Theresienstadt:

Ghetto/Camp/Hope for Better Fate

 

Model ghetto

“Solution” to Jewish question?

No, just worsening conditions

Several transports sent East

Haha

Nazis have two dilemmas:

Jews favored by Aryans

And transporting the elderly

Since they were too fragile to work

This place had exisisted

for 31/2 years

But was only a transit camp

In between fates

Ghetto?

Camp?

Both?

It was a labor camp

but a ghetto labor camp at that

As the Jews were transported

So were their belongings

Sent to Prague

Away from their owners

To “more deserving” Aryans

Owners and belongings

Cry one last time together

Before their unknown

Permanent departure

Edelstein

Jakob Edelstien

Soon to be leader

Of the Jews at Theresienstadt

Wished for the ghetto

Concentrated locally

Hopefully placed in Prague

But, why would the Nazi’s care?

They chose Terezin

90mi from Prague

Built in 1780

Soon to be rebuilt

When deported by the SS

Jews were incarcerated

In to categories

Consisting of Jews

Czec Jews

German Jews

And Austrian Jews

Age deciphered

Their whereabouts

as well as

Disabilities of many specifications

And domestic celebrity types

The world was conned

In to a false reality

Hitler? “built a city for the Jews?”

Of course not

But there was proof!

A film?

Films are just actors

Not truth

Poor conned society...

WAKE UP

Even the Red Cross

Was made fool of

A chance to help thousands of people

And they saw an allusion

And believed it

What fools...

The fist of them

Sent November 1941

1300 Jews

Between two trips

November 24th was the first

December 4th the second

Sent to transport the town

Originally meant for 5,000

Now needed for 35,000

To 60,000...

Lack of:

Housing

Bathrooms

Water

Electricity

Food

And more

But plenty of disease

And many transports out

To go to Auschwitz

Residence tried to help

But were soon evacuated

So as to isolate the Jews

This ghetto

More a holding pen

Using its terrible conditions

As a quick, indirect,

Killing agent

A holding pen,

And a “settlement”

An assembly camp

Cynically called a “Spa town”

Yet 33,000 died

And those who didn’t die at Theresienstadt

90,000

Deported East

Escape death maybe?

Freedom?

Hope?

Ha!

Certain death awaited them

But those are just some

Of the Jews Transfered

Some,

Of the 140,000

Sent to the camp

Whatever it truly was.

And out of those

140,000

15,000 were poor,

Innocent

Naive

Children...

90% of these adorable

sweet children

died

Their future taken from them

Replaced with an untimely

Gruesome

Cruel death

Though,

They did get schooling

And painted pictures

And wrote poetry

They never got a true happy ending

The camp had many musicians

Enough for 2 full symphony orchestras

Chamber orchestras

Various ones

Played all the time

As well as composers

Always creating

Upon arrival:

Valuables hidden

So as to be kept

Elderly tricked

Thought to be going to a spa

Paid lots of money to greedy Nazis

Only to be treated like everyone else

Jews transfered by train

And dropped at Bohusovier

2km from Theresienstadt

Then forced to march to the ghetto

Housing?

More like hell

with a sprinkle of sugar

Little space to “live”

Triple bunk beds made

All floor space used

No privacy from one another

Vermin crawled everywhere

Rats

Flees

Lice

You name it

It was there

Though it was crammped

Being physically closer

Bonded them emotionally

And mentally

4 gas chambers

For cremating those

Who had died for various reasons

Those artists

caught stealing supplies

Were sent to Terezin

Pictures drawn by children

were hidden

Over 6,000

To be later discovered

And used as evidence

Only 132 children

Survived this traumatic event

Want to know their stories?

Find them

Ask them

They may not want to relive it

But they want people to know

To feel

To hear

To see

So listen

And you’ll know

About Theresienstadt