I love Europe because every country is full of history and the Czech Republic is no exception. This was a country ravaged by World War II and we went to a few sites that really brought that to life for me. We went to the Jewish quarter in Prague and walked through the museum and cemetery. This cemetery was incredible- there were about 12,000 visible tombstones literally stacked on top of one another and an estimated 100,000 burials that took place there. Going through the area was very emotional for me. Part of the tour was going through a church that had the names of WWII victims painted on the walls. There were literally thousands of names on these walls- it was an emotionally overwhelming experience but one that I am so grateful for.
We also went to a city called Terezin about an hour or so outside of Prague. The entire city was essentially a concentration camp during WWII. When you walk around the town square it feels like any other Czech city, but as soon as you walk to the outskirts of town you see a crematorium, military barracks, and grave sites. It was really overwhelming to realize this whole city was turned it into a ghetto. But it was also amazing to see the incredible things the people were able to accomplish under oppression and the hope they kept through the occupation. To read more about Terezin, go here: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/terezin.html
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