In class today we watched "A Film Unfinished" which was made in 2010 and is a documentary compiling footage that was found about the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto during WWII. For a long time this footage was assumed to be real and used as a basis for fact, but all of the things that were filmed were staged for a propaganda piece that was never completed by the Nazis. It was certainly not a happy film but I didn't have as difficult a time watching it as some of the other students, I guess because I have studied and watched so much on the holocaust.
It was a good movie, but one of the questions it raises, at least for me, is whether or not it is counter-productive to focus so much on the holocaust of WWII. There are so many other holocausts that have occurred throughout history, and even some going on in the world today; I didn't know about any others until recently. The fixation we have with the holocaust of WWII almost seems to block out learning of any others. I think it is an important thing to learn about, but it should not be the only holocaust taught in schools.
After the movie I ate some lunch with other students in our kitchen and then two others and I went to the Kafka Museum! http://www.kafkamuseum.cz/ShowPage.aspx?tabId=-1 We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was definitely the most interesting museum I think I have been in. It was very closed-off and dark (very Kafkaesque) and detailed Kafka's life and works. I have to add The Trial and The Castle to my list of things to read.
After the museum we sat and ate at a little cafe, I had a cafe latte and a giant chocolate wafer cookie that was only 18 crowns! Which is like...91 cents.
Right outside the Kafka Museum, another Cerny sculpture. The statues move and spell out famous Czech quotes with water:
After that we wandered for at least 3 hours, maybe 4; I got amazing pictures and some video. It was warm and sunny for part of the day, but when we left the museum it was more overcast. Then, when we were sitting in a park it began to lightly rain. The weather is just beautiful here, like Oregon or Northern California. And there are so many parks. Everywhere. Like, if you walk past this wall there is a tiny park with an old statue and some benches. In the middle of the Vltava River there are several little-island parks with giant trees and a bunch of benches. I love parks!
(Fun fact, the Vltava River is known as the Moldau in German, it's the river off which the famous song by Bedrich Smetana is based: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJJfEfP9JVk&feature=related go to 1:13 for the main theme).
It is crazy how light outside it is even though it's so late, its 9:15pm and the sun is just now starting to set. Tomorrow we tour Prague Castle and have to be ready to leave by 8am, so hopefully I can get to bed at a reasonable time.
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