If there is one city that captures the spirit and beauty of Central Europe, it is Prague. Here, a gothic cathedral soars above a majestic bridge lined with stone statues. Cobbled alleys wind between pastel-colored palaces. And, in the center of it all, is a Jewish quarter rich in history, legend, and tragedy. Here the story goes, Rabbi Loew created the Golem nearly half a millennium ago. Here, Franz Kafka wrote novels that haunt us to this day. And here, in the ochre-colored Pinkas Synagogue, the names of 77,000 Czech Jews deported during the Holocaust now cover the walls. These names climb one by one to the ceiling, wrap around pillars, and spread from room to room. It is an overwhelming site, a mute testament to destruction and murder.

The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation's first undertaking in the Czech Republic was to establish the Lauder Kindergarten League in 1994.

The Lauder Prague Kindergarten
In The Lauder Prague Kindergarten, founded in 1994, 24 pre-school children gather daily to study basic Hebrew, sing Jewish songs and learn about their religion and its holidays.

Because the parents of these children were denied their own connections to Jewish tradition during decades of Communist rule, The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation reaches beyond the classroom to sponsor weekend retreats for kindergarten families in a wooded resort in the Bohemian hills. There, parents, children, and teachers sing, dance, study, and learn how to put Jewish practice into family life. By focusing on these youngsters, new spirit is being infused into a Jewish Community that dates as far back as the tenth century.

The Lauder Gur Aryeh Jewish Day School and The Lauder Ohr Chadash Jewish Community High School
After World War II, a devastated Prague Jewish community opened an orphanage for children whose parents had perished in the Holocaust. When the orphanage closed its doors in the early 1950s, some said that Prague's thousand-year Jewish history went with it.

In September 1997, that orphanage proudly reopened its doors, but this time as a Jewish school: The Lauder Gur Aryeh Jewish Community Day School, named for one of Rabbi Loew's most famous religious tracts.

A group of first graders, escorted by their parents, entered freshly painted classrooms, as a small but committed Jewish community took another step on the road to the revival of Jewish life.

Today, over 174 children are enrolled in The Lauder Gur Aryeh Jewish Community Elementary School, and The Lauder Ohr Chadash Jewish Community High School.

In cooperation with the Prague Jewish Community, the Foundation is supporting extensive renovations for the former orphanage in order to provide a locale for a complete system of Jewish education - kindergarten, elementary and high school - all in one building!

The Educational and Cultural Center of the Jewish Museum in Prague
The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation is proud to be among the supporters of The Educational and Cultural Center at the Jewish Museum in the heart of Prague's historic Jewish Quarter. The museum has thousands of visitors each year.

The Center's goal is to educate visitors about the Holocaust and about the rich history and culture of the Jewish communities of Bohemia and Moravia. The Center serves Czech students, teachers, and numerous groups from abroad.

The Center also organizes open lectures, workshops, and films related to Jewish history.