Upon The Doorposts of Thy House: Jewish Life in East-Central Europe, Yesterday and Today
The area of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic was once home to almost five million Jews. Today fewer than 120,000 live there. Gruber (Jewish Heritage Travel, Wiley, 1992) traveled throughout the region to probe contemporary Jewish life there and explore its connection with a richer and more glorious past. She describes Jewish life and heritage in Prague; wine merchants and Hasidic dynasties in Hungary and Poland; synagogues in and around Budapest and the architect of many of them, Lipot Birnbaum; and Kazimierz, the ancient Jewish quarter of the Polish city of Cracow. Gruber concludes with a moving chapter on her visit to Auschwitz. Neither a history nor a travel guide, this study gives us snapshots of contemporary Jewish life coupled with historical sketches of a more vibrant past. Important more for the mood evoked than for the information provided, it is recommended for larger Judaic studies and popular collections.Mark W. Weber, Kent State Univ. Lib., OhioCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.