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Theresienstadt Exhibition - 29 April 2010
“And humour. So much humour, so much laughter.” This was the astonishing comment made by Eva Weiss about the life of young people in Theresienstadt, the Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War. She was speaking at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School on 29 April, when two survivors, Helga Pollak and Eva Weiss, spoke to pupils during the day and to 200 parents and other guests in the evening.
The theme of the evening, and of the exhibition which preceded it, was that Theresienstadt (Terezin) was unique. An old fortress town north of Prague, the Nazis made it into a transit camp for thousands of Czech, German and other Jews. The camp – or ghetto – saw much suffering and death, claiming over 30,000 lives and sending many more to die in Auschwitz and other extermination camps. However, Helga Pollak and Eva Weiss painted a much more complex picture than their audiences expected. Fear, starvation and disease were ever-present, but this did not prevent many of the inmates finding happiness and fulfilment. This was especially the case among the children. Helga, who was 12 when she arrived in 1943, lived in Room 28, a girls’ dormitory in Theresienstadt. She experienced there many of the normal joys and difficulties of adolescence: friendships waxed and waned, children discovered talents and developed ambitions, and young girls began the tentative exploration of relationships with boys. The children (and many of the adults) also received an extraordinary education. As Eva said, “Theresienstadt was my university”. They were taught by members of Czechoslovakia’s cultural élite – fellow-prisoners – and the art and music created by both children and adults in the camp is celebrated today as a symbol of the triumph of good over evil. |
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Hannelore Brenner’s book, The Girls of Room 28, spawned the exhibition. It is an inspiring and heart-warming account, drawing heavily on the experiences of Helga Pollak and her beloved carer, Eva Weiss. The book describes the constant pain of Helga’s separation from her mother and her closeness to her father (who lived in a separate building in the ghetto). We read of the personalities and histories of Helga’s friends and carers and of the excitement of the music events and plays. There is a piquant reminder that creativity and culture can thrive in almost any environment, for, of course, all this is set in the context of SS violence, debilitating hunger, frequent bouts of illness and the fear of deportation to the East. Nobody in Theresienstadt knew about what awaited them in the East; most dreaded ‘the transports’ because they meant the splitting up of families and the destruction of a life which, though harsh, was bearable. It was bearable because of the strong bonds between the inmates, in particular between the girls in rooms like Room 28.
The exhibition and the talks had an enormous impact on all who took part. Instead of merely recoiling from the horrors of Nazi racism, pupils and parents asked questions about many of the deeper issues. Can the survivors still believe in God? What did they think about their guards and how do they feel about them today? How was it possible to return to live in German cities like Vienna and Berlin? However, the principal message of the day was that human beings can overcome almost any adversity. Living in dreadful conditions, the girls and boys looked to each other to find a way to survive. Incredibly, they found joy in each other’s company, a joy that has made a more lasting impression in their memories than all of the misery and suffering. Even the viciousness of the SS guards and the performance of the Red Cross inspectors who reported favourably on “the town that Hitler gave to the Jews”, in June 1944, are seen as ultimately less significant than the positive memories of the happiness that the children and their carers created for themselves.
Eva Weiss is now 87 and Helga Pollak will be 80 later this year. If there was a moment when the evening came alive for everyone, it was when people realised that the beautiful young girl, Helga Pollak, whose picture dominated the exhibition was the beautiful lady who appeared among us, with her energy, humour and zest for life. She and Eva embody the idea of the indomitable human spirit. They both said that Theresienstadt “brought out the best” in them, when they learnt how to share and endure and love and forgive. Many who listened to these wonderful women found it an inspirational experience, a privilege and a lesson in how to live with dignity and humanity.
Haberdashers’ was able host this event with the assistance of generous donations from interested friends of the school. It is hoped that other members of the community will support similar ventures in the coming years. Anyone interested in this type of initiative is invited to contact the school’s Director of External Relations, Dr Peter Spence.
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