UNTOLD STORIES
Central Europe’s Jewish Quarters
3 (virtual) walking tours & a Prof. Berk presentation
Step into history with two LIVE Virtual walking tours through Prague & Krakow’s Jewish Quarters, led by expert local guides. Then delve into the vibrant history of Warsaw’s Jewish community with a captivating presentation by our Scholar in Residence, Prof. Stephen Berk.
PROGRAM:
April 18 – Prague’s Josefov district (Jewish Quarter)
led by Lucie Pechacova
April 25 – Krakow’s Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter)
led by Anna Maria Baryła, in partnership with the Krakow JCC
May 2 – The Jews of Warsaw
presented by Prof. Stephen Berk
DETAILS:
- Three insider explorations uncovering Jewish Heritage in Europe
- All sessions begin at 11 am ET (to account for daylight in Europe)
- Featuring LIVE moderated tours and chats, and post-talk Q&A with scholars each week
- Program Cost: $60 for ALL THREE SESSIONS
- Sessions are recorded – view missed sessions via private link (youtube/google log-in required)
- Session size is limited – register now!
REGISTER NOW!
Deep Dive Details:
Prague’s Josefov district (Jewish Quarter) (April 18):
Guided by Lucie Pechacova
Prague is unique in Europe in how intact in remained through WWII. Our local guide Lucie will start our virtual tour at the beautiful Moorish Spanish Synagogue before showing us one of the oldest active Synagogues in the world, the Alt-Neu Shul (Old-New Synagogue), birthplace and home of the legendary Golem. We will explore one of the most remarkable cemeteries in Europe and see the Synagogues that now comprise the Prague Jewish Museum. We will hear about the outstanding local personalities: about Rabbi Low, Mordechaj Maisel and Franz Kafka. Finally, we will learn about the history and the present life of our Czech Jewish Community. Our tour will finish at the famous Prague Astronomical Clock.
Lucie is a native Czech and studied at Prague’s University of Economics before working for three years as an economist. But her true passion is history, architecture, art, traveling, meeting other people and learning about their cultures. She followed her passion and since 1997 has been working as as a licensed Czech guide in Prague. Lucie is looking forward to us around the Czech Capital!
Krakow’s Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter)(April 25):
Guided by Anna Maria Baryła in partnership with the JCC Krakow
Journey with Anna Maria through Krakow’s legendary Kazimierz district – the best-preserved historic Jewish Quarter in Europe with its old Jewish cemetery and remarkable seven pre-war synagogues. Kazimierz (the Jewish Quarter) served as the center of Jewish life in Kraków for over 500 years until World War II. “Rediscovered” in the 1990s, thanks to the fall of the communist regime and worldwide exposure through the lens of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, Kazimierz has become a popular destination and the hub of the miraculous revival of Jewish life in the city, exemplified by the vibrant Krakow JCC.
Anna Maria Baryła is a licensed tour guide in Krakow with over 6 years of experience in providing meaningful tours for international visitors to Poland. She holds a B.A. in History and Jewish Studies from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In her work as a tour guide, she specializes in the Jewish history of Poland and Polish – Jewish relations and has guided over 30,000 individual visitors to Krakow. She is passionate about Krakow and is always happy to share her love of the local culture, history, and cuisine to create a compelling narrative that will help understand the complexities of polish history.
The Jewish Community Centre of Krakow was opened in April 2008 by HRH, The Prince of Wales and now serves as the focal point for the resurgence of Jewish life in Krakow, which has dramatically increased since Poland’s transition to a democracy in 1989. JCC Krakow works to change both the world’s perception of Poland and Poland’s perception of Jews. The JCC provides social, educational and community-oriented services to the Jewish community of Krakow, offers programming open to the entire Krakow community to foster Polish-Jewish relations, and acts as a visitor center for the hundreds of thousands of tourists, many of them Jewish, who pass through Krakow.
Support the Krakow JCC by donating to Ayelet’s Ride for the Living team!
The Jews of Warsaw (May 2):
Presented by Prof. Stephen Berk
Warsaw played a central role in the European Jewish experience for hundreds of years. Prof. Stephen Berk takes us inside this lost community up to and including the tragic days of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust, bringing their world and stories to life as only he can.
Prof. Stephen M. Berk is a Professor of History at Union College in Schenectady, New York, Chair of the Department of History, Director of the Program in Comparative Communist Studies and Faculty Advisor to the Jewish Student Organization. He is author of Year of Crisis, Year of Hope: Russian Jewry and the Pogroms of 1881-1882 (Greenwood Press, 1985). At the present time Professor Berk is writing a book entitled, Our People Are Your People: American Jewry and the Struggle for Civil Rights 1854-1965. The book provides an interesting discussion of an extremely important chapter in the history of the civil rights movement and attempts to dispel the myths and misunderstandings that surround the Black-Jewish relationship. Professor Berk is also the author of many articles on Russian History, Russian Jewish History, anti-Semitism and American Policy in the Middle East. Professor Berk is frequently consulted by newspaper reporters and by television and radio stations including the BBC. He has lectured in numerous universities in countless cities and towns in the United States and Israel and is a primary speaker for the UJA, Israel Bonds and B’nai B’rith. Professor Berk is considered an absolutely superb lecturer and teacher. Touring with him has been compared to attending a “traveling university…his lectures are outstanding.” He is always informative, interesting and entertaining. He has lectured as scholar-in-residence for us on many trips to Russia, Spain, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Europe and Israel. It is a privilege to have him with us!
REGISTER NOW!
Beautiful Europe
Prague’s Josefov district (Jewish Quarter) (April 18):
Guided by Lucie Pechacova
Prague is unique in Europe in how intact in remained through WWII. Our local guide Lucie will start our virtual tour at the beautiful Moorish Spanish Synagogue before showing us one of the oldest active Synagogues in the world, the Alt-Neu Shul (Old-New Synagogue), birthplace and home of the legendary Golem. We will explore one of the most remarkable cemeteries in Europe and see the Synagogues that now comprise the Prague Jewish Museum. We will hear about the outstanding local personalities: about Rabbi Low, Mordechaj Maisel and Franz Kafka. Finally, we will learn about the history and the present life of our Czech Jewish Community. Our tour will finish at the famous Prague Astronomical Clock.
Lucie is a native Czech and studied at Prague’s University of Economics before working for three years as an economist. But her true passion is history, architecture, art, traveling, meeting other people and learning about their cultures. She followed her passion and since 1997 has been working as as a licensed Czech guide in Prague. Lucie is looking forward to us around the Czech Capital!
Krakow’s Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter)(April 25):
Guided by Anna Maria Baryła in partnership with the JCC Krakow
Journey with Anna Maria through Krakow’s legendary Kazimierz district – the best-preserved historic Jewish Quarter in Europe with its old Jewish cemetery and remarkable seven pre-war synagogues. Kazimierz (the Jewish Quarter) served as the center of Jewish life in Kraków for over 500 years until World War II. “Rediscovered” in the 1990s, thanks to the fall of the communist regime and worldwide exposure through the lens of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, Kazimierz has become a popular destination and the hub of the miraculous revival of Jewish life in the city, exemplified by the vibrant Krakow JCC.
Anna Maria Baryła is a licensed tour guide in Krakow with over 6 years of experience in providing meaningful tours for international visitors to Poland. She holds a B.A. in History and Jewish Studies from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In her work as a tour guide, she specializes in the Jewish history of Poland and Polish – Jewish relations and has guided over 30,000 individual visitors to Krakow. She is passionate about Krakow and is always happy to share her love of the local culture, history, and cuisine to create a compelling narrative that will help understand the complexities of polish history.
The Jewish Community Centre of Krakow was opened in April 2008 by HRH, The Prince of Wales and now serves as the focal point for the resurgence of Jewish life in Krakow, which has dramatically increased since Poland’s transition to a democracy in 1989. JCC Krakow works to change both the world’s perception of Poland and Poland’s perception of Jews. The JCC provides social, educational and community-oriented services to the Jewish community of Krakow, offers programming open to the entire Krakow community to foster Polish-Jewish relations, and acts as a visitor center for the hundreds of thousands of tourists, many of them Jewish, who pass through Krakow.
Support the Krakow JCC by donating to Ayelet’s Ride for the Living team!
The Jews of Warsaw (May 2):
Presented by Prof. Stephen Berk
Warsaw played a central role in the European Jewish experience for hundreds of years. Prof. Stephen Berk takes us inside this lost community up to and including the tragic days of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust, bringing their world and stories to life as only he can.
Prof. Stephen M. Berk is a Professor of History at Union College in Schenectady, New York, Chair of the Department of History, Director of the Program in Comparative Communist Studies and Faculty Advisor to the Jewish Student Organization. He is author of Year of Crisis, Year of Hope: Russian Jewry and the Pogroms of 1881-1882 (Greenwood Press, 1985). At the present time Professor Berk is writing a book entitled, Our People Are Your People: American Jewry and the Struggle for Civil Rights 1854-1965. The book provides an interesting discussion of an extremely important chapter in the history of the civil rights movement and attempts to dispel the myths and misunderstandings that surround the Black-Jewish relationship. Professor Berk is also the author of many articles on Russian History, Russian Jewish History, anti-Semitism and American Policy in the Middle East. Professor Berk is frequently consulted by newspaper reporters and by television and radio stations including the BBC. He has lectured in numerous universities in countless cities and towns in the United States and Israel and is a primary speaker for the UJA, Israel Bonds and B’nai B’rith. Professor Berk is considered an absolutely superb lecturer and teacher. Touring with him has been compared to attending a “traveling university…his lectures are outstanding.” He is always informative, interesting and entertaining. He has lectured as scholar-in-residence for us on many trips to Russia, Spain, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Europe and Israel. It is a privilege to have him with us!
REGISTER NOW!