Europe's Jewish quarters - Matthew Reisz

The story of Europe and its great cities is inextricably bound up with the story of the Jews. Places and dates have a particular significance - in Paris, the Memorial for the (mainly Jewish) Deported of the Second World War, and the site of the old Jewish ghetto, established in the Middle Ages, bear witness to the history of the Jews, as does the sinister and grotesque museum in Prague, where Hitler assembled Jewish objects to serve as a memorial for the race he hoped to exterminate. The remnants of a great multi-cultural civilization, decimated by the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, can still be seen in Toledo. In Amsterdam, the houses of Anne Frank and Rembrandt serve as reminders of two never-to-be forgotten Jews, immortalized in the diary of Anne Frank and Rembrandt's biblical scenes, for which he used Jewish models. London, Venice, Amsterdam and Antwerp all have Jewish quarters which have survived into the 1980s. This book is about these different cities, interweaving the sights on the streets today with the history of the area and the local Jews.;This story of 12 European cities reflects the unique charm of each place, while never forgetting the often tragic lives of the Jewish minorities. It is a history book, a travel book, and a celebration of the achievements of a race which has left its mark on European culture despite prejudice and oppression.