This map plots the settings and references in Sophie's Choice
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New York has always been a city with a large population of immigrants. In 1947, Flatbush, like much of the United States, found itself in a state of flux. It became a popular destination due to its low rents and accepting attitude towards a diverse working populace. It also provided, as an alternative to slum tenements, Victorian homes with owners seeking to make additional income by renting out individual rooms, offering a more hospitable environment to both tenants and owners alike.
As returning military servicemen searched for opportunities to restart their interrupted lives, people became much more mobile, and the younger generation began to seek alternatives to the lives they had known prior to World War II. New York became a magnet for the high influx of Jewish refugees, seeking an escape from the refugee camps of Europe following their liberation from the Nazi concentration camps. Flatbush became a haven for the Jewish population, and a Jewish center in Brooklyn.
This Old House: Victorian Flatbush
Prospec Park - Credit:
GK tramrunner229
Prospect Park lies on the site of the Battle of Long Island, which took place during the American Revolution. It covers 585 acres, and was first conceived in 1860.
Reformed Dutch Protestant Church Cemetary - Credit:
Jim.henderson
The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church is one of the oldest churches in Flatbush. Originally established and built in 1796, the Church was added to the National Historic Register in 1983.
Manhattan Bridge - Credit:
David Torres
A suspension bridge that crosses the East River, connecting lower Manhattan with Brooklyn at Flatbush Avenue. Originally built in 1909, it is 6,855 feet long.
During the 1940s, one of New York's biggest attractions was Coney Island. Providing beautiful beaches, amusement rides, and a general air of entertainment that was so desperately needed after the war, Coney Island became a regular getaway, not only for the returning GIs flocking to the Flatbush area, but for the immigrant population as well. Coney Island provided a great weekend escape for everyone.
Cracow fell one week after the invasion of Poland, which began on September 1, 1939. The invasion provoked Britain to declare war on Germany and led to the onset of World War II. It was initiated by the Fourteenth German Army, and ultimately saw Cracow become the capital of the Nazi Government in Poland.
Cloth Hall - Credit:
Chepry (Andrzej Barabasz)
The Sukiennice was a center of international trade during the golden age of the Renaissance in Poland. Referred to in English as Cloth Hall or Drapers' Hall, this amazing building held the city market where international trade negotiations took place. Here highly valuable commodities such as silk, spices, and leather were traded, and negotiations for the export of salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mines were held. Today the structure is a big tourist draw. It houses the Sukiennice Museum, which holds one of the largest collections of 19th century Polish art in the world.
Dolomites - Credit:
Flickr upload bot
The Dolomites form part of the Italian Alps, in North-Eastern Italy. Until the end of World War I, the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire ran through this region.