The Bet Haam association set itself the goal of establishing a Jewish equivalent of the German and Czech national houses in Prague, in which the national Jewish life of the whole of Prague would be concentrated. In 1925, it purchased a set of houses between Dlouhá and Haštalská Streets, some of which were in good condition and some of which were already ruins. In 1928, the new eight-story, modern-style building you are standing in front of was built.
The establishment of the National House was not to the liking of opponents of the Jewish national idea and the representatives of the Czech-Jewish movement, who advocated the gradual assimilation and transformation of Czech Jews into Czechs. However, the rich social life offered by the house, which was built as a self-financing project, gradually attracted the majority of Jewish youth.
"Why do we need a Jewish national house? Actually, it should be the Jewish Town Hall, built at a time when in the womb of Prague Jewry there was still no dispute about whether we were a nation or not. But it is not, because the powerful Jewish officials have succeeded in convincing the Jewish conscious public that they have little in common with the aspirations of the new Jewish generation, seeking and finding their happiness outside the Jewish environment," wrote the Židovské zprávy newspaper of the time, adding: "There was a time when the Prague Jewish Council openly opposed the revival efforts within Prague Jewry, and it can be said that much of the Jewish work in Prague was carried out against its will. "
Do you know what the Prague National Houses were used for?
The German National House, now the Slavic House, was called Deutsches Haus. The Czech National House was and is called the National House. One is in Vinohrady, one in Smichov, and another was in Karlín and today serves as a radio studio.
Answer in the space below.