Today, we visited the Terezin Fortress. This visit consisted of both the small fortress and the large, or main, fortress. The fortress was constructed at the order of Joseph II in the late 1700’s in order to defend the Habsburg Empire from the Prussian invaders. However, during WWII, the small fortress was repurposed by the Nazi Gestapo and used as a prison for violators of the Nazi law in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, the main fortress was used as a concentration camp. The Terezin concentration camp was not considered an extermination camp despite the fact that many detainees did pass away there (out of the approximate 18,000 exported from Terezin, only around 3,000 survived). An unfathomable statistic.
During this experience, we saw the locations where unimaginable events took place. Hundreds of solitary confinement cells for the isolation of people fighting for human rights that should be guaranteed without question. A multitude of housing barracks meant to hold 200 people that realistically housed 500 to 600 people. A swimming pool for the enjoyment of Nazi officials’ families while they stayed within the concentration camp. The dehumanization that was in process during WWII still rings through the empty streets of Terezin to this day.
Despite the constant dehumanization and poor conditions that the prisoners underwent, there was still a light that shined through. Something that will always inspire me is the reliance that the prisoners placed on God or belief in general. Regardless of the physical hardships placed on the prisoners’ bodies, their minds were able to persevere and feed the body with the food of faith. Above, I have included an image of a secret worship place located in the main fortress of Terezin. Clearly, the Nazi’s would not have approved of such a place, but the Jews risked their lives to do what they believed to be right and worship God. The Nazi’s tried their hardest to strip the identity of the Jews away, but no matter how hard they tried, true faith could not be extinguished. As a religious person, this inspires me to follow my faith no matter the hardships that come my way, for the Jews at Terezin and thousands of other camps persevered through the most severe conditions known to man.
I appreciate Jana for providing so much information and giving us such a thorough tour of Terezin.
Swanson School of Engineering 