Today we went to Terezin. The tour was filled with mixed emotions. Terezin was a town built as an army barracks in the 1800’s. It has fortification all around it as an army base. When the Nazis took over they forced the Czech’s who lived there out and transformed the whole town into a concentration camp. All of the barracks were converted into mass housing for the 135,000 Jews who were sent there between 1939 – 1945. 30,000 died there because of the harsh conditions, most of the others were sent to death camps where they later perished.
Terezin is where the Children’s opera Brundibar was composed and performed over 55 times by children. Most of these children went to their death shortly thereafter. Many artists in Terezin were able to draw pictures of the stark reality of life in the camp and hide them away in the barracks. As recently as the last ten years more sketches have been uncovered. There are two faces to the art. One is the face of a serene village – the Nazis forced the artist to depict Terezin as a a self governed Jewish town with serene and content Jews. The other is the face of their world in its bare reality that these artists risked their lives to draw and then to stash away wherever they could.
The town experienced major flooding a few years ago, and most of the buildings have a fresh bright coat of paint on them now. This in stark contrast to the Terezin where Jews lived in conditions of starvation, no protection from the elements, forced labor and more. Many died from disease from the unsanitary conditions.
After the war many of the Czechs who had been evicted during the war came back to reclaim their homes. One found and preserved a small shed that had been converted into a one room synagogue. The family kept the synagogue secret and intact for decades until 1989 fall of communism, when they turned it over to the Holocaust remembrance organization. The small synagogue had beautifully illuminated walls and ceiling with Hebrew verses from Torah seeking redemption. The flood of a few years ago washed away much of the painting, but we were able to see the remnants. We held a beautiful memorial service there, where Peter Gabor shared the story of his mother who had been sent to Terezin from Bergen-Belzin at the end of the war.
A lot to absorb in one day. The pictures tell their own story.
Terezin is where the Children’s opera Brundibar was composed and performed over 55 times by children. Most of these children went to their death shortly thereafter. Many artists in Terezin were able to draw pictures of the stark reality of life in the camp and hide them away in the barracks. As recently as the last ten years more sketches have been uncovered. There are two faces to the art. One is the face of a serene village – the Nazis forced the artist to depict Terezin as a a self governed Jewish town with serene and content Jews. The other is the face of their world in its bare reality that these artists risked their lives to draw and then to stash away wherever they could.
The town experienced major flooding a few years ago, and most of the buildings have a fresh bright coat of paint on them now. This in stark contrast to the Terezin where Jews lived in conditions of starvation, no protection from the elements, forced labor and more. Many died from disease from the unsanitary conditions.
After the war many of the Czechs who had been evicted during the war came back to reclaim their homes. One found and preserved a small shed that had been converted into a one room synagogue. The family kept the synagogue secret and intact for decades until 1989 fall of communism, when they turned it over to the Holocaust remembrance organization. The small synagogue had beautifully illuminated walls and ceiling with Hebrew verses from Torah seeking redemption. The flood of a few years ago washed away much of the painting, but we were able to see the remnants. We held a beautiful memorial service there, where Peter Gabor shared the story of his mother who had been sent to Terezin from Bergen-Belzin at the end of the war.
A lot to absorb in one day. The pictures tell their own story.
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