I apologize for the two week hiatus. Gymnázium Strakonice had ten days off for its spring break and I was backpacking around seeing some sights. The spring breaks here rotate in a six-week cycle, from the beginning of February through mid-March. This year, our region had the first week off. Interestingly enough, none of the breaks actually take place in the spring season. Once I returned home, I received a new timetable, or schedule, of classes, so I was busy preparing and meeting my new students, and generally just getting back into the swing of things this past week. Then, of course, I've been hanging out with my friends at cafes after work and going for hikes along the river on the weekend. Just as New York, and much of the United States, is having an abnormal winter, so is the Czech Republic. Lucky for us, it's been abnormally warm with barely any snow. This puts a damper on the skiing season, but I'm quite happy I escaped all the snow storms and blizzards back home!
Anyway, I wanted to write about Terezín, which is a memorial and museum of the Terezín concentration camp from World War II here in the Czech Republic; the only concentration camp in this country. Due to the audience of my blog, I avoided posting graphic photographs from this time period, so please, continue to read on because the Terezín concentration camp was one of a kind.
Terezín was originally a fortified town named after the Hapsburg Empress, Maria Theresa. It was built in the 1780s with state-of-the-art, star-shaped walls designed to keep out the Prussians. In 1941, the Nazis removed the towns 7,000 inhabitants and brought in 60,000 Jews, creating a concentration camp. Below are some photographs of the structural make-up of the town.
Terezín was basically split into two parts. The Small Fortress, located in the upper left hand corner of the picture below, was used as a prison while the the main town comprised the Jewish Ghetto, which is located in the center of the picture below.
I took mom to view this historical sight back in autumn. As soon as we got to Terezín and stepped off the bus, we felt goosebumps rise all over our bodies. The town just gave off a very eerie feeling. Looking around the main square, one could say that it was like all other towns. There were restaurants, businesses, and shops, yet it was distinctly different. The town was not as well kept-up as others. Building facades were crumbling and brick infrastructure was exposed nearly everywhere. Given it wasn't peak tourist season, there were hardly any people in sight. We immediately felt an overwhelming sadness take over our once excited and curious state of being.
We called in advance for an English tour guide, and again, were given our own private tour! (I highly suggest traveling to places in autumn. The weather is fantastic and there are no lines or crowds anywhere.) Although we bought tickets to see every aspect of the old concentration camp, the tour was given in the Small Fortress, and all other places were self-explanatory/had English descriptions when needed. We thought our tour guide was amazing and extremely informative.
We walked across the bridge to enter the Small Fortress. The first thing one sees is the actual memorial for all the Jews who perished here. It is quite an overwhelming sight. The bodies were found in mass graves along the fortified walls after the war. This memorial holds over 10,000 bodies.
From 1940 to 1945, the Small Fortress functioned as a Gestapo prison. The Gestapo was the secret state police in Nazi Germany, which was known for its abusive, terrorist attacks. Roughly 32,000 inmates passed through the prison (of whom roughly 10 percent died here). They were mainly members of the Czech resistance and communists.
Once you enter the Small Fortress, the tour begins with a viewing of the offices for Nazi military leaders. They're typical small rooms with phones, typewriters, file storage, and sometimes a bed. The building looks relatively new and well-kept. This is the only part of the concentration camp that looks this way.
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| Nazi Offices |
This was the file room. It was supposed to keep records on every single prisoner and Jew that entered Terezín-- not like that actually really happened though.
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| File Room |
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| Inside a Nazi Office |
There is a huge wall that separates these offices from the prisoners' living quarters. "Arbeit Macht Frei" is German for "Work Liberates". The Germans told the prisoners, and the Jews, that if they worked hard, they would be freed. The hidden message: work until you die, and death will set you free. This motto could be seen at every concentration camp throughout central and eastern Europe.
Although this tour was of the Small Fortress, the living conditions for the prisoners were exactly the same as those in the Ghetto for the Jews of Terezín. The buildings were usually decrepit and held only beds and maybe a table or two with benches. There were no toilets or sinks, in fact, there was no running water of any kind (for those imprisoned). Let's face the facts. Nazis didn't care about anyone's hygiene, except maybe their own. Prisoners and Jews were meant to work, and you didn't need to smell nice or look clean in order to do that.
Oh, fun fact for all you history buffs! Do you know who was actually imprisoned here before the Nazis turned Terezín into a concentration camp? Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Gavrilo Princip! This man was the very man who started World War I. He was the Bosnian Serb from the terrorist group, the Black Hand, who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, in 1914. The next thing you know, the entire world is at war. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but he died in 1918 from tuberculosis. Honestly, what a coincidence!
Okay, back to World War II. These were the prisoners' beds, three tiers in height.
At first you will notice the numbers, and you will assume that each prisoner was given a number, or a specific place for them to sleep. You will then be considered quite naive. The reality: everyone was packed in like sardines. There were often five people to each number, and in order to fit everyone, they had to sleep on their sides. (Let's picture fifty men spooning together, where there would normally fit ten people snuggly, but comfortably, per tier.) You will then notice that there are no sheets, blankets, or pillows of any kind. The prisoners and Jews didn't get those either. Concentration camps were not about comfortability nor luxury. Prisoners and Jews were seen as objects, not people. The Nazis generally provided the basic necessities that would just keep you alive long enough for you to serve your purpose, which was to work and support the Nazi effort, of course, against your own will.
Each person was issued a uniform with a number (typically it was blue and white striped), a pair of crappy boots, a spoon, and a bowl. They didn't receive warmer clothing when winter approached, so in fact, many froze to death. If their boots or uniforms became worn or torn, well you just had to deal with that, too. There was no way you were getting new ones. Their typical meal consisted of a water based broth with rotten potatoes and a small piece of bread, usually stale or moldy. Clearly, many people died from starvation and malnutrition. Prisoners and Jews often worked from sunrise to sunset with no breaks as well. Another cause of death: exhaustion from being overworked. Now, Terezín was NOT an extermination camp. People were not sent to gas chambers here. Yet, the likelihood that you actually did survive was slim to none. Of the 155,000 Jews who entered Terezín during World War II, 35,000 died right here in the camp. The others were eventually sent further east to extermination (death) camps, such as Auschwitz in Poland, where they met their unfortunate fate.
Most of these descriptions could fit any concentration camp. So, what makes Terezín so different? It was the Nazi's model "Jewish town", a concentration camp that was dolled up for propaganda purposes. The Nazis told the West that Terezín was a "self-governed Jewish resettlement area," where Jewish culture thrived as "citizens" put on plays and concerts, published a magazine, and raised their families. Obviously, this description of Terezín is the complete opposite of what I described above. But, you see, this was a carefully planned deception that was intended to convince American Red Cross inspectors that the Jews were being treated well. Any rumors about the horrors of Nazi concentration camps were meant to be rectified during the Red Cross' visit to the camp on June 23, 1944. Let's take a look at what the Red Cross visitors saw upon entering Terezín...
Well, I should first tell you that the Nazis specifically chose the date and time of the arrival for the Red Cross visitors. The Nazis also chose the location. All of this was decided over a year in advance, so naturally, the Nazis had lots of time to stage the operation. Why this was never suspicious or questionable to any of the Allies is beyond me.
One of the first places the Red Cross would see was the main square, so that was cleaned up right away. Originally, there was a huge circus tent here with a barbed wire fence around it. Inside, Jewish workers boxed special motors for German vehicles being used on the frigid Soviet front. That was all taken down, put away, and replaced with gorgeous flower beds.
Next, the visitors were taken to see the "model prison cells". Originally, there were no washrooms in the camp (as stated earlier). Well, the Nazis went ahead and built some specifically to fool the Red Cross. Below you see the product of their, well the prisoner's, work. Only, if you turned one of the faucets, no water would come out. No pipes were ever installed to bring in water.
Then, the Nazis created a shower room next to the washroom, except this room was a little different. It wasn't meant to fool the Red Cross, but the Jews. Towards the end of the war, this shower room was built in all of the concentration camps so that Jews could get used to the idea of communal bathing. That is, so they would not be suspicious when they were later taken to similar looking ones at Auschwitz and other extermination camps. For those of you who are unaware, the shower chambers were the gas chambers. Jews were told to strip themselves of their uniforms and boots to take a "shower". Then, the Nazis released the gas, killing all inside.
Next, the Red Cross was shown the Jews' living quarters. Oh, my, would you look at that! They look beautiful; just like home! Obviously, the Red Cross was made to believe that the conditions here for Jews were quite decent. They were allowed to keep all of their possessions-- clothes, bags, suitcases, etc. The children could do fun activities, like painting and drawing. The Jews even had these nice looking blazers with a Jewish star symbol embroidered on it!
Oh, you might be wondering about the prisoners. They didn't look exhausted or starved when the Red Cross came to visit. No, no, they looked perfectly happy and healthy. That's because the Nazis sent all the previous prisoners off to be exterminated. They brought in a whole new train of Jews just for this visit. These Jews heard stories of the horrors of concentration camps, but they weren't treated like the previous Jews of Terezín, they were treated fantastically for a whole two months prior to the visit. Again, it was all a charade. I mean, the day of the Red Cross visited, children even put on a stage performance and played a soccer game! Do you know what the incredible part is, the fact that the Red Cross ate up every word the Nazis fed them. They went back to America and reported all good news to the U.S. military. This propaganda stunt worked, and unfortunately, allowed millions more Jews to be exterminated during the last year of the war.
Something else that is equally perplexing, is the "Iron Curtain" as Winston Churchill called it; the separation between Eastern and Western Europe, the Communists vs. the Democrats. The tension between these two worlds was so strong, so fierce, that American soldiers actually reached Terezín first, but could not touch anything or go inside its walls. Terezín was not on American territory during the liberation process; it was on the Soviet Union's side. Prisoners in Terezín could have been liberated nearly an entire week earlier, when the Americans reached them, but instead had to suffer, and even perish, due to an ideological rift of power and imaginary territorial lines.
This statue is located at Terezín today and is dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust.
Though my post was descriptive, there are other aspects of Terezín that I did not discuss. If I wrote about every single detail, you would be reading for hours on end. Many of the concentration camps from World War II have been turned into memorials and museums. I believe it is our duty to visit at least one to see the conditions and hear the stories of Jews who were imprisoned during the war. Each museum tells a slightly different story, but each one leaves you with two words: Never Again.
