The small town doesn’t receive many tourists. Only locals. It’s a laid back place.

We joined the locals in having coffee near the Water Gate.

Cappuccino with chocolate and water for 1.7 euro! And this was in a prime location by Drava River. Swans could be spotted from here. But we didn’t come to Maribor for this.

It’s this building close to Water Gate- Maribor Synagogue! A synagogue where there’s no longer a Jew.

From the cafe, the synagogue looks like this. The one in the middle with one white wall!

The entrance is from the other side. And this is what the synagogue looks like from outside. Well, is this the right place? It’s hard to tell! But there was a note left for the visitor.

The door was locked from inside. I followed the instruction and knocked with a heavy doorknob. And suddenly, the synagogue came back to life! I heard footsteps in haste. And in 2 seconds, the door opened. A gentleman greeted us.

A young creator who spoke English. He seemed more excited than us (who looked confused), and it felt like he was alone here for a long time. Later he told us that it is true that he receives only a handful of visitors a week, with exception of having groups from Israel.

This was a synagogue. You can tell by seeing a cavity in the wall, where the ark of the Torah was kept. You could read information about this place from the standees, or the curator would be happy to explain the history and answer questions for you.

The Jews came to Maribor in the 13th century. They lived in the south-eastern part of the town and played an important role in commerce. There were 300 Jews living in Maribor in the 14th century.

This synagogue was built in that era. A mikveh could be found beneath. Jewish cemetery, rabbi’s home, and yeshiva were all around. There was a community here.

The defensive wall is called “Jewish tower” (Židovski stolp ) because Jews lived here.

Because of the Black Death and the death of Christian children, the local people took Jews as the scapegoat of all these problems. Also, Christians became allowed to be in money lending business too, so Jews were viewed as their competitors.  In 1496, Roman Emperor Maximilian I ordered to expel all Jews from Styria in southeastern Austria.  Maribor in Slovenia today was Styria, so Jews here were expelled and they never returned.

The Jewish surname Morpurgo, Marpurg, Marburg, Morpurgo came from Maribor. So if you ever meet someone with the last name similar to the pronunciation of Maribor, then you know where his or her ancestor is from.

In 1501, the synagogue was converted into a Catholic church called the Church of All Saints (Cerkev Vseh Svetnikov).

In 1785, Joseph II, the son of Maria Teresa, confiscated the church and converted it into a military warehouse until it was sold and turned into a private apartment in 1811 (nice view for an apartment from here!). Joseph II had a very different policy toward Jews. He treated the Jews equally and allowed them to live freely.

Therefore, the Jewish community in Maribor emerged again. Although the number did not exceed 100, they were successful in commerce and finances. Some worked in the court, called court jewels (hofjuden). They were doing well as middle class. But these Jews were not the ones who had been driven away, these were Jews from the Czech. And because they did not have a synagogue, the community sense was not strong.

But because of anti-Semitic policies in Yugoslavia, most Jews had already immigrated and only 5,000 Jews or more remained before the start of WWII. In 1941, Slovenia was divided by Hungary, Germany, and Italy. Jews here were captured by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps in the north of Italy or in Germany. Most of the surviving Jews chose to immigrate to Israel. In short, there is no Jew in this town.

We can even say, after WWII, there is no Jew remained in Slovenia (even if there’s one, he or she doesn’t want to claim his Jewish origin or heritage).

This synagogue was converted into a church, warehouse and then an apartment. Then it became a property of the municipality in 1980, and then it was used as a gallery. Finally, in 2001 it was turned to a small museum like this to preserve Jewish culture and history.

“If there are Jews in the city, this hall should be returned to them, but no Jews live here anymore.”

The curator told me this while handing me a receipt for the entrance fee. 1 euro per head.

“There’s no Jews in Slovenia now ?” I asked.

“Maybe there are 20-30 Jews in the capital Ljubljana, but no one knows where they are.  If Jews from abroad come here, they need to go to Trieste for shabbat because there’s no Jewish community in this country, as far as I know. “

So I wanted to know that this country’s attitude is towards Jews now. There once were Jews among them, but none remained after the Holocaust. He thought for a moment and confessed to me frankly:

“There is no opinion towards Jews. This history is too far away from us. From knowledge we know Jews lived here. But now if you talk about Jews, people will think about Jews in Israel. Then opinions towards Jews would vary.”

What the curator didn’t mention that the wall of this synagogue was vandalized in 2009 when Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out in Gaza.

However, I see it a friendly gesture of Maribor municipality to preserve this place as Maribor Synagogue. The monthly visit fee probably won’t even cover this curator’s salary. But this place is here to honor the past.

Although this is a sight that won’t take you more than 5 minutes to see, it left something in my heart. I remember the excitement of the curator and his enthusiasm for sharing history. He wasn’t a Jew. This isn’t his story. But he saw it his mission to tell visitors what happened. Therefore it made me feel this 1 euro was well spent.

“Taiwan? I don’t think we ever had any visitor from Taiwan!”

He happily put Taiwan down in the statistics. And I was happy too. One more country.

The oldest vine that won Guinness award is here in Maribor. I was still pondering the significance of visiting this synagogue, and I heard Hebrew.

I think the curator would be happy today to see more visitors.

P.s Later I found the Slovenian Jewish Facebook fan page, it’s still active

There are 7 people from Slovenia who were named as the Righteous among the nations. Their names were:  Uroš Žun, Andrej Tumpej, Zora Pičulin, Ivan Breskvar, Franjo Punčuh, Ljubica, and Ivan Župančič

Travel Tips

1. You cannot reach this place from the riverside. You must get into the town center first then go there from the town center.

References

http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/9499493

http://www.sinagogamaribor.si/en/

http://www.eurojewcong.org/communities/slovenia.html

Today, the Danes can still face the history of the Holocaust 75 years ago without fear or guilt, because collectedly the whole country helped the 7,000 Jews to escape to safe Sweden. 

Israeli President Rivlin visited Denmark on October 9, 2018, to celebrate the friendship between the two countries and look forward to more cooperation in the future. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said:

75 years ago, during World War II, Hitler ordered Danish Jews to be arrested and deported. The Danish resistance movement with the assistance of many ordinary Danish citizens took part in a collective effort to evacuate more than 7000 Jews to Sweden, saving their lives. We will always remember your courage and kindness. Thank you!”

Jews in the Little Mermaid Country

When I visited Copenhagen, I was always looking for reasons that made Denmark “the world’s happiest country”. It is a beautiful country, but apart from beer, the little mermaid, the canal, and the clean road and the blue sky, it didn’t impress me with a good definite reason why the Danes should be happy.

Even when the weather is bad, the Copenhageners who love cycling are still riding bicycles in the rain. I feel that happiness doesn’t come easily for all people, but attitude matters. I guess the Danes don’t mind how others think about them and they enjoy being themselves.

They appreciate ordinary lives, and they find beauty and inspiration. They are innovative but they keep their values. I actually liked Denmark.

Different from Eastern European countries, the Jewish Danes came to Denmark after the 17th century.

In the 17th century, the Danish king, Christian IV, who was trade-minded, wanted to build the foundation of the city of Glückstadt, which is now called Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. So in 1619, the king issued a “royal dispensation” to a Portuguese Jew who lived in Amsterdam, named Albert Dionis.

This Jew was a successful businessman, and because of him, more Jewish businessmen also came to live in Glückstadt. So more Jews with political and business influence started living in Denmark.

The Danish Jews in Model Protectorate

On April 9, 1940, Denmark did not resist and surrendered to the German Nazis. However, Germany allowed the Danish royal family as well as the police and the judicial system to remain, so Denmark would be a model. Other European countries would see what it would be like under Nazi rule.  Denmark was so cooperative that it was called “model protectorate” by Germany and nicknamed “Sahnefront”. (Cream Front)

Denmark and Germany continue to maintain good trade relations, so when Danish officials insisted that there was “No Jewish problem” in Denmark, Germany did not want to undermine the good relations between the two countries and did not attack the Danish Jews.

But in the spring of 1943, the Danish resistance movement became severe, even 90% of the Danish people in the national vote did not continue to cooperate with the Nazis, so the Nazis imposed curfews and martial law, changed the policy, took over this country. What this meant was Danish Jews were no longer protected. No more special treatment. Nazi Germany planned to deport Danish Jews during the Jewish Rosh Hashanah in September, knowing that Jews will celebrate the holiday at home on this day.

Saving Jews with Collective Effort

However, unexpectedly, the Danish Jews were all gone? What happened?

It turned out a German diplomat in Denmark named Georg Duckwitz, leaked the news about Nazi’s plan to send Jews to death camps to the Danes. The Danish Jews were immediately hidden by Danes in Denmark, and with help from the Danes, they fled to Sweden, a neutral country.

It was rare that the bishop of the Danish National Church got involved in politics. But he used his authority to send letters (hyrdebrev) to priests of local churches, which the letter was read on the pulpit to members of the church. The message was about helping and rescuing the Jews. So we could see what Denmark was like. First, the royal family protected Danish Jews with political power until the Nazi took over. And then the Danish church responded quickly, using its influence to call all ordinary citizens to do this extraordinary act.

Within three weeks, more than 7,220 Danish Jews (and 686 family members) left Denmark to Sweden by fishing boats!

The Germans patrolled the strait. The Danish fisherman’s trick was to pretend to be drunk, whistled and sang songs. Then he would speak in German, “Would you like some beer?” Then Jews hiding under the deck would know this was a signal to stay quiet.

There is a legend that even King Christian X said if Danish Jews were to wear the yellow star, then he too would wear it. He would not isolate anyone as everyone is equal. The royal family did not admit this legend, but they were proud for the history for resisting Nazi and rescuing Danish Jews.

Remembering the Courage of Denmark

What is even more remarkable was their humbleness. There is a garden called  “Righteous Among Nations” in Yad Vashem Jerusalem, for individuals helping Jews in the Holocaust. But Denmark said, “Don’t commemorate us as individuals, but remember us  collectively.”

Denmark did not take this award. Even though they helped 7000+ Jews. Israel laid a plague with simple words “The Danish Resistance” on the way to the “Righteous Among Nations”.  These ordinary people included doctors, blue-collar workers, clergymen, intellectuals, and other citizens. These were people who stood up for their values and took part in rescue operations.

Lovely Denmark, your courage and kindness will be remembered!

References：

Rescue of the Danish Jews – Wikipedia

Yad Vashem-The Rescue of Denmark’s Jews

Attitude towards Jews in Early Ages

Jews migrated with the Roman army in the 1st century to this region, where Czech, Slovakia, and Hungary are. After the expulsion of Jews from Western Europe in 1098, a large number of Jews migrated to Hungary. The earliest record of Jews in Bratislava dates back to 1270.

In the 14th century, the Jews built a synagogue in Bratislava, but Benedictine bishop ordered them to destroy it. Then, after a few years, the Jews rebuilt the synagogue again. In 1421, the Jews of Vienna expelled and they escaped here. As the number increased, the anti-Semitic increased. So all of them were expelled again, and the property was confiscated. The history repeated until decades later, a synagogue was once again allowed to be rebuilt. In 1477, the new ruler established a Jewish Chief as a bridge for communication between Christians and Jews.

The Jews of Bratislava were locked in the ghetto from the 15th century, and Pope Innocent III ordered that Jews must wear red cloaks for identification. The Jews in Pezinok were expelled and were only allowed to stay on the land of Palffy family in 1609. The Jews of Vienna also stayed in Schlossgrund, a land owned by the same family.

Joseph II and Temporary Progress

It was not until the end of the 18th century that the Jewish community grew stronger, mainly because of changes in the policy of the law. In 1783, Joseph II issued the Edict of Tolerance, relaxing previous restrictions on occupations. In 1788, the Jews were enrolled in the Austrian army for the first time. And the prohibition of Jews living in the city was lifted in 1843, and changed to  “tolerance tax”.

In this relatively free atmosphere, Bratislava has become the base of the orthodox Jewish religion in the Austro-Hungarian region because of the powerful Rabbi- Chatam Sofer (1762-1839). Neolog sect boomed in Budapest, but Orthodox Judaism was still the mainstream here.

After Spring of Nations or the Revolution of 1848, the existing aristocrats and kings were overthrown. And as nationalism rose, antisemitism rose again.

After WWI, Czechoslovakia became an independent country from previous Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Jewish situation changed, the political party was formed, 2 seats were won in the parliament in 1929. In 1919, the Jewish found the newspaper called Jewish People’s Paper.

In the 1921 census, 130,000 Jews in Czechoslovakia regarded themselves to be observant Jews, and another 70,000 considered themselves to be Jewish by blood. At that time, there were 165 orthodox synagogues and 52 reformist synagogues. This region was the center of Zionism and Jewish activities.

Neo-log synagogues in Slovakia:

Orthodox synagogues in Slovakia:

This synagogue on Heydukova street was built in 1926 because of the increased numbers of Jews.

Between the two world wars, Bratislava had about 15,000 Jews, accounting for 12% of the city. At this point in time, Slovak Jews did not seem to have economic conflicts with locals, like it is in Budapest. And Slovakia did not lose territory from war and did not need help from Germany, so all these anti-Semitic actions could attribute only to Christian’s rejection to Jews.

And we will continue …