After waking up and eating a (not too early) breakfast, we headed to Terezin. We first visited the Terezin fortress area, which was used first in the 18th century, and then again by the Nazis to house members of the Czech resistance during the Holocaust. (Such individuals included those who merely failed to properly greet an SS officer.) Afterwords, we walked to the adjacent Terezin ghetto, which housed Jews during the war. Unlike most camps, Terezin was utilized as propaganda in order to showcase their work to the Red Cross. For this reason, the Nazis allowed the prisoners of Terezin certain "rights" that were denied to those in most camps. For instance, Jews did not have to wear prisoners uniforms, and they were allowed to interact with their families after work. In addition, compared to in the other camps, the conditions in Terezin were more acceptable, although starvation and disease were still major causes of death. Overall, Terezin was used as a holding camp where the Jews were sent before they were deported to Death Camps in the East. As a result, Terezin was often called the "Waiting room to Hell," although many prisoners refused to accept that they would be deported. These misconceptions and false hopes were all a part of the Nazis' agenda, which was one of the things that disturbed me most about visiting Terezin. The Nazis not only dehumanized, humiliated, and murdered the Jews, but they also lured them into a false sense of security. This deception, both for prisoners and observers from the Red Cross, was evident throughout the camp. For instance, the Nazis made propaganda movies about the Jews using the prisoners from Terezin (which we had the opportunity to watch). In these films, families were shown picking vegetables, reading, laughing, singing, and engaging in other activities that were evident of a normal life. As these "happy" clips were shown to us, however, a narrator listed all of the deportations that occurred from Terezin to the Death Camps and how many of those taken survived. Oftentimes, these numbers followed the same pattern as one deportation of elders to Treblinka: 19,004 were sent in one transport, and only 3 survived the war. Overall, over 150,000 people passed through the ghetto during the war, with up to 60,000 in the camp at once (in a town designed for only 5,000 inhabitants). This disturbing movie was made even more frightening by the fact that were watched it in the SS movie theater at the camp, which means that we were sitting in the same seats as the SS officers, who committed countless crimes against humanity throughout the Holocaust. Needless to say, I was eager to leave the room. In addition, the Nazis posted signs around the camp, such as one that we saw saying, "cleanliness means health," which were ironic slogans (meant to trick outsiders) that were impossible to follow.
Other aspects of deception could be seen in the activities that the Nazis provided for the prisoners (especially the children), which included much concentration on music and art. As a result, there are countless pictures drawn by children in Terezin, most of whom perished, as well as drawings and paintings by (formerly) professional artists, who illegally attempted to depict the camps' true colors instead of conforming to the Nazis' orders of propaganda artwork. Similarly, professional musicians were imprisoned as well, and, by Nazi orders, composed operas and musicals to be performed (oftentimes by children) in the camp. One room that was particularly difficult for me (and elicited some camouflaged tears) was the room devoted to such individuals' work, because music from these operas was played. This included many songs with voices of children in the camps, most of whom undoubtedly perished in the following months. Hearing the voices of these children, singing such happy tunes, was upsetting because of the great manipulation that took place; these children were not actually happy, and, shortly, they would not even be alive. In addition, seeing the artwork and music of the camp truly showed the level of talent that was lost in the Holocaust. The work on display was so beautiful and of such a high caliber that it was depressing to realize that they perished in the midst of achieving such greatness. Also, as a dancer myself since the age of 3, I cannot imagine how much time and effort was devoted into learning these skills -- how many lessons, practices, concerts, showcases. It is unthinkable to realize that all of this work and dedication was lost in the blink of an eye.
Another aspect of the visit to Terezin that touched me immediately was the room wallpapered with the names of all of the (known) deceased children who passed through Terezin. Simply seeing the vast number of names and knowing that all of those people did not have the opportunity to reach adulthood was awful. So much undiscovered talent. So many unsaid words. So many memories not made.
Not only did seeing this wall (as well as the other exhibits describing life in the camps) make me appreciate my own life, but hearing details of the Nazis' habits also made me realize how much we take our deaths for granted as well. Not the actually dying, but the respect and rituals we receive that was denied to so many victims of the Nazis. This was evident today when we learned about the mass graves that were discovered after the war. The bodies were then reburied in a national cemetery in Terezin, but the majority were unidentified. As a result, the graves merely had numbers on them -- no names, dates of birth, quotes. Just numbers. This lack of identity also means that family members have no way of knowing the location of their loved one's grave, for it could be any of the hundreds or thousands. In addition, even those in Terezin who were allowed to care for their dead (merely for propaganda reasons) did not have enough space for burial after a while due to the high mortality rates. As a result, they were forced to cremate the bodies (which is not common in Jewish practices). In order to conceal the evidence, the Nazis simply threw the ashes into the river before the end of the war, so these individuals remain unidentified as well. Overall, today's experience reminded me of the Nazis' cruelty, not only in violent actions, but in their deception of both prisoners and bystanders.
No comments:
Post a Comment