Book Review – Franci’s War Ten years ago I first wrote about Stolpersteine in Prague. Four years ago I met Gunter Demnig the man who ran the project and so I wrote about them again. Two years ago a friend published a book about the 460 Stolpersteine that were in Prague at the time so … Read More
Book Review – Out of the Midst of the Fire On my Journey of a Torah Scroll post you’ll have read about my chance encounter with Rabbi David Maxa in Prague where he mentioned an interesting story of how a Torah Scroll taken by the Nazis in World War Two and sold by the Communist … Read More
Journey of a Torah Scroll I was at an event at the British Embassy in November 2021 when I was introduced to a Rabbi called David Maxa and he asked me if I knew about the return of a Czech Torah Scroll. It would be a few more weeks before I understood what was a … Read More
The Terezin Ghetto Editors It’s December 1941 and the Nazis had begun the deportation of the Jewish community from all parts of the Protectorate (what Czech was called during WW2) to the new internment camp called the Terezin Ghetto. By the summer of 1942 conditions were getting worse with overcrowding and the Jewish Council in … Read More
Milada Horakova The story of a brave and honest woman who chose to fight. Born on Christmas Day 1901 in what was then called Royal Vinohrady, Milada Horakova was an active demonstrator against the Austro-Hungarians in the first world war. So much so that she was initially banned from her Grammar school but later completed … Read More
The Baby Boxes It inspires me that one day a regular guy takes a stand and says “no more”, puts himself at financial risk, takes on Czech officialdom and battles dogma in a LITERAL life or death struggle. What’s It For and Where Does The Idea Come From? A baby box is simply a safe … Read More
The Inspirational Story of Bohumil Fiala – A Lesson For Us All We’ve all done it. Walking through a park, there’s a guy slouched on the bench with a bottle of beer or box of wine next to him. We take a quick glance and then look away. What would happen if somebody decided to … Read More
Don’t Mess With Jakub – An Old Head on Young Shoulders Fifteen-year old student Jakub Cech became a bit of a celebrity after Czech media noticed his activities in the relatively small Czech town of Prostejov. The press, state TV and commercial television all marvelled at his view and for his age he had an … Read More
The Friends of Czech Heritage – People Working Hard to Restore Our Culture During the Communist controlled era, many of the Czech Republic’s finest palaces, castles, chateaus, gardens and parks were either destroyed or simply left to decay. Previous owners stripped of their rights of ownership, new owners with no money and no intention of … Read More
The Story of Winton’s Children There is a difference between passive and active good. The latter, in my opinion, means to dedicate time and energy to mitigate pain and suffering. It requires one actively seeks those that suffer and are in danger; not just to live an exemplary passive life without doing evil. Nicholas Winton, … Read More