Schools

Hana’s Suitcase

Historical Context

Czechoslovakia and the Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia during World War II

In the period leading up to 1938, Czechoslovakia was an independent democracy. The Munich Pact in September 1938 changed that. Hitler began to threaten a European war if the Sudetenland, which was a region of Czechoslovakia, was not ceded to Germany. This border region adjacent to Germany had a high population of ethnic German individuals. It was annexed to Germany as a result of the Munich Pact. Refugees began pouring into Czechoslovakia from the Sudetenland. On March 15, 1939, German troops marched in and declared the central region of Czechoslovakia the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The eastern region, Slovakia, became an independent territory cooperative with the German state. The Nazis immediately began to impose restrictions on Jews, and the Nuremberg Laws were implemented here on June 21, 1939. At this time, 90,000 Jews lived in Bohemia and Moravia. By the end of the war, 88,000 had been deported, most of them to Theresienstadt. Most perished in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Nuremberg Laws

The persecution of Jews was a central keystone of Nazi ideology. Starting in 1933, the Nazis began implementing laws specifically targeted to restrict the civil rights of Jewish individuals. These were racist laws designed to “purify” the “Aryan” nation of Jewish blood. The laws removed most political rights from German Jews, and prohibited them from marrying Reich (German) citizens. Under the NurembergLaws, a Jew was defined as an individual who had Jewish grandparents. A person with only one Jewish grandparent could be branded as a target. There was an elaborate classification system identifying the percentage of Jewish blood for individuals of mixed parentage. They did not have to define themselves as Jews or be active in the Jewish faith.

History

In November 1941, the Nazis created a Jewish ghetto out of an isolated 18th century fortress town near Prague. Theresienstadt (also known by its Czech name, Terezin) was different from the other ghettos. Along with less harsh living conditions, there was also a degree of self-government for prisoners, though they were still absolutely dependent on the Nazis’ arbitrary decisions. At Theresienstadt, the Nazis tolerated a cultural life for Jews. There were orchestras, concerts, theatre, lectures, a library; even religious life was not officially banned. Many well-known people were sent to Theresienstadt, people whose fates might be followed by the outside world. The Nazis created a smoke screen of deception, making it look like Theresienstadt was a “model Jewish settlement.” In 1943, the Nazis made Theresienstadt into a showplace for their propaganda. The Nazis were aware that news of the extermination and labour camps was beginning to leak to the outside world. They set up art studios and had prisoners design posters that showed images of the ghetto as a productive Jewish community.

The Nazis carefully prepared a great staging for the arrival of the International Red Cross investigation committee on July 23, 1944. Dummy stores were constructed, as well as gardens, a school and a café, while a large quota of prisoners were deported to their deaths at Auschwitz-Birkenau so the ghetto would look less congested. The Nazis even created a propaganda film showing Jews benevolently protected by the Third Reich. After the film’s production was complete, most of the cast was deported to the gas chambers. Of the approximately 140,000 Jews imprisoned in Theresienstadt, the Nazis’ “model Jewish settlement”, over 34,000 died in the ghetto and 87,000 were transported to death camps. Of 15,000 children deported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz, 240 survived—none under the age of fifteen. Theresienstadt was liberated by the Soviet Army on the 8th of May, 1945.

Daily Life, Food and Hunger

General conditions were appalling. Overcrowding, insufficient rations, insufficient toilets, limited access
to water, lice, bedbugs and rampant disease were a part of daily life. Approximately 25% of prisoners died from malnutrition and disease while in Theresienstadt. Conditions in the Children’s Homes, or Kinderheim, were significantly better. This was due to the deliberate efforts of the Jewish Council to provide the best conditions that they could for the children. Unfortunately, this was at the expense of the elderly in the camp who received the worst rations and lodgings. Bread was distributed twice a week.

Children received ¾ of a loaf, adults received half a loaf (a loaf = 1 kilo). Once every ten days, prisoners received sugar (2 teaspoons per day), a small piece of margarine and occasionally a spoonful of something to spread on the bread. There were no vegetables, fruit or milk. At lunchtime prisoners would receive their one meal of the day, either a bowl of soup made from lentil powder or potatoes (usually just the skins) or one potato and gravy. Rarely they would receive a small piece of meat (no more than 25 grams). For breakfast, they received a mug of imitation “coffee” made from toasted wheat, with no milk or sugar. Prisoners lived under the constant threat of Nazi punishment. Rules changed frequently, deliberately calculated to keep prisoners in a state of fear. A prisoner who was caught smoking, sending a letter home to family, or teaching a child a lesson could be sent out on the next transport to Auschwitz.

Cultural Life

At the beginning of the war, all cultural activities were forbidden and punishable by death. In spite of these risks, artists secretly rehearsed and performed in attics and back rooms. In1942, the Nazis eased the restrictions on performances, as it served their propaganda requirements. Theresienstadt had an astonishing cultural life. Plays, musical concerts, puppet shows, operas, poetry readings and lectures were performed in the most unlikely places. The camp maintained a lending library of 60,000 volumes.

Many famous people from cultural, scientific and political walks of life were concentrated in Theresienstadt. Composers Victor Ullmann, Gideon Klein, Hans Krasa and Pavel Haas were all highly active in the camp. Hans Krasa’s Brundibar was performed 55 times. There were performances of the operas The Bartered Bride, The Kiss, The Marriage of Figaro, as well as Tosca, Carmen,Rigoletto and Verdi’s Requiem. Visual artists were employed in the drawing office of the SS Kommandantur
(the commander of the “defense squadron”). This gave them access to materials to continue to create clandestine works of art depicting the conditions of the camp. Artists Bedrich Fritta, Leo Haas, Otto Ungar, Karel Fleischmann and Peter Kien created haunting testimonials. Only Leo Haas survived. The children were also very active in cultural life. They performed in concerts and operas, and they wrote poems, journals and magazines such as BoNaCo, Rim Rim Rim and the most famous, Vedem. Vedem was created by the boys of Heim L417 where both George Brady and Kurt Kotouc lived. The children also created pictures. The artwork captured the loss of home and families, the world around them in the ghetto and the wish for happier times. Nearly 4,500 pieces of children’s art survived the war, the result of lessons given by Friedl Dicker-Brandeis. The art survived the war because Dicker-Brandeis hid it in two suitcases before leaving for Auschwitz.

Children’s Homes
(Kinderheim)

Most of the children lived in special homes or Kinderheim. These homes were set up by the Jewish Council to try to shield the children from some of the terrible conditions of the camp. The elders hoped to prepare the children for a better life after the war. They had better food and living conditions than many of the adults. Girls and boys were in separate buildings and, although all teaching activities were forbidden, each Kinderheim had a teacher assigned to them. Children under the age of 14 attended a secret school. They had lessons in the morning and physical activity or games in the afternoon. This was very difficult as all parks were fenced off and children were forbidden to use them. At age 14, children had to work during the day. In all of German-occupied Europe, this was the only place where Jewish children went to school.

Eventually, the Nazis allowed the children to draw and paint, but subjects such as history, mathematics and literature remained strictly forbidden. During classes, a student would be placed near the door as a lookout. If a guard approached, a student would give a signal and the other students would immediately abandon their lessons and pretend to be doing a neutral activity.

Statistics

Theresienstadt from 1942-1945.

  • 87,000 people were deported east to death camps, mostly to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
  • Of those deported to death camps, 3,600 survived.
  • 34,000 died at the camp primarily from malnutrition and disease.
  • On May 9, 1945, 17,000 people remained in Theresienstadt.
  • 15,000 children came by transport to Theresienstadt. Of those deported to death camps, 240 children survived. Of children under the age of 15, none deported to the extermination.