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| At
the end of November 1941, the first transport of Jews made their way into
the fortress of Terezin. Containing 342 men. This group, known
as Aufbaukommando, was responsible for preparing the camp for thousands of
prisoners to come. These Jews were guaranteed (by the Nazis) that
they would not be killed. At this time the town still held 3,000
civilians. By June 1942 the Nazis demanded the leaving of all these
original inhabitants. |
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| Terezin is made up of two parts, Large Fortress and the
Small Fortress, which took a total of ten years to build. Large Fortress
is described as a fortified town sustained to hold about 6,000, capability
of up to 14,000 if needed. The Small Fortress served as an 18th century
military center. It's roll and purpose in history turned to the coming of
centuries of a high security military prison. |
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| The Red Cross was allowed to visit Terezin once. The Nazis
spruced it up. Filling the shop windows with bread, candy, clothes, toys,
and a lot of meat and cheese. They even transported 7,540 of the
sick and elderly Jews to Auschwitz. The Nazis scheme worked. The Red
Cross determined that the living conditions of the Jews were acceptable.
But it wasn't even close. |
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| According to survivors there was a deep feeling of family.
Also because it was overcrowded Terezin started to appear to survivors as
deepening of Community. There were 5,000 people before the war, 55,000 at
the height of the war. Terezin was overcrowded and disease ridden. |
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| The following is a list of how many Jews came from what
country and statistics: |
| Czechoslovakia
75,000 |
| Germany
42,104 |
| Austria
15,254 |
| Denmark
466 in April 1945 |
| Netherlands
4,897 |
| Largest population at one
time
58,497 |
| Children born in Terezin
207 |
| Total deaths
about
33,430 |
| Total runaways, till May 9
1945
701 |
| Total deported from Nov. 1944 to May 1945
139,654 |
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| Terezin held World War II Europe's most talented Jewish
collection of artists, musicians, scientists, scholars, and leaders.
They were sent there for "safer keeping". Letters were
allowed in and out of Terezin the first few years. |
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| Culture
flourished. Along with drama, poetry, painting, opera, choir singing, and
cabaret. There was a lot of musicians, there could have been two full
symphonies playing daily. There was also composers. They created fine
works; one known is Brundibay or the Bumble Bee. |
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| There were more than six thousand paintings, along with
journals, musical pieces, and crafts were found all over. Some of the
drawings and poems were made by the children of Terezin. The poems were
published in a book called "I have not seen a butterfly around
here". Here are two poems written by children of Terezin: |
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Fear |
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Today the ghetto knows a different fear, |
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Close in its grip, Death wields an icy scythe. |
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An evil sickness spreads a terror in its wake, |
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The victims of its shadow weep and writhe. |
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Today a father's heartbeat tells his fright |
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And mothers bend their heads into their hands. |
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Now children choke and die with typhus here, |
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A bitter tax is taken from their bands. |
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My heart still beats inside my breast |
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While friends depart for other worlds. |
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Perhaps it's better, who can say? |
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Than watching this to die today? |
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No, no, my God we want to live! |
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Not watch our numbers melt away. |
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We want to have a better world, |
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We want to work-we must not die! |
| Fourteen
year old Terezin child named Eva Pickova wrote this poem. |
| Franta
Bass wrote this next poem called "The Garden". |
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A little garden |
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Fragrant and full of roses. |
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The path is narrow |
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And a little boy walks along it. |
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A little boy, a sweet boy. |
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Like that growing blossom. |
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When the blossom comes to bloom, |
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The little boy will be no more. |
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| At the time Jews were banned
from school, Terezin became their university. 2,430 lectures took place.
Here are a couple of the topics they studied: Jews of Babylon, theory of
relativity, Alexander the Great, and German humor. |
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| The Jews secretly held
theater performances, concerts, and recitals in attics and yards. They
only had rags and paper to make costumes and stage props. There wad also
sport teams and underground religious services. |
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| By
May 1945 14,000 prisoners had been brought to Terezin from other camps.
The Nazi's feared the Russians would find out about their genocidal ways-
so they started covering up their tracks. Gas chambers were
destroyed to hide any evidence in Auschwitz and Birkeneau. |
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| The prisoners brought to
Terezin from other camps were ragged and full of filth, vermin, and
disease. Many were infected with spotted fever or typhus- which affected
the populace of Terezin. |
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| The arrival of Russian tanks
on May 8th brought the end of the Nazi regime camp. World War II had come
to a close. |
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| Within the next few days the
Soviet army provided doctors, medicine, and what other supplies they
needed. The situation got so bad that the entire town was declared under
quarantine, on May 14th, for two weeks. No one was allowed in or out of
Terezin in order to prevent further spread of infection outside of the
camp walls. |
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| On May 28th prisoners were
finally able to leave the camp and return home. However for many home was
in shambles because of the war that had gone on while they were fighting
to live. |
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| In October Terezin was
officially reinstated as a town of the Czechoslovak Republic, and in 1946
the original inhabitants began to return! |
