A trip to Terezin, a fort and former Jewish ghetto and work camp

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Yesterday we seemd to go back to the 1400s at one of the older brew pubs in Prague, but today we took a trip back in time to the 1930s and 40s when we went to go visit the former Jewish ghetto and work camp that Hitler used in a massive PR campaign to convince the international community and Jewish populations in Europe that he meant the best for the Jewish people - the sites I saw today were the last for many as most of this ghetto was tranported by rail in 1942 and 1943 to Aushwitz and other eastern death camps. If you hadn't known the history of the town you might think it quaint.



The day started with Jarred, a travel companion of mine, and I setting out on foot after waking up a bit late due to some much needed sleep. The weather had dropped about ten degrees Fahrenheit and I was glad I was sporting both a winter vest and overcoat. We made our way north through the old town square, past the smells and sounds of the winter market, hot milled wine, sweet smells from the Tredlnik stands (think giant Cinnamon sugar churros), and homemade sausages hitting the grills. As we made our way north past the powder tower that used to be the essential tolol booth in the gothic ages, apparently one of the regions near Prague had major silver mines and the ability to tax the import and export of goods contributed to the wealth accumulation of the kings and masters of Prague. We left the old town and entered new town. Over the past few days we have been mainly focused on old town, one major reason is our lodging is in old town, but another crticial reason is due to the history of the region. New town seemed to be dominated by mom and pop stores, and we could tell as we walked this was a region where true Czechs lived, and not much targeted at tourists. The amazing part about Prague is that so many natives Czechs and foreigners s me to be picking up on two things, the attractive nature of prices in the Czech Republic, and the regions ability to adapt ame embrace economically liberal values. There seem to be just as many KFCs, Mc Donald's, and I even saw a TGI Fridays here.



But I digress, we made our way to the bus station, purchased a round trip ticket from Naratsu to Terezen for about 320kcs, which is basically $14 dollars, we waited for the bus at Platform 7 and off we went. As we took off into the countryside I noticed things like new construction, well constructed roads, new power utilities, modern car dealerships sporting the latest Audis, Porsches and othe foreign automakers. It reminded me of driving west of 376 out of Pittsburgh. We went over the rolling hills, passing fields of cabbage and as the bus ride went on the skies seemed to grey. The expectation was a chance of rain being a 60% probability. As we passed the first stop we heard the driver clearly yell next stop Terezen.



As we entered the outskirts of town we seemed to be entering s military barracks, with wide moats and steep brick walls 20 feet high from the bottom. We turned right into the main square and were two of three people who got off the bus, it drove away and we Looked around the square and I snapped a few photos. I had seen a map of Terezen on a post while we entered the town so we walked towards it. The first suggested stop was the Ghetto Musuem. We walked into that building and purchased two tickets. As I read in the museum the building we were in housed many of the boys on the town fro the Jewish ghetto. We read about how they were praised as standout students and athletes n Hitlers films that he distributed to the western outlets in the hopes that Germany could keep the truth of the "final solution" masked from the international community. I took a picture I can't seem tlike transfer to this blog of the thousands of names of the boys that called this building home, the drawings they made, and the fact that many of them perished in Aushchwitz never to see this home again. It was a sombering moment that seemed to stick with me as I walked throughout the town, beneath gray skies.

Terezen was once a fort years ago established by one of the powerful and more controlling families in Europe, the Habsberg Family. It was built in the late 1700s, and used in WWI as a prison camp. AustRica-Hungary houses Prussia prisoners of war there and the guy who assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdidand died here in captivity as well.



As I walked past pictures drawn by children of happy memories, coupled by a former prisoners drawings of the realities of the brutal and harse conditions many Jewish people lived under a woman in broken English directed us to some steps saying - "English, propaganda film starts now." We walked towards the stairs and into a theater, the lights dimmed and the movie started. It spelled out what Terezin was meant to be, arguably the PR town for the more PC final solution that was never to be for the Jewish people. It opened with scenes from a film of Jews gathered around a soccer ex match, men women and children all smiling and seeming to enjoy the game like a New Yorker might enjoy a Yankles game and even featured some audio from Jew I English heard saying "there is no other place I would live than Terezin." This was the propaganda film that was sent to the Red Cross to be ditributed to the West to play in theaters before movies. It was basically one giant deception. In 1938 Hitler sent several commi que to his commanders, coupled with Crystalnacht and a dieter pirating condition I Jewish relation led to the formal make up of the Jewish ghetto in this town by 1940. In the movie they spent five minutes stating the group numbers assigned to lots of people by thousands, how many were sent to which camp, and how many survived. The numbers were shocking. Many times 1,000 were sent, and no one survived.



We left the theater as the lights turned on and walked towards the crematorium, where Jews were burned. We stopped inside the crematorium and took a picture. the whole place was very somber, and we walked around for about an hour. I couldn't stop thinking that for so many this town was the last sign of hope and life for them, and for so many this was the end. The streets seemed empty, and only an occasional resident on bike or car passing by interrupted the silence. We made our way back to town from the fort. I passed by an antique store that sold old Soviet items, it reminded me of the Czechs more recent history. We stopped in a bar so I could use the restroom, no one spoke English so I was left playing Shiraz with and older Czech woman as I tried to find the toilet. Being in a foreign country reminds me of the story of the tower of babble so often, thank God for hand signals.

Night was setting I so we walked towards our bus stop not before we saw a Christmas tree with lights being set up and a hall on the other end of the square was hosting what looked like a small Christmas concert. As we boarded the bus and the rain picked up I reflected on my time I Terezen and the opportunity to view the realities of the holocaust and some of its history in person. It's good to never forget, but better to remember how to prevent before there is an issue. There were many red flags for the Czech people here and he international community. Somehow in the age of Twitter, Facebook and worldwide internet connectivity I wonder if Terezin could have been called out for what it was earlier, a waiting places for Jews to be executed in the east.



On that more somber note I will wrap up the post for today. To we will be going to join a tour group to have a couple pivo, and tomorrow maybe I will try to show you more of the history of old town or speak to some of the restaurant experiences you can have here.



Hope you have a dobre den!

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