CHILDREN IN THE CAMP

Picture of children from Haus IV of the Heim des Jüdischen Frauenbundes (Jewish Women’s Federation Home) in Neu-Isenburg in 1937. The Nazis deported the children to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz in 1943. LBI, F 3242.

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Charlotta Burešová, Portrait of Jiřina Káňová in Terezín, 1943. LBI, 84.561. “[I was determined to] oppose the disaster with beauty and sketch all the incredible things I saw.” The Prague artist and designer Charlotta Burešová was imprisoned in Terezín in July 1942 at age 38 and worked in one of the camp’s workshops, where the inmates had to produce commercial copies of old masters or portraits of SS officials. She secretly sketched camp scenes and portraits, such as this watercolor portrait of then 5-year-old Jiřina Káňová from Prague. Káňová was murdered one year later in Auschwitz.

Norbert Troller, Drawing of children at play in the ghetto under an adult supervisor. — Norbert Troller, drawing of children at play in the ghetto under an adult supervisor. LBI, 82.266.

Norbert Troller, That’s Girka, 1942-1945. — Norbert Troller, That’s Girka. LBI, 82.341. Portrait of five-year-old Girka, a little boy who shared a hospital bed with Troller. In Troller’s own words: “Girka, was a boy of 5, subletting my bed in the hospital. The poor children had smallpox in their hospital, so they had to evacuate it, and having no space anywhere, they shared beds of other grownup patients in other hospitals.” Troller continues: “Girka was [a] very gay, and clever companion... Nobody could answer his 1000 questions.”

Julie Wolfthorn, Baby I, 1944. LBI, 89.8. Julie Wolfthorn was a German painter. In 1898, she was co-founder of the Berlin Secession. In October 1942, 78-year-old Julie Wolfthorn and her sister Luise Wolf were transported to Theresienstadt. She is said to have continued drawing, as far as possible under the circumstances, until her death in December 1944.

About 9,000 children passed through Theresienstadt. It is estimated that at least 90 percent of them were transported to concentration camps and murdered. Initially, children lived with their parents in barracks. The adults had to work, so the children lacked supervision. In 1942, the Youth Welfare Office created designated home areas for children divided by language — Czech or German. Each house sheltered 200–300 children with rooms assigned by gender and age. The living conditions and food for children were better than in the rest of the camp.

The staff of educators established curricula that reflected the ideological differences among Jews in Central Europe before World War II. While houses led by Zionists treated the camp as a preparation for life in Palestine, other houses followed assimilationist or Communist ideology.

Children mimicked adult conflicts between Czech and German-speaking Jews, and Czech caregivers routinely mocked German-Jewish children.

Artwork of a character from the Child’s Opera Brundibar, 1944. — Artwork of a character from the Child’s Opera Brundibár, 1944. LBI, 84.491. A children’s opera entitled Brundibár was created by a Czech-Jewish composer, Hans Krása, in 1938, and the score was smuggled into the camp. It was performed many times in the camp, including by children from the camp for the Red Cross visit in 1944. Like adults, children were forced to participate in deception organized for international public opinion.

“One of my deepest impressions was the children’s choir from Carmen. The day after the performance we saw the children marching gaily to the station to be transported to Auschwitz. They were looking forward to the railway trip and sang their chorus while marching not knowing it was their last song.”

—Edith Kramer-Freund, As a doctor in Theresienstadt, LBI 283c.

Norbert Troller, Jedermann - Theater Performance at the Magdeburg Barracks, Theresienstadt, 1942.

Jews in Theresienstadt were exposed to great adversity and trauma. Some coped with this by turning to religion or forms of cultural expression to connect to their pre-war lives and identities.

Fritz Fabian, City Square, Theresienstadt, 1944. LBI, 78.638.

The Nazis instrumentalized Theresienstadt throughout its existence to create the impression for the international public that Jews were well treated in the Third Reich.

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