Once upon a time a Great Emperor built a beautiful castle in the mountains of Bohemia and another smaller castle equally
lovely. They lay nestled at the confluence of two rivers, a serene world of meadows, rolling hills and summer butterflies. During WWII, Heinrich Himmler, head of the Nazi SS, suggested this magnificent site for a resort owned and governed by the Jews, to reward them for their work ethic despite the unremitting struggles they endured. There would be no SS troops anywhere. It was declared this glorious region would be a gift of appreciation from Hitler to the noble Jews. The Jews brought lace, parasols, top hats, and tuxedos, for this grand life. The city filled with respected intellectuals, writers, artists, composers. Since “residents” had to “buy” their accommodations, only the accomplished could afford such luxury.
Sound like a fairy tale? Indeed it was; one of the most horrendous ever played out on the world stage. The introduction presents the true tale of Terezin, describing the the Palace as a fortressI, consisting of deep moats, narrow streets, dark, bleak homes and cold, grey barracks, the second petite, “castle” a smaller fortress with a prison, yard for a firing squad and gallows. The ‘resort” town of Terezin, was soon known as the Ghetto Theresienstadt. The Nazi Leaders knew they could never speak of their plans publicly, despite believing it a Godly duty. Disappointedly, Himmler remarked, “This is a page of glory in our history that is never to be written . . .”. But if the annihilation of the Jews was the primary focus, deemed sacred, why conceal it? Why not call public attention to their success in this divine mission? Thus, from the beginning, a significant contradiction lay beneath Nazi Ideology.
When the Jews arrived, hope turned to confusion, then dismay as they entered the gated walls, imprisoned in a “city” inhabited by over 60,000 while large enough for perhaps 8,000. It became clear the Nazis had no intention of permitting any of the Jews of Theresienstadt to live. Yet, inexplicably, at times the Germans seemed exceedingly concerned about this Ghetto.
For Teresienstadt was chosen as the prototypical example of how the Jewis fared under German rule. The true ghetto was hidden, until Theresienstadt resembled the resort town it was rumored to be. In 1944 a commission of the International Red Cross arrived to inspect the town, having heard troubling rumors of inhumane treatment of Jews. The visitors seemed impressed and a movie was made to convince the neutral countries how well the Jews were being treated, obviously better off under the Germans compared to their difficult lives before .
But the cameras failed to capture the thousands who perished from dysentery, the elderly so weak they died in their own excrement or were shot for fun, the infants dieing of starvation in their mothers arms, only able to bath them in their tears. Though sickened by famine, disease, death and terror, Theresienstadt, was simultaneously filled with hidden culture - Lectures, concerts, theatre, art - the efforts of a people to use their skillsto cope, refusing to give up on life. And for life to continue they understood the necessity of teaching the
children.
The most famous and haunting depiction of life in the Ghetto was created by these children. Concealed, the children were taught art, writing, music, acting and dance primarily as a therapeutic means of emotional expression. Within these few years, the children produced over 14,000 works of art, collages, poems, and other writings, gathered
secretly at the end of the war. Hidden in suitcases in family attics, a crime for anything hinting of war crimes to be made public, these testimonies sat on shelves for more than 10 years.
During Theresienstadt’s existance, of 141,000 Jewish "residents", 88,202 perished in death camps and 33,456 died or were murdered in Theresienstadt. Of the 15,000 children deported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz, less thann 100 survived, none younger than 14, and many more died before being transported. Of those whose words are recorded in this book, only two were known to survive to liberation. Yet these are just numbers.
In order to truly understand this atrocity, the children must speak for themselves. It is through the eyes of the innocent, that the full horror can be realized, which is the priceless contribution of this volume though only a small sample of the messages these children left for the world, smuggled secretly from the country.
Some say the Holocaust never occurred, using films of Theresienstadt as proof. Yet after reading the words of these children, all but two of whom never reached adulthood, it seems impossible to find a grain of credibility in such a revision.
The book begins by describing how the State Museum of Prague, in 1989, agreed to secretly loan 24 original drawings created by these children, to the U.S. Holocaust Museum. From these works, this book,
I Never Saw Another Butterfly, emerged. Following, is a moving Foreword written by Chaim Potok.
Yet it is the words and drawings of the children that take your breath away. Long gone, still they bear witness. This book is a “must have” in every home, applicable not only to the atrocities of one period in time, but of atrocities committed and continuing even today. It is the perfect starting place for understanding, which is the first step in preventing further such horrors.