HITLERS MUSEUM OF AN EXTINCT RACE Tamara Bonet

HITLER’S “MUSEUM OF AN EXTINCT RACE” Tamara Bonet

THE IDEA v Hitler wanted to create a “memory” of the Jewish people v It was to hold items belonging to the Jews v Josefov (The Jewish Quarter), was the Prague Ghetto during that time v 1852, the Ghetto was abolished and made a district

CZECHOSLOVAKIA v 1938: Became Hitler’s target for annexation v During WWII Czechoslovakia didn’t exsist, leaving separate states of Protectorate Bohemia, Slovak Republic, and Moravia of the Third Reich v 1940: Jews were forbidden to withdraw more than 1, 500 crowns a week, no interest was allowed to be earned,

CZECHOSLOVAKIA v Gold, silver, platinum and jewellery were sold at discount to Hadega (special company dealing in Jewish property). v Jews were excluded from the movie and theatre industries. v Restricted to the back of the second car on Prague trams v Excluded from hotels (except Fiser and Star).

CZECHOSLOVAKIA v 1941, The Jews were forced out of their apartments and moved to less-attractive locations v Slowly but surely, the Jews were leaving Prague, and moved to Poland.

THE MUSEUM v The Jewish Museum: exhibits in four old Synagogues and the Ceremonial Hall v The Old Jewish Cemetery (included) extends from Pinkas Synagogue to the rear of the Ceremonial Hall and the Klausen Synagogue. v The Jewish Museum has collections of Jewish art, textiles and silver in the world; 40, 000 exhibits and 100, 000 books. v Everything was gathered from Bohemia and Moravia

THE MUSEUM v Dr. Stein proposed to the Germans to set up a museum to hold what the Nazis confiscated in Bohemia and Moravia. v Nazis approved the project v 1942: the Central Jewish Museum was created

PRESS v “This was extermination on an industrial scale and it involved huge numbers of people. Neighbors and employers reported Jews to the Gestapo. Bureaucrats processed notices of deportation. Postmen served them. Railway staff marshaled their departure. Others drove the trains and manned the signals. It was all logically and legally planned in an inversion of all the values on which human civilization had been built. So perverse was it that Hitler ordered the collection of 200, 000 Jewish artifacts, which were photographed and catalogued to be displayed at the end of the war as a trophy case of archaeological remains. It was to be called The Museum of an Extinct Race. ”

WORKS CITED v "Jewish Life in Prague Http: //www. Holocaust. Research. Project. org. " N. p. , 2007. Web. 04 July 2012. v "The Independent. " The Independent Digital News and Media, 05 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 July 2012. Web. v The Jewish Museum in Josefov in Prague, Photo of Old. New Synagogue. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 July 2012.