Cultural Life in the Theresienstadt Ghetto

During the Holocaust, the Nazis imprisoned more than 140,000 Jews in the Theresienstadt (Terezín) ghetto. Many Jews sent to the ghetto remained there for only a short period of time (days or weeks) before they were deported to other ghettos, camps, killing sites, and killing centers. However, others remained there for months or years where they faced difficult conditions including starvation and disease. Even in these dire circumstances, Jewish prisoners—some of whom were artists—established an elaborate administration and developed a flourishing cultural life.

Most of the artists, musicians, and scholars imprisoned in Theresienstadt were not sent to the ghetto because of their talent or prominence. Rather, they were sent to Theresienstadt because they were Jews who lived in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (the German-occupied Czech lands, previously part of Czechoslovakia). Most of these Jews spoke Czech as their primary language and identified with Czech culture. Among the ghetto performers, there were also Jews who came from Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Austria whose primary language and cultural identity were German.

Many of the Jewish people sent to Theresienstadt brought sheet music, musical instruments, books, or art supplies with them. Professionals and amateurs used these items to paint and draw; write and recite poetry; compose and perform music; and stage other live performances. Most of the people who created this flourishing cultural life in Theresienstadt were murdered in the Holocaust, many of them at Auschwitz in fall 1944.

Since the end of the war, Theresienstadt’s cultural life has played an important role in public memory about the ghetto and the Holocaust more broadly. Czech Jews who survived Theresienstadt collected and documented the production of music and art in the ghetto.

Background: The Theresienstadt (Terezín) Ghetto

During the Holocaust, the Theresienstadt (Terezín) ghetto was a site of imprisonment for more than 140,000 Jews.1Footnote 11 It was located in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. It existed for about three and a half years from November 1941 until May 1945.

Theresienstadt played several important roles in the Nazis’ persecution and murder of Jews. It was a transit ghetto, where Czech Jews were temporarily held before their deportation. Theresienstadt also served as a special “ghetto for the elderly” (Altersghetto). As such, Nazi German authorities deported certain groups of German and Austrian Jews to Theresienstadt. They included elderly people, decorated World War I veterans, and some well-known figures.

Nazi German officials ran Theresienstadt under the auspices of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). An SS commandant oversaw the ghetto and a small staff of SS men. The Germans used a Jewish Council of Elders (Ältestenrat) to administer Theresienstadt internally. Over time, the Jewish Council of Elders oversaw a vast bureaucracy. Within the limits set by the Germans, the Jewish Council of Elders shaped the lives of the ghetto’s residents. The Jewish administration organized life in the ghetto, including cultural activities.

The well-organized cultural and recreation activities in the ghetto, however, existed alongside deadly conditions. About 34,000 Jews died in the ghetto. SS authorities deported about 88,000 people from Theresienstadt to other ghettos, camps, killing sites, and killing centers in German-occupied eastern Europe. Of these, only 3,500 people survived the Holocaust. In total, more than 75 percent of the Jewish prisoners sent to Theresienstadt died in the ghetto or after deportation from Theresienstadt to other sites of mass imprisonment or death.

The Recreation Department of the Jewish Ghetto Administration

In Theresienstadt, many of the ghetto’s cultural activities were organized by the Jewish administration. Initially, the Nazis did not allow certain cultural activities in Theresienstadt, but this soon changed after the ghetto took over the entire city in July 1942. By the end of 1942, plays, musical performances, theatrical events, and other activities became increasingly common.

The Jewish administration’s recreation department (Freizeitgestaltung) was responsible for overseeing a variety of cultural events and leisure time activities. Leaders in the department included Fredy Hirsch (1916–1944), Rabbi Erich Weiner (1911–1944), Otto Zucker (1892–1944), and Moritz Henschel (1879–1947).

The recreation department officially sponsored many events in the ghetto. This sponsorship was necessary for space reservations, advertisements, and other resources. For official productions, the Jewish administration reviewed scripts ahead of time.  Unofficial events also took place, but they were much more difficult to organize.

Music and Theater in Theresienstadt

Photo

Ticket for an opera performed in Theresienstadt (Photo)

Standing room ticket for an opera performed on April 21, 1945, in the Theresienstadt (Terezín) ghetto.

Credits:

• US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Henry Kahn

• View Archival Details

Music and theater played an important role in the lives of the prisoners in Theresienstadt.

The first cultural activities staged in Theresienstadt were live musical performances. Throughout the ghetto's existence, Jews in Theresienstadt organized choirs, orchestras, jazz bands, and cabarets. Musical groups included a string orchestra conducted by Karel Ančerl and a jazz band called The Ghetto Swingers, among many others.

Eventually, prisoners in Theresienstadt also staged plays, variety shows, and operas. These performances were conducted in Czech, German, and other languages. Among many other productions, the artists in Theresienstadt staged:

• Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem (1873): an operatic requiem, conducted in the ghetto by Rafael Schächter;
• Bedřich Smetana’s The Bartered Bride (Prodaná nevěsta, 1870): a Czech opera also conducted by Schächter;
• Hans Krása’s Brundibár (1938): a Czech children’s opera, performed 55 times in the ghetto beginning on September 23, 1943; and
• Fireflies (Broučci): a children’s play adapted in the ghetto by Czech actress Vlasta Schönová (1919–2001).

Jews in Theresienstadt also composed new musical and theatrical works. Perhaps the most famous of these is Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder die Tod-Verweigerung, an opera by Viktor Ullmann with a libretto by poet and artist Peter Kien.

Some of the well-known Jewish musicians and performers imprisoned at Theresienstadt were:

• Karel Ančerl (1908–1973): Czech composer and conductor, survived Auschwitz;
• Hedda Grab-Kernmayer (1899–1990): well-known opera singer who was born in Prague and performed throughout Europe, survived Theresienstadt;
• Pavel Haas (1899–1944): Czech composer, murdered at Auschwitz;
• Alice Herz-Sommer (1903–2014): Czech pianist, survived Theresienstadt;
• Gideon Klein (1919–1945): Czech pianist and composer, murdered at a subcamp of Auschwitz;
• Hans Krása (1899–1944): Czech composer, murdered at Auschwitz;
• Rafael Schächter (1905–1945): a Czech composer and conductor, sent to Auschwitz and transferred to other camps, did not survive;
• Sigmund Schul (1916–1944): German composer who had been living in Prague, died in Theresienstadt;
• Heinz Jakob “Coco” Schumann (1924–2018): German jazz musician, survived Auschwitz;
• Carlo S. Taube (1897–1944): Czech pianist and conductor, murdered at Auschwitz;
• Viktor Ullmann (1898–1944): composer who had been living in Prague, murdered in Auschwitz;
• Ilse Herlinger Weber (1903–1944): poet, author, and songwriter from the Czech town of Ostrava, murdered in Auschwitz; and
• Tamara Zuckerová (1900–1944): Czech opera singer, murdered in Auschwitz.

Artists and Artwork in Theresienstadt

Prisoners of Theresienstadt created artwork, especially paintings and drawings. This visual art varied in skill and content. Some were watercolor paintings, depicting beautiful scenes of prewar life. Others depicted daily life in the ghetto, including its harsh realities. These visual artworks were created by both professional artists and amateurs. A large body of this art was even created by children.

The artists imprisoned in Theresienstadt included:

• Felix Ferdinand Bloch (1898–1944): artist from Vienna who fled Nazi Germany to Prague before being sent to Theresienstadt, murdered in the Small Fortress;
• Charlotte Burešová (1904–1983): Czech artist, survived Theresienstadt;
• Friedl Dicker-Brandeis (1898–1944): Austrian artist who worked in Vienna, Germany, and Prague, murdered in Auschwitz;
• Bedřich Fritta (1906–1944): Czech artist, graphic designer, and cartoonist, murdered at Auschwitz;
• Leo Haas (1901–1983): Czech artist, survived Auschwitz and other camps;
• Peter Kien (1919–1944): Czech poet and artist, murdered in Auschwitz;
• Jo Spier (1900–1978): Dutch cartoonist, survived Theresienstadt; and
• Otto Ungar (1901–1945): artist from Brno, deported to Auschwitz and other camps, died shortly after liberation.

In July 1944, five artists (Leo Haas, Bedřich Fritta, Felix Ferdinand Bloch, Norbert Troller, and Otto Ungar) were arrested for smuggling artwork out of the ghetto. They were sent with their families to the Small Fortress, a nearby Gestapo prison. Of these five artists, only Haas and Troller survived the Holocaust.

Children’s Artwork in Theresienstadt

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Children's painting showing Jews celebrating Hannukah (Photo)

Children's painting from the Theresienstadt ghetto showing Jews celebrating Hannukah. This painting was pasted into a scrapbook by Margarethe Grünbaum shortly after she and her children, Marietta and Michael, were liberated from the ghetto in 1945.

Credits:

• US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Michael Gruenbaum

• View Archival Details

In Theresienstadt, artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis gave drawing and painting classes to some of the children imprisoned in the ghetto. She taught them sophisticated artistic techniques that she had learned during her own training. Hundreds of children drew and painted under her instruction. She graded their artwork and organized an exhibit of their creations. Many of the children signed and dated their artwork.

More than 4,000 children’s paintings and drawings survived the war. They are now housed in the Jewish Museum of Prague. Some of the children’s drawings were also published in a 1959 book in Czechoslovakia. This book was translated into English and published in 1964 as I Never Saw Another Butterfly. The collection of pictures was compiled by Theresienstadt survivor Hana Volavková, an art historian and museum director from Prague. The book also included poems written in the ghetto. Today, facsimiles of some of these children’s drawings can be seen on display at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Sports in Theresienstadt

Sports were another popular pastime in Theresienstadt. The Jewish administration’s recreation department oversaw soccer, volleyball, and other sports. Soccer was especially popular. There were multiple soccer teams in the ghetto, as well as multiple divisions and tournaments. Teams were organized by forced labor assignments and departments. For example, the cooks and butchers each had a team. On game days, soccer players received extra meals. Many prisoners were fans of soccer and the soccer players. Soccer matches were usually held in what were called the Dresden barracks. They were well-attended.

The Theresienstadt Ghetto Library

The Theresienstadt ghetto had an official lending library beginning in November 1942. Emil Utitz (1883–1956), a philosophy professor from Prague, served as the ghetto librarian and oversaw a small library staff. In addition to the main library, there were also traveling libraries. These traveling libraries consisted of boxes of 30 books distributed to living quarters.

In November 1942, there were about 4,000 books in the library. Eventually, this number grew to tens of thousands. The books came from several sources. Some were donated by or confiscated from individual Jewish prisoners. Others came to the ghetto from Jewish community libraries that had been taken over by the Nazis. Officially, only books that the SS approved were supposed to be included in the library. In reality, there were also forbidden works hidden in the library. The ghetto library included books in German, Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, and other languages. There were works of fiction and non-fiction, including specialist works on such topics as medicine. There were many works about Jewish history, Zionism, and Jewish theology.

Lecture Series

Some Jewish prisoners in Theresienstadt gave lectures to their fellow inmates. The topics were wide-ranging. They included art, medicine, economics, Jewish history, and others. All three leaders of the ghetto administration—Jakob Edelstein, Paul Eppstein, and Benjamin Murmelstein—participated in the lecture series. Other Jews who gave lectures in the ghetto included:

• Anna Auředníčková (1873–1957): Czech literary expert and translator who gave hundreds of lectures on topics such as Czech literature and poetry, survived Theresienstadt;
• Rabbi Leo Baeck (1873–1956): prominent German rabbi and a leader of the German Jewish community in Nazi Germany before his deportation to Theresienstadt, survived the ghetto;
• Philipp Manes (1875–1944): German Jew who organized lectures and other events in the ghetto, murdered at Auschwitz; and
• Karel Poláček (1892–1945): Czech writer, died in a subcamp of Auschwitz.

Poetry Composition and Recitations in Theresienstadt

Poetry was an important form of artistic expression in the Theresienstadt ghetto. Prisoners not only read and wrote poetry, but also recited it. Older poems written beyond the confines of the ghetto found new meaning in Theresienstadt. New poems written in the ghetto depicted the experience of daily life in Theresienstadt. Well-known poets of Theresienstadt include:

• Peter Kien (1919–1944): Czech poet and artist, murdered in Auschwitz;
• Leo Strauss (1897–1944): Austrian lyricist and poet who was deported to Auschwitz, did not survive the Holocaust; and
• Ilse Herlinger Weber (1903–1944): poet, author, and songwriter from the Czech town of Ostrava who composed numerous works in Theresienstadt, murdered in Auschwitz.

One of the most famous poems written in the ghetto is “The Butterfly” by Pavel Friedmann (1921–1944?):

The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing
Against a white stone…

Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly ‘way up high.
It went away I’m sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don’t live in here,
In the ghetto.

—Pavel Friedmann, June 19422Footnote 22 

Theresienstadt’s Cultural Life and Nazi Deception

In 1944, the Nazis took advantage of Jewish cultural life in the ghetto to try to deceive the outside world about the reality of life in Theresienstadt. They deliberately misrepresented the horrific reality of deprivation, inequality, and fear that characterized daily life there. Instead, they highlighted the cultural and recreational activities that took place in the ghetto.

Red Cross Visit

In June 1944, when a Red Cross delegation visited the ghetto, the Nazis ordered Jewish prisoners to stage social and cultural events for the visiting dignitaries. This included:

• a performance of the finale of the children’s opera Brundibár;
• a performance of the play Fireflies adapted by Vlasta Schönová; and
• a soccer game, complete with cheering crowds.

The members of the Red Cross delegation were tricked into believing conditions in Theresienstadt were good. Upon returning to their home countries, they wrote positive reports about their experiences at Theresienstadt. This indicated that the Nazi deception had been effective.

The 1944 Film

 Nazi authorities ordered the creation of a propaganda film about Theresienstadt. Filmed in August–September 1944, it used the talents of prisoners in the ghetto. Among the artists who participated in the creation of this film were Kurt Gerron (a famous German Jewish actor and director) and Hans Hofer. The film was deceptive, overemphasizing cultural events in the ghetto and downplaying the horrific reality of ghetto life.

Today, only short fragments or clips from the film (about 23 minutes) have been found. These surviving clips include footage of Theresienstadt’s cultural life. They show men and women of all ages relaxing, reading, playing chess, knitting, doing calisthenics, and drawing. Children play in a wading pool and on a playground, rock on rocking horses, and race each other. One longer clip shows children performing the children’s opera Brundibár. There are also clips of an orchestra performance conducted by Karel Ančerl and of a soccer match.

Though filmed through the lens of Nazi propaganda, this remaining footage serves today as a memorialization of the lives of those Theresienstadt Jews imprisoned and/or murdered by the Nazi regime. It also preserves a record of some of the flourishing cultural life they created.