Terezín
Theresienstadt Concentration Camp - Terezín, Czechia
Powerful, Emotional, Astonishing
These are three words I would use to describe the experience at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp.
Being here, in Terezín, was a pivotal moment. After arriving back in the US and being settled for a few months, having time to process this was important.
Part of this process (pausing for some background explanation) has come from a transportive historical novel called Finding Home (Hungary, 1945), which centers around Eva Fleiss, a young girl who has recently come back home to Laszlo, Hungary after being deported to Auschwitz for nine months. She was a pianist prodigy, ready to attend the Ferenc Liszt Academy, a prestigious music school in Budapest. Eva survived Auschwitz by remembering the music taught to her by her Professor, Aladar Sandor, and playing an imaginary piano. Her music gives her the hope and purpose she needs to continue on in the world. She finds out that her Professor was sent to Terezín and after weeks of waiting on the trains coming into Laszlo with Jews from the camps, Eva had hope to meet with him again. This was until she met with a woman who was able to share his shocking story.
Terezín was used as a propaganda camp and when the Red Cross came to perform an inspection, the Germans had the children’s orchestra, which Sandor conducted, play a piece of their choosing for the Red Cross as a way to see how well the Jews were being treated. They played Brundibár (watch video clip from Terezín), a children’s opera about the triumph of good over evil. The Germans understood it was an act of defiance and sent the children, conductor, and all those involved to Auschwitz after the Red Cross left. While some of the characters and events in this book are fictional, the story of Brundibár and the children’s orchestra at Terezín is true.
Reading this part of the book kept bringing me back to that day at Terezín (checkout the gallery). It was late afternoon and the end of November where the country was hit with an abnormal snow storm and drop in temperature. We begin at the entrance to the camp (pictured above) by walking through a heart-rending memorial and gravesite, which sets the tone for what you’re about to experience.
After purchasing our tickets, we are taken through this expansive camp. Here are some of the most significant points we encountered:
Blocks: Walking through the different Blocks where those who were kept as prisoners by the Germans lived was heartbreaking. Viewing this first-hand, being able to touch some of the original pieces like the wooden bunks where multiple people piled together made the stories heard and read that much more real. Even walking around the Blocks in the bone-chilling weather with our coats, scarves, boots, and other multiple layers, it was and is unimaginable how anyone could survive that cold in the thin striped uniforms they were given.
Isolation Rooms: Prisoners in these rooms had no window or electricity and were not fed or given any drink. They had no access to anyone on the outside sometimes for days, weeks, or months depending how long their sentence was or how long they survived. Stepping into the first isolation room was eerie and upon closing the door, being in complete and utter darkness - the mental, emotional, and physical pain that was experienced by the prisoners is unfathomable.
Execution Walk and Area: Walking towards the execution area, you pass the Nazi theater and pool, which only further represents the Nazi’s inhumane view and treatment of the prisoners. Continuing on through a cobblestoned tunnel and onto a dirt path leading toward the execution area, there is a moving statue title Nameless by Ladislav Chochole in memory of the those who lost their lives here. Pausing to view this memorial and the grounds around it is a sobering moment, walking the same path of these “Nameless Ones”, it is impossible to comprehend the horrors and injustice that took place. Beyond this statue is a large brick wall with an entrance and it is here that you are witness to the execution area. Prisoners would line up and get called one by one to their death, bodies being gathered and taken to the adjoining burial ground. What is seen and felt here is indescribable.
Nazi Movie Theater: This movie theater is one of the only standing theaters made by the Nazis with all the original materials. It was here where we saw the Nazi propaganda film made for the Red Cross and other organizations to portray good treatment of the Jews, which included the children’s orchestra mentioned above. It is astounding to me how this propaganda blinded so many to the actual treatment taking place. Viewing the film in conjunction with having experienced these various areas of the camp was harrowing.
Concentration Camp Memorial: Walking from one of the Blocks on the main road in the camp, we came into a covered area that had a brick wall with 7 floor to ceiling pillars of glass that were lit up between the brick. Evening was upon us, the sun was setting casting a blue glow with the light in the glass illuminating the room providing an ethereal experience. In the middle of each glass pane was a small round metal plate attached to the wall behind, made to look as if it was floating. Every pane represented a specific concentration camp with the plate holding ashes that were brought in from the represented camp. Pausing at each pane, taking in the moment, will be forever unforgettable.
Terezín was a once in a lifetime experience, marking me, and providing a new perspective on life. It is one thing to read about these historical events and another to actually witness first-hand where they took place.
So, dear discoverer, if you are moved by reading about certain events or moments in history, I encourage you to venture out and discover them in the real, walking the paths of what took place before you, being present in each moment, and contemplating for yourself how your life is changed because of it.
Much love,
