the who died by the hands of the Nazis sculpture of Wallenberg placed Church. We stopped at Citadella 704- 541-3649 picture of a menorah. have been inscribed on walls sur­ between two massive stone walls. In pMtress from which the view of the THE CALCULATING LADY Next to the synagogue is the so- rounding a symbolic tomb. Here and 1991, a sculptural monument honor­ Danube is magnificent. ing Charles Lutz was dedicated near Little known fact: Until receraly, the Dohany Synagogue. none of the bridges had lights. Some Services a t the Dohany STUCK? OUT OF Unfortunately, we CONTROL? LOSING IT? were all disappointed B usiness during our visit to the SUCCESS BEGINS IN THE MIND Dohany utca Synagogue; we were unable to enter Medical Hypnotherapy enables you the synagogue and the C ard to make changes in your body, Jewish Museum. The attitude & behavior excuse was that it was Sukkot and it was DR. KAREN FRANK for security reasons. D ir ec to r y 341-4162 However, we attended Cert., Clinical Hypnotherapist, Member Amer. Board the 6 PM service there The graves behind the Jewish Museum with the of Hypnotherapy & The National Guild of Hypnotists (of course, no photos could be taken of the Theodor Herzl plaque. sanctuary). To Advertise SmaN JotM Welcome It is exquisite inside. All attention of them now do, thanks to the gen­ Total Eioctrical Sorvico is directed to the extremely elaborate Insured & Bonded Residential & Commercial erosity of Elizabeth Taylor and Tony Aron ha-Kodesh and bimah, set off Curtis (he is of Hungarian Jewish in the from the sanctuary by a wrought iron descent). PEASLEY ELECTRIC grille and backed by a mighty organ. This evening, the group went to an Business Card 25 ViMfs Exp9riftC0 open-air restaurant arxl were enter­ T5T tained by a folklorica group. The so- “Wm pridm ounotvs in quality •lactric swvica" called Hungarian food did not appeal Directory Our Workmanship Is Guanntaed to us, especially the goulash soup, but we did enjoy the camaraderie of our 704-442-2872 Please MARVIN L. PEASLEY Pager: 704-580-0954 group. Also attending near us was a very large group of lively young • Senior Citizen Discount • Israelis. Day 5 - Mon. Sept 27 On the Way to Vienna Rita Mraid Before we crossed the Hungarian- Austrian border, we stopped in “Weeping Willow” Holocaust Memorial Gyoer, which is halfway between at 366<>6632 morningstor on the backside o f the Dohany Synagogue. Budapest and Vienna. It is called “the city of four rivers” The city has many or m ini’Storoge baitxjue buildings and monuments in However, to me, it looked more like a its picturesque Old Town. Before Catholic church with so much gokl World War II, this city which has PamGrMRman adornment It seats 3,000 on three approximately 127,000 population, 12 Charlotte Locations levels: 2,000 downstairs, 500 on the had more than 7,000 Jews. Less than at S#-1S44 second level and 500 on the third 100 Jews live there presently. For Information Call: level, similar to an opera house. That We had enough time for Irving to evening there was a rabbi, cantor and find an ice cream parior in the “mall.” chou with about 800 people in atten­ I’m sorry thiii I didn’t take a photo of 552-8222 dance for the Reform service. The his surxi.ie — it was tremendous! .. ^ \ . A « I » « I » • t \ ^ . .V ......