Introduction
Reflections of Prague: Journeys through the 20th century by Ivan Margolis is a remarkable account of the chronological events of the twentieth century in an intermitted and almost subversive and history of consciousness. This book gives full accounts of the historical events from Austro-Hungarian monarchy to the First World War. The democracies struggle of the world to the Munich betrayal. It is also a rich source of the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe to the Second World War. This is also a history of concentration and extermination of political prisoners in camps to the formation of allies and the communist takeover. It also gives an insight into the soviet occupation of the world on the onset of freedom and liberation of the new world. From Mussolini to the greatest dictator of all time Adolf Hitler.
This book gives an insight into the greatest political and economic world of all time. The city of Prague is caught up in an intriguing and inspirational account of how anguish and cruelty to humanity can be a policy of the world during war and other times of crisis. This was a quest for freedom and how the liberation of it would cause mankind to inflict pain and death on fellow mankind in the name of: distorting political and religious doctrines, self centered beliefs, and the sensitivity of pride and prejudice to the human worth of personality, dignity and freedom of their ancestor towards a liberation of a new world (p. 41).
The theme of freedom is completely engrossed in this reading where the author has gone deeply into the contents of freedom in the second liberation of the world and Europe. Europeans and Americans have for a long time been obsessed with the ideal of freedom and liberation. The bonds of slavery and concentration in extermination camps during the time of Hitler have remained a misery and one yet to be explained. The author and others of the Jewish race were concentrated in bond and slavery that characterizes the self-actualizing freedom that is the essence of democracy. The realm of the myth of freedom derives the discussion that freedom emanates.
The themes of the birth and rebirth of freedom as experienced by the author is an account of the painful struggle characterized by the death and suffering of many. The ghettos were the breading zone for disease and vermin. This is an episode that occurred in real life of human massacres and maiming where the international spirit of humanity was put at bay in order to seek for military and racial supremacy. All these were flowing from Prague and flowing into the occurrences of daily life. It gives the accounts of the events that overtook the small city of Prague from the ancient religious penetration of Islam and Christianity to later Jewish and Adventists (1/4). These occurrences and the journey towards modernity attracted both scholars and businessmen alike. Historical renovations saw Prague establish itself to a Gothic city.
The city of Prague stood defiantly throughout the centuries to testify the revolution history of Europe towards modern liberation and freedom. In 1415, Prague stood out as the center stage for fighting for spiritual freedom. This was the rise of the protestant revolution and it marked the start of religious freedom in Europe and the downfall of Roman Catholic. This shows that Prague was a city of history repeating itself (2/4).
This is an account of his own biography. It provides insights into his own personal life and his quest for freedom and personal liberation. It is more of a personal memoir giving it a colorful youthful memoirs and childhood moments.
His freedom was infringed when in his middle childhood when his parents together with other Jews were incarcerated at the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. He was lucky to have survived the massacre that saw his parents and over a million Jews being gassed in fume chambers through a directive by Adolf Hitler. He was however not at liberty as he was made a child laborer in a labor camp. This reached the epitome of cruelty when the war front in the eastern side reached the camp. The prisoners had to be evacuated but not without severe loss of life in March 1945.
He was however tried and found guilty of treason later in his life in 1952 as the main plotter of the conspiracy during the soviet rule. Fourteen Jews among them Rudolf the author’s wife were found guilty of the offence and sentence to life imprisonment. He together with others was found guilty of the offence and their freedom and liberty were denied. They were later hanged and their bodies cremated. The conditions of his life deteriorated and the truth surrounding the controversial death of his beloved wife. His son grew up in poor conditions and they were always shunned from public social life. This shows his life being full of struggles as he struggles through his quest for personal liberation through remarkable historical events and the world’s struggle to freedom and liberation.
Bibliography
Ivan Margolius, Reflections of Prague: Journeys through the 20th Century, May 26, 2006
Steven Rogers, The War of the World: A New History of the 20th Century , 25 May 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Yc_k7-BMc&list=PLOaCrydFjC6nTb8Xauc8p_P3gWBISjq4v
Steven Rogers, The War of the World: A New History of the 20th Century , 26 May 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GobBKzJuQw&list=PLOaCrydFjC6nTb8Xauc8p_P3gWBISjq4v.
Steven Rogers, The War of the World: A New History of the 20th Century , 27 May 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32QAq63Vslc&list=PLOaCrydFjC6nTb8Xauc8p_P3gWBISjq4v
