Today was an eye-opening day visiting Terezin. My understanding of Czech resilience was definitely changed. Seeing the living conditions, memorials, and personal stories made me feel more real than ever before. It is one thing to learn about the history in school but to see the place where so much horror and hardship took place for so long is an entirely different feeling. I found it especially inspiring how the Czech’s and other Terezin prisoners continued you to use art, theatre, and music to persevere hope during the Holocaust. Specifically moving was the children’s Brundibár, which was performed many times by prisoners. The performance gave many hope and feelings of resilience due to its happy ending. This shows that even when everything was taken away from them, prisoners still fought to maintain their identity and hope instead of giving up which is truly inspiring.
Swanson School of Engineering 