Today we visited the former Hapsburg fortress of Terezin, which was also used by the Nazis during WW2 as a intermediate point between the town ghettos and the concentration camps. It was a very heavy morning, we toured around the places where the atrocities of the Nazi’s were committed. It was and still is difficult to put to words how harshly the men, women, and children were treated. Near the end of the Terezin tour, we toured a museum with art that had been created within the Jewish ghetto in Terezin, predominantly by young people. This art depicted the cruelty which was going on before and during WW2. The art, whether it be paintings, music, or literature, also at times depicted rare moments of community. This art, of all forms, seemed to give hope, and it certainly showcased how strong these people were, to produce this form of art during such difficult times.
After the tour of Terezin, we spent time at the Prague Maker Faire, this was a very exciting event. After leaving Terezin, I was left thinking about the outstanding circumstances that those in the ghetto had to overcome to create the art they did, and once at the Maker Faire, I was given a large sense of hope for the future, given how many children there were interested in how to create things. There were more children there than adults, and this was not a children’s event, it was showcasing some high level engineering, but the children were the most excited to be there. For me this was a hopeful end to the day, which also tied back to Terezin, that creation of any art, or engineering can give us some hope.
Swanson School of Engineering 