AP+P3+2014-15+Theresienstadt+Nazi+concentration+camp

=__Theresienstadt Nazi Concentration Camps__=

** Historical - ** Emmalee Mauldin
The Theresienstadt Nazi concentration camp was, obviously, a Nazi concentration camp, beginning in 1941. It is located near Prague, of the Czech Republic, and was nicknamed “Terezin” because the founder, Joseph II, named it after his mother. Pre-WWII, the town held around 5,000 people but by the height of the war it held over 55,000 Jewish prisoners at one time and housed over 155,000 prisoners throughout the war. Many of these prisoners were artists and musicians who were caught hiding artwork and playing outlawed music, and elderly and families who were deemed “unneeded” by the Nazi’s. It is stated about the prisoners that, “ Despite severe congestion, food shortages and compulsory labor, the extensive educational and cultural activities in the ghetto reflected the prisoners’ will to live and their need for distraction from their plight” (“The Holocaust” 1). The camp was not a death camp and is considered a ghetto, but prisoners were sent to Terezin before they went to Auschwitz or other nearby death camps, about 88,000 prisoners in all. Nonetheless, 97,297 people still died throughout the duration of the war at Terezin. The International Red Cross had travelled to the camp once a month to check on the Jewish prisoners so the Nazi’s made it seem like there was plenty of goodies to eat and that the prisoners were well taken care of, when in reality it was quite the opposite; the Red Cross let it continue with the impression that it was helping the Jewish people. The camp was finally liberated on May 8, 1945 and the prisoners held inside could finally be free.

"Terezin Concentration Camp: History & Overview." History & Overview of Terezin. Jewish Virtual Library, 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
 * Works Cited **

"The Ghettos: Theresienstadt." Holocaust History. Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

** Aim **
by Savannah Galipeau Frankl uses his experiences at Theresienstadt to show the hardships he faced but overcame with positivity. The aim of using Theresienstadt and the other concentration camps in his memoir was to provide examples of extreme lows in his life where he used his ultimate freedom to survive. He explains that he and his fellow prisoners could only be positive, “thus the illusions some of us still held were destroyed one by one, and then, quite unexpectedly, most of us were overcome by a grim sense of humor” (Frankl 34). Once in the shower for the first time, they all realize that all they have left is their “naked lives”. Once the prisoners realize that all they have is their life, they just begin to live. According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia, “ Theresienstadt served as a “settlement,” an assembly camp, and a concentration camp” (“Theresienstadt”). The camp therefore is a sorting stop, which affects Frankl by taking away his wife and furthering his hardship.


 * Work Cited**

Frankl, Viktor E. "Part 1." Man's Search for Meaning. Boston: Beacon, 2006. N. pag. Print.

"Theresienstadt." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 20 June 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

**Cultural**
by Sabrina Schmidt [[image:https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/wrod6fqWncEcb_g_pTVcooS2i0bvhU4_o6faySuodfe9JNTRTHne9BWStaxwWdzYDTxYJdZcnPwe7pOsWYrP_x5lxLv1KRzNLgqIRZJ6BNePPVXmIC1I6-pP67f_ujN4ZQ width="270" height="348" caption="1943 still life of a violin and sheet of music behind prison bars by Bedrich Fritta (1909-1945), Czech Jewish artist who created drawings and paintings depicting conditions in the Theresienstadt camp-ghetto. Fritta was deported to Auschwitz in October 1944; he died there a week after his arrival. — USHMM, courtesy of Edgar and Hana Krasa"]] The Theresienstadt Nazi Concentration Camp had a multitude of cultural activities which greatly impacted the camps life despite the difficult order going on at the time. Many artists both professional and amateur published works while imprisoned in the camp. These activities included theatrical performances, artworks, poems, musical works, and concerts. Music and The Holocaust stated that a the majority of the population were of Jewish artists and intellectuals imprisoned there do to the camp’s role as an “old age ghetto” and ‘show camp’. However, the people living in the Theresienstadt camp-ghetto were always afraid of being deported to one of the other concentration camps like Auschwitz. In spite of this terrible situation, religion was able to be practiced there. This including the celebration of the first night of Hanukkah in December of 1941 according to the United States Holocaust Museum’s Encyclopedia. Among the many creations produced in this ghetto one prominent work greatly represented the significance of the production of the Holocausts spiritual heritage of the era included Der Kaiser von Atlantis; oder der Tod dankt ab (The Emperor of Atlantis: Or Death Reigns) an opera written by Victor Ullman and with the help of Peter Kien, also noted by the U.S. Holocaust Museum. The camp was full of music and art and even education, it also had a library which held thousands of volumes in Hebrew. Despite the point that this was a ghetto and last stop before deportation there still remained cultural life undisturbed until its end.

"Holocaust Encyclopedia." United States Holocaust Museum. 20 June 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. "Music and the Holocaust: Home." Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
 * Work Cited**