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book cover of the franci's war memoir

Book Review – Franci’s War

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

main prague uprising memorial on the old town hall

WW2 Prague Uprising

The WW2 Prague Uprising A frequent question on my walking tours is whether the centre of Prague was bombed during World War Two because it looks so old. I answer this question more fully on my World War Two Walking Tour but in summary, yes it was bombed but no the majority of any damage … Read More

book cover with torah scrolls on shelves entitled out of the midst of the fire

Out of the Midst of the Fire

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

prague charles square trees and gothic new town hall pictured in early spring

Charles Square

Charles Square It’s probably not going to be on your top ten list when visiting Prague but Charles Square is an historic area which today is a park bisected by two main roads but it has an active past so I’ll describe why it is here, some of it’s colourful history, why you might like … Read More

a prague world war two memorial plaque to josef skalda including portrait and wreath

WW2 Memorials – Josef Skalda

WW2 Memorials – Josef Skalda There are thousands of memorials in the city and a large number relate to events and characters of World War Two. As I was passing this particular memorial I happened to notice that there was a lot of detail with a word that I had never seen before – SŤAT. … Read More

Karel Hašler playing a guitar statue on the Prague Old Castle Steps

Karel Hašler

Famous Czechs – Karel Hašler Every year thousands of people are walking up or down the Old Castle Steps at the back of Prague Castle and at the top of the steps they walk past (and briefly look at) a sculpture of a man with his legs crossed, leaning against the wall and playing a … Read More

czech president benes and the benes decrees

The Beneš Decrees

The Beneš Decrees As I write this, Ukraine is being invaded by Russia, some towns are being occupied and Russian supporting people are being put in public administrative positions. It made me think of events in Czech in 1945 when the occupying power was kicked out and retribution swiftly followed against those considered, rightly or … Read More

klement gottwald addresses a crowd of people on the old town square in prague

1948 Communist Coup

1948 Communist Coup All over this website on the historical and political posts as well as many of the attractions you’ll see me refer to the “Communist takeover” or the “Communist coup d’etat” which is still referred to historically as “Victorious February” by our local communist party. It’s worth taking some time to see where … Read More

the mantle material for the memorial scrolls trust scroll 1052 now at the ec chajim synagogue in prague

Journey of a Torah Scroll

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

pragues stolpersteine glossy a4 book with stumble stones embedded on the ground

Book Review – Pragues Stolpersteine

Book Review – Prague’s Stolpersteine Stumbling Stones Defiant in Their Memory 2008-2021 On March 24th 2019 an email arrived into my inbox with a single word in the title – Stolpersteine. The purpose of that email was to engage with people who had written about Stolpersteine (I’d called them Prague Stumble Stones) and suggest linking … Read More