By staff
Title: Holocaust-Related Art, 1942-1989
Predominant Dates:1933 --1945
ID: RG-14/RG-14
Primary Creator: Pieck, Henri
Other Creators: A. Gedis, Ben-Itzhac, Liana, Haas, Leo (1901-1983), Leopold Lewicki (1906-1973), Leskly, Eli (1911-2004), Margaret Singer (1921-2019), Müller, Moritz (1887-1944), Zielezinski, George
Extent: 0.0
Arrangement:
The arrangement scheme for the record group was imposed during processing in the absence of an original order. Materials are arranged by subject/creator, then by identifier, as assigned by the processor.
Record group is comprised of six collections: 1. Lev Haas collection; 2. Henri Pieck collection; 3. George Zielezinski collection; 4. Eli Leskly collection; 5. Moritz Mueller collection; 6. Collection of Polish artwork on Nazi camp life.
Subjects: day-to-day life in ghettos, day-to-day life in Nazi concentration camps, Haas, Leo, Holocaust-related art, Lichtblau, Erich, Mueller, Moritz, Pieck, Henri, Postwar recollections of the Holocaust, Zielezinski, George
This record group is comprised of various artworks including paintings, sculpture, metal-forms, and combined compositions. The works in this record group reflect the Holocaust through the artists’ lenses. A number of artworks commemorate the Holocaust in general, while some are dedicated to specific Holocaust-related events and landmarks.
Materials within this record group include lithographs, original sketches in pen on paper, placards, postwar prints, framed artworks of the modern period. Some of the artwork is digitized.
day-to-day life in ghettos
day-to-day life in Nazi concentration camps
Haas, Leo
Holocaust-related art
Lichtblau, Erich
Mueller, Moritz
Pieck, Henri
Postwar recollections of the Holocaust
Zielezinski, George
Repository: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Access Restrictions: No restrictions
Use Restrictions:
Copyrighted materials, credits to and references to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust are required
Digital copies might be available upon request
Preferred Citation: RG-14, Holocaust-Related Art. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Archive.
Processing Information: Materials are primarily described using the local descriptive standards of the LA Museum of the Holocaust.
Nazi racial laws determined who was a Jew and who was an Aryan. Having two Jewish-born grandparents would be enough to be classified as Jewish, even if the family had been Christian for two generations.
The large text on the painting says, " Ghettosiert (ghettoized, or confined to the ghetto). Baptized Jews are coming. Baptized Jews." Illustrated here are a priest, a nun, two women in folk costumes, and a man in typical Austrian lederhosen, all with yellow Jewish stars for faces. Most wear a cross as well.
The word Dalles is German for extreme poverty. In spite of the terrible privation, most inmates tried to emulate normal life and mark holidays or birthdays. Here Lichtblau-Leskly presents such an occasion. In the center of the white tablecloth is the Dalles, or "destitution," cake. Bending over the cake are two women sharing a recipe. Buchten are the small rations of baked dough that were occasionally distributed in the ghetto.
The exchange of recipes was a hobby in whcih many inmates indulged. Others often talked about past culinary preferences. Food was a conversational pastime, and many loved to talk about their favorite delicacies, describing some delectable treats in great detail.
Many Mischlinge, or children of mixed heritage, were acculturated to Christian customs and were often resentful and unhappy about being percieved as Jews.
The drawing shows sleeping children, and Saint Nicholas admonishing the somewhat startled Easter bunny carrying basket full of Easter eggs, "Dear Mr. Easter Bunny, When you visit the children of Terezin, don't forget to wear the Yellow Star."
The "Law for the protection of German Blood and Honor" (known as the Nuremberg Laws) determined that children born from the Jewish-gentiel marriages were Jewish. On September 15, 1935, Nazi Germany passed restrictive anti- Jewish legislation defining who was a Jew. These laws denied citizenship to Jews and forbade intermarriaged. The laws were expanded to Nazi-occupied countries and territories, and their implementation was a matter of life and death to individuals. With this work Lichtblau-Leskly emphasized simple truth, that children are still children. They all expect holiday gifts, especially if they were used to them before the war, no matter what the denomination of their parents.
This postwar watercolor contains all of its original captions relating to the three-point Zionist doctorine. Attached to the drawing is a portrait sketch with various inscriptions indicating the person's name in Czech and in Hebrew transliteration. He is identified as "Comrade Kurt Kartacek, a Hebrew teacher in the Terezin ghetto."
According to Lichtblau- Leskly, the Halutz (Pioneer) must observe three very important points that will help him hold his own and maintain equilibrium. These are to learn Hebrew, to visit the sick, and to celebrate Oneg Shabbat. in the background is an image of the dream of all Zionists: a vision of the Holy Land. The Halutz was never to lose sight of his return to Zion.
Jews from many European countries were incarcerated in Theresienstadt . Member of the Zionist movement were trained in leadership and organization of communal life. They were supposed to set an example for the rest of the inmates. Many lived together in rooms called Beit Halutz (for men) and Beit Halutzoth (for women). They were expected to live up to the high standards of Zionist ethics. The first wave of Jews in Theresienstadt was predominantly comprised of prior member of the Zionist movement in Prague.
'Palanda" is a famous Czech restaurant. In Erich Libchtblau- Leskly's room there was an empty top bunk that was enclosed by some planks and sheets so it afforded some seclusion. many couples took great risks in arranging some private time with their beloved. Lichtblau-Leskly recalled that in some rooms where a "palanda" was built, a schedule had been set up for such visitation.
There were few moments in an inmate's life that infused him or her with hope or joy, and one of those was spending private time with the special, significant person in his or her life. Therefore these moments were cherished.
It was official ghetto policy that young people and others able to work should recieve better rations than old or sick inmates. Not surprisingly, the young girl in this picture is in better shape than her older companions.
Most of the older inmates could not work. Some were assigned to indoor cleaning tasks and had no access to extra rations. Their condition, therefore, as well as that of the sick people in the ghetto, was pitiful and they deteriorated very rapidly.
A wool sweater fro half a loaf of bread is what the elderly inmate is seeking. Often the only things the elderly could use to barter for food were the clothes they still owned.
A group of well-dressed, middle-class Europeans, who turn out to be Jews from Denmark, arrive in Theresienstadt. They are met by a Jewish transport aid from the Hilfsdienst (Aid Service). in contrast to this group, an Eastern European female inmate, wearing a red polka-dot headscarf, exhibits a curious look.
Lichtblau-Leskly depicts the unusual scene of arrival of the Danish Jews, who are well dressed, do not wear yellow Jewish stars, and carry valises.
The text reads, "Arrival of Jews from Denmark to Terezinbad [Terezin Spa]."
Posted on the wall is a sign written in rhyming German: "Nach dem Kacken, vor dem Essen- Handewaschen nicht vergessen!" (After defecating, before eating- don't forget handwashing).
Latrines in the Theresienstadt served more than one purpose. Beyong the self-evident one, the place served as an unofficial information service center where men exchanged- in this one, unsupervised, safe place- the latest Bonkes (rumors) on the war's progress. Latrines were also a place where inmates could finalize some barter or other illicit transaction.
The text on the painting reads: "The Bonke: Latest news from the frontlines from Latrine B IV." A man at the left is on duty to make sure that all men leaving the room soak their hands in a bowl of chlorinated water. The sign reminding the men to wash their hands before leaving is an ironic exhortation in a place where water was so hard to come by.
In 1942 the SS headquarters decided to build a railway extension from Bohusovice directly to Theresienstadt, right up to the very edge of the ghetto. Until then the arriving inmates had to march the 2.8 km on foot, dragging their bundles, an offensive sight on the road. Moreover dispatching the future deportation from the ghetto to the East would be much simpler if the trains could transit straight from the ghetto. A commando of laborers was ordered to work on Bahnbau (railway construction). The first train to use the railway extension arrived in June 1943.
The painting shows two laborers and a guard. The workers use picks and wheelbarrow, slugging it o ut in a snowfall to build the rail line.
Cooks were good catches in the ghetto for obvious reasons. This bride is assigned to a cleaning detail and is apparently a good match for the cook.
The cook and the charwoman are an excellent match in the ghetto, "because love goes through the stomach!" as the words on this painting declare.
Men who worked as cooks or bakers were very desirable partners in the ghetto, where hunger rules supreme. Why Lichtblau-Leskly percieved the cleaning woman as an ideal catch is not quite as obvious.
The bride and groom stand under the chuppah, about to be married. Weddings were possible in Theresienstadt, where several rabbi-inmates were willing to officiate at those ceremonies that were permitted by the Nazi commandant.
Some couples married under the false promise that married couples about to be deported would be allowed to stay together on arriving in the East. It goes without saying that this was a blatnat lie; most did not even die together.
In 1942 the number of deaths averaged about 4,000 persons a month. In 1943 the mortality rates in the ghetto began to rise as a result of starvation or malnutrition, lack of hygiene or medical help, as well as subhuman living conditions.
The picture shows nurses making up beds. One attendant supports an old woman who is trying to walk. Every morning the corpses were collected and thrown on a hearse, helter-skelter, and dragged to the crematorium. The inmates were required to pull the carts, substituting for beasts of burden.
The lack of privacy in the ghetto was such that many tried to build cubbyholes, or tiny nooks under the roof in an attic or some corner- whatever spot might lend itself to hammering a few planks together to allow for some privacy, a place to be alone. Such a precious, miniature, private spot made with boarded partitions was called a Kumbal.
Kumbals were hammered together with found planks and nails, often covered with blankets or sheets. These were hewn in attics, some corners, or even larger closets. Though tiny in size, Kumbals were a great treasure, coveted and envied, owned by only a chosen few.
Despite the ever-changing conditions in Theresienstadt, most inmates tried to improve their lot by upgrading the tiny spaces allotted to them. Still, everything the remained fluid, always shifting, in a continuous state of flux.
Widespread hunger gave an edge to the cooks and bakers at all times, They were percieved as the unofficial aristocracy of the ghetto. There was no service in the ghetto that they could not access with greater ease. Food was the currency that removed many obstacles that others had a hard time surmounting.
The painting shows a line-up of patients waiting to be seen by a physician, who gives preference to a cook. Indeed, food was a very powerful commodity in the ghetto, one that made the diffrence between life and death.
Two carts meet: one pulled by a pair of horses, the other pulled by a Jew.
On the right, an Aryan carriage is pulled by a pair of horses, and on the left a Jewish man pulls a cart himself. The gentile man smokes a pipe, a luxury a Jew could not even dream of.
In Theresienstadt everything that had to be moved was dragged by men and loaded onto hearses, which had previously been used for burial services in Jewish communites across the country.
In the painting are the leafless trees that are so often present in Lichtblau- Leskly's desolate depictions of the scenery.
In the cloud of smoke to the right in this picture, the text reads, " Yes, a Kumbalist (a man with a cubbyhole) is better off!"
In this painting one such lucky Kumbalist has climbed up the ladder and is enjoying the privacy of his Kumbal. In the background are the fortress walls and ghetto ramparts.
Children learned from their father to "schleussen, or take things from the common property. It was a survival tactic.
Much that the inmates brought with them to Theresienstadt was taken away from them immediately on arrival. Children saw their parents "organizing" and tried to do it themselves.
In camp, "organizing" was an important means for survival. It was percieved as existential necessity, while theft, defined as robbing another inmate, was rejected and seen as a profoundly immoral deed.
The dominant feature of this painting is the word Ghettosiert ("ghettoized," or confined to the ghetto), a word that was stamped into the identity card of every Jew deported to Theresiendstadt. It signaled a point of no return, although unrealized for the time being. When deportation to the East became almost routine in ghetto life, many inmates percieved it as the only safe haven.
Theresienstadt was established as a transit camp. The Nazis eventually found other roles for it as well: as Jewish resettlement area; a "model ghetto" and false-front for the inspection of the International Red Cross Committee; and, at war's end, the destination for the death marches.
The painting shows a wall of the fortress looming in the background, and the closed gate displays a swastika and a yellow Jewish star. The swastika symbolizes the perpetrator, while the six-pointed star behind it represents the victims of their terror. Outside the gate, on the side of freedom, the Czech coat of arms remains as a symbol of the liberty and rights that were lost to those who passed through the gate. In this later edition the author placed his signature acronym, eli, immediately above the coat of arms.
In this picture, a tall young man, wearing an armband with the words 'Transport Hilfe' (Transport Aid), assists an elderly woman with several pieces of luggage for her transport to the East.
Some young men were assignmed to help the elderly who were about to be deported to the East. It was their duty to take care of the luggage, as the old folks had the tendency to take everything with them, and to assist them in boarding the train. Older people in Theresienstadt often hoarded every scrap of paper and tiny piece of useless rag, aware that they could not buy anything, and everything might come in handy at some point. Most of the luggage was not loaded onto the train but left on the platform.
On November 11, 1943, the SS administration unexpectedly ordered a "census count" of the ghetto population. All forty thousand ghetto inhabitants were forced to stay outside the camp on the former army drill grounds from the early morning to the late afternoon. Lichtblau-Leskly recalls that the Jewish Council attempted to conduct the head count in as orderly a manner as possible, allowing children and elderly people to pass the census first.
On the discovery of some discrepancies in the numbers of prisoners in the ghetto, the Nazis ordered a special roll call. All inmates stood in tight rows for an entire day in an open field while the count was carried out by three different groups of officials. The results always differed. Standing all day in the Bohusovice lowlands in a cold drizzle and blowing wind exacted a heavy toll among the inmates. Many died, right then and there, and others returned ill to their barracks. The final count had to be repeated inside the camp, for not one of the counts taken in the Bohusovice basin was identical to the other.
Although the soup was nothing more than salty lentils in dusty water, typhoid-stricken inmates often exchanged their bread rations for it.
The almost daily staple was the so-caleld lentil soup, which was the only water into whcih some powdery synthetic was dissolved. Sick people, however, found it easier to swallow and retain the watery soup than the bread. At the best of times the bread rations was barely edible, being made out of some strange, moldy saw-dustlike flour. The woman in the painting tries to barter with passers-by, asking, "Sir, do you want to trade some soup?"
Room 305 in Beit Halutzoth (Pioneer House), officially the Hamburg barracks for women, was home for Elsa Lichtblau- Lekly and twenty-five other Jewish women.
The Hamburg barracks housed women exclusively. Among the inmates was Elsa Lichtblau-Leskly, Eich's wife, who shared the room with twenty-five other women. All were at one time members of the Zionist movement, whose dream it was to move to Palestine right after liberation.
The halls were overcrowded, and the three-tier bunks were always jammed. Clothing was hung on nails driven into the wooden bunks, and every nooks and cranny was used to ease the cramming.
The Halutzoth marked every Friday evening, observing the arrival of Sabbath with Oneg Shabbat. The women would sing Hebrew songs and learn to speak Hebrew. The Halutzoth were ardent Zionists; their dream of settling in Palestine gave them purpose and strength to carry on.
On January 21, 1944, a group of Jewish deportees was transferred to Theresienstadt from Westerbork transit camp in Holland. It is not clear if these deportees were Dutch Jews or if they were deported from other European countries through Westerbork. Two Jewish policemen are seen in the foreground of this picture. They wear goggles over their military caps. Apparently, these guards came with the transport.
The men of the Westerbork 'Ordnungsdienst' unit wore military caps and goggles. in most transit camps the Germans formed some units that were supposed to supervise order. The transit camp in Westerbork was no exception.
The Nazis called work in the ghetto "free-time activity." In reality, everything aside from work was free-time activity. The level of performing arts in Terezin was extremely high, as many prominent Jewish musicians, artists, writers, and academicians ended up in Theresienstadt.
The actor in this picture says, "In Theresienstadt ghetto, free time is work, but everything else is free time."
If anyone obtained a cigarette, he was obliged to share it with many others. A single cigarette was being passed from mouth to mouth, puff after puff.
Cigarettes were unavailable to inmates. Many smokers desperate to soothe their craving exchanged bread or whatever else they had for a cigarette. A man who got hold of a cigarette was expected to share it with the fellow's inmates.
The cigarette went from mouth to mouth, and in Czech they demanded, "Dej mi sluka" (Give me a puff). Lichblau- Leskly's painting shows a few men keenly waiting their turn for the smoke they crave so badly. All whisper their request hungrily as the cigarette goes from mouth to mouth. The yellow Jewish star with the inscription Jude often shows up in Lichtblau-Leskly's work to remind us of the times in which this work was first made.
Cooking in the women's Zionist barracks during the lunch break.
Cooking or warming one's cold soup depended on the change of finding kindling, wood, or some coal for a fire. In one corner of Room 305 was a small stove, surrounded by many women , some trying to cook, others just hoping to warm up. Some inmates smuggled in electrical cookers, but those had to be used with great deal of caution, as there was always the risk getting caught and suffering harsh punishment.
In this sketch, Lichtblau-Leskly satirizes the official motto of the Economic Department: "We take care of it all!"
The Economic Department was notorious for its corruption, especially because food-supply distribution was under its supervision.
in the center, superimposed on the image, is a listing of the functionally different organizations that acted in the ghetto under the aegis of the German and Jewish administration: criminal police (KRI-PO), economic police (WI-PO), Zelenka groups (stage designers and producers), and kitchen guards (KU-WA). Across the center, repeating the word Alle (all) in red at the top, is a summary "Alle slojssen" (All organize, or steal).
"Nocni klid" means "night silence," in Czech.
The Halutzim (Pioneers), members of the Zionist movement, succeeded in living mostly together in room 73A, the attic quarters in Hannover barracks. The room is lit by a single lightbulb and furnished with a table and a bench. Dr. Grunbaum from Moravia plays a game of chess with a fellow inmate, unseen except for the man's left hand, about to make a move. An inmate resting in the third-tier bunk utters the remark, "Nightly rest." The inmates found little nightly repose, for the barracks were vermin-fested, and their bites deprived the men of much-needed sleep.
Washing was possible only during the hours set by the ghetto administration.
Sign on the door: Waschzeiten (washing hours)> The sign indicates three different times when inmates can use the shower.
The Theresienstadt ghetto was unable to accommodate the high numbers of inmates, who suffered with all kind of shortages, water being one. The Sudetan barracks were totally incapable of housing the thousands of men who were kept there, and therefore a measure to control the problem was introduced: restrictive times for the inmates' use of water.
A guard shuts the door tightly after one group is permitted in. The man has an armband marked with large lettters T.A. (most likely Technische Abteilung, Technical Department). Inside the shower room a sole showerhead dribbles a few drops of water while several inmates crowd around trying to wash.
Ghetto rations differed in relation to the categories of inmate. The rules and provisions introduced by the head of the Jewish Council, Jakob Edelstein, in May 1942 designated the following groups: Group S, heavy-duty laborers, entitled to the biggest rations; Group K, the aged and infirm; and Group N, administrative officials and those assigned to ordinary work. Nutrition for Group K was of the lowest level.
Some categories of work were designated as hard labor. Workers assigned to those sections were entitled to food supplements. These usually consisted of one additional portion of soup. Lichtblau-Lekly suggests that the women who distributed the extra rations used mini-spoons. This surely was not the case, but to starving inmates even a regular portion seemed miniscule, as all rations were totally inadequate.
This sketch depicts the rare event of a few inmates who recieved parcels from the outside world.
"Permission stamp for 10kg Parcels," reads the poster. In smaller lettering we learn that the packages are "from friends and relatives," and in even smaller script it says that "only few ever recieved any." On the right side of the painting is such a stamp that reads "Theresienstadt."
Regular ghetto barracks often had three levels of bunks. In search of privacy, everyone tried to get some boards for building Kumbal good for one or two persons.
In the ghetto barracks there was not a chance of finding a spot for even a modicum of privacy. This painting shows an inmate "organizing" some planks for building a Kumbal, or cubbyhole. The Czech gendarme shows benevolence by turning his back to the action, and the ghetto guard remains passive. A small, enclosed space for one or two persons was one of the greatest luxuries, a privilege of only a chosen few.
The words on this painting are a direct quote from Dr. Karl Loewenstein, who insisted that being saved from deportation to Poland, or to the East, did not come as a free gift; it was, according to him, a privilege that had to be earned by devoted performance of duty. In the sketch we see a lonely ghetto guard, wrapped up in warm clothing, on duty on the ramparts of the fort.
In spite of Lowenstein's relenteless efforts to create a perfect security unit, some of the ghetto guards were caught bartering with the Czech gendarmes, who were eager to enrich themselves by putting their hands on some of the jewelry and hard currency smuggled in by inmates. Even before the Ghetto Guard units were dissolved, some guards were punished for assorted failings and transported to the East.
This detached image of a train was initialy part of the larger work below, which illustrates the Charles Bridge in the city of Prague. "Prague ist 'judenrein" (Prague is cleansed of Jews), screams the caption. Above the horizon, the slogan "Prague is Our Zion" testifies to the feelings of many Czech Jews who were greatly assimilated, ardent Czech patriots.
The long train churning its way to an unknown destination symbolizes the deportation of Jews, the last journey to the Final Solution. Every wheel of the train is marked with a yellow Jewish star, indicating that its unwilling passengers are Jews. the silhouette of Prague Castle is discernable in the background, the fading symbol of a lost home left behind.
The man loses weight because of malnutrition in the ghetto, the woman's face is bloated also because of ghetto conditions; her glands do not function properly.
On the left is the image of a healthy man juxtaposed on the right with an image of the same man looking much thinner and run down. Beneath him is the face of a healthy young woman that stares at her own much-changed, ballooned visage.
These differences in body changes were due to the fact that almost all women stopped their menstrual cycles immediately upon arrival at the camp. The hormonal changes caused many physical variations. At the outset most women became bloated, but with time and protracted starvation they too came to resemble emaciated skeletons. The abrupt hormonal dysfunction was blamed on malnutrition.
Ghetto banknotes featuring Moses and the Ten Commandments were official ghetto exchange receipts (Quittung), printed in Theresienstadt. The money- substitute notes in circulation were signed by Jakob Edelstein, the "Elder of the Jews", or Chairman of the Jewish Council. In appearance these receipts resembled banknotes. This so-called currency remained in circulation even after Edelstein's deportation to Auschwitz in December 1943.
In the painting, a new deportee, unfamiliar with the ghetto rules offers a tip to an experienced ghetto inhabitant with worthless "Moses kronen" (ghetto money) for the clothes he received after delousing.
As part of the hoax of Theresienstadt being a civilized town, the Germans decided in 1942 to open a ghetto bank and issue specific currency in several denominations. The money was of no value, and nothing could have been thought for the camp's tender, but it served the putpose of impressing the visiting Red Cross inspectors.
On one side of the bills was a design of Moses holding the tablets of the Decalogue. On the other side was a printed signature of the "Elder of the Jews," Jakob Edelstein. The notes were dated January 1943 but did not go into circulation until May 1943, It was another element in Nazi propaganda. Some of these ghetto notes still can be found.
Even in the ghetto, the idea of stealing was unacceptablr to the mainly middleclass inmate population. Therefore we did not steal: we schleusst, or "organized" ( a ghetto euphemism for the appropriation, or 'channeling," of common property.) The word schleussen probably derives from Schleusse, which means, in the true sense of the word, a sluice, channel, or gate lock. The barracks building that served as the first triage station of newly arrived inmates was also called Schleusse. There most of our possessions were taken away from us, so perhaps the root of the term schleusst stems from that.
Internally taking some items from shared property, such as apples from the few apple trees that grew in the ghetto, was perceived as "organizing." Stealing, which was absolutely unacceptable, was the pilfering of another inmate's food or vital possessions.
The penalty for taking anything against ghetto regulations was deportation to the East.
Some trifling violations of ghetto rules were punished by the ghetto court, which determined the length of confinement to the ghetto jail. After serving their sentences, the offenders (marked with the so-called Weisung) were usually sent to the East and most often liquidated there. Some were sent to the Little Fortress at Theresienstadt that no Jewish inmate survived. Inmates caught stealing as much as an apple from common property were routinely punished by enrollment in the next transport. Behind the man pinching an apple, we see a transport train on its way to the East.
Posted on the wall is a sign written in rhyming German: "Nach dem Kacken, vor dem Essen- Handewaschen nicht vergessen!!"(After defecating, before eating- don't forget handwashing.)
Latrines in Theresienstadt served more than one purpose. Beyond the self-evident one, the place served as an unofficial information service center where men exchanged- in this one, unsupervised, safe place- the latest Bonkes (rumors) on the war's progress. Latrines were also the place where inmates could finalize some barter or other illicit transaction.
The text on the painting reads: "The Bonke: Latest news from the frontlines from Latrine B IV." A man at the left is on duty to make sure that all men leaving the room soak their hands in a bowl of chlorinated water. The sign reminding the men to wash their hands before leaving is an ironic exhortation in a place where water was so hard to come by.
The Zimmeraelteste (room elder) was a person in charge of a room, responsible for the distribution of bread and the occasional spoonful of sugar. More often than not they would pinch from the loaves they were doling out among the inmates, cutting a larger portion for themselves than they were entitled to.
In this picture, an inmate stashes away some bread, while nearby a few loaves are ready to be divided into the meager rations. Skimming another inmate's allotment of food was considered a crime of theft, for reducing an inmate's portion, which was already pathetically inadequate, directly lessened that person's chance for survival.
A female laborer carries wildflowers under her coat into the ghetto.
A young woman whose coat is marked with a yellow star and is identified by the inscription 'Landwirtschaft' as an agricultural worker, hides some flowers, intent on smuggling them into the ghetto. The plots in which vegetables and fruits were grown on the ramparts outside of the ghetto. The produce was grown for the use of the SS men. Ghetto inmates assigned to this commando were fortunate because they had a good chance of "organizing" some vegetables by hiding them under their clothes. It was forbidden, the inmates did just that. The dreary drabness of the ghetto, where the predominating shades were brown or gray, was relieved by some green leaves or, better yet, a flower.
When two individuals inthe ghetto do something similar, it is not necessarily the same thing. Here a figure depicted as a mirror image of himself is engaged in "Schleusst" (organizing or literally channeling) on the left, while performing "Stiehlt," or stealing from a colleague on the right.
This painting shows two identical inmates ( or two aspects of the same person, perhaps), "organizing" on one side, by taking potatoes from a large common heap, juxtaposed with the figure on the other side, who steals food from a fellow inmate's bowl. The person subject to the stealing in this picture is an elderly man, nearly blind and leaning on a cane, a figure who shows up in many of the artist's pictures as an observer or narrator.
This poem was written by Grete Schulhoff, one of Elsa Lichtblau-Leskly's roommates in beth Halutzoth (Hamburg barracks) at Theresienstadt. Erich Lichtblau-Leskly included the 1942 transcript in his sketchbook. He re-created it decades later during his Israeli period.
The title "Sylvester" reders to Saint Sylvester's Day, the date in the Catholic and Protestant calendars, especially in German-speaking countries, of the last day of the year and the eve of the New Year. The origin and name of this traditional feast day is associated with Pope Sylvester I (papacy, 314-335 C.E.), who is portrayed in church tradition as slaying a dragon and resurrecting its vctims. The last verse of the poem contains a plea that one day in the next year (1943) the Jews, led by God, would return to Prague:
Among the coming 365 days
There will surely be the one
That Jewish history will say:
This month, this day
Baruch Hashem [praise God] has led Jews to Prague.
Yellow Jewish stars and the Czechoslovakian flag complement the narrative.
Paratypphoid- or "Terezinka"- was a common disease in the ghetto. Thousands of Jews suffered from severe diarrhea.
Terezinka was a form of paratyphoid disease endemic to the ghetto. Spread by a bacterium, it was so omnipresent that the symptoms were named after the ghetto. This condition further weakened the inmates, who were alerady malnourished and had a hard time coping with repeated bouts of severe diarrhea.
Many inmates could not run fast enough to reach the latrines marked "for men", with a horrified expression on his face for fear of being unable to make it in time.
With only one lightbulb per room, inmates installed illegal temporary electrical lines to be able to read in the upper bunks.
The one naked bulb suspended high from the ceiling kept the room in semidarkness. In this image, the guard is checking for illegal light lines, a trangression subject to punishment. Like all else in the ghetto, skirting the rules was risky. the sudden "light controls," or inspections, were unpredictable, and if an illegal installation was found, the violator was severely punished (likely to be enrolled in the next transport to eh East).
In the mornings, members of the Ghetto Guard salute their commander, Dr. Karl Lowenstein.
An unarmed unit, the Ghettowache (Ghetto Guards) was formed on December 1941. Their mandate was to maintain order within the Ghetto. On August 1943, perhaps concerned about a possible uprising by this well-trained unit, the Nazis dissolved the Ghetto Guards and its members were included in the first transport to the East. It is unknown if Lowenstein survived the war.
On the stage an older man and woman dance and sing "Dear little Ghetto girl, give me some love." The gate on the left side carried the inscription Krankenhaus Hohenelbe (Hospital Hohenelbe), contrast to the gaeity onstage.
The plot of the operetta would have had a happy ending: a ghetto guardsman falls in love with lovely girl, and his love is reciprocated. Lichtblau-Leskly's sketch contradicts this happy outcome, however, by showing the actors as a couple in their later years, dancing in front of a hospital entrance.
The parody in three acts reveals a macabre sense of humor, as it was written after the disbandment of the Ghettowache (Ghetto Guards), most of whose members were deported to the East.
A member of the cleaning crew is scouring the sidewalk. Her pail is marked Putzkollene, or cleaning detail. Behind a small window, an elderly couple peer sadly at the beautified ghetto to which they are not allowed to stroll, as they have been put under house arrest. The Nazis were trying to show their empathy for the aged by placing them in the ground-level rooms- even furnished for the day- that were highly visible to the passing motorcase of the Red Cross visitors.
This picture is part Lichtblau-Leskly's Red Cross series, which shows the many improvements in the ghetto that were all done in preparation for the anxiously awaited visit of the International Red Cross Commission.
The advertisement in the window says: "Halte den Mund und Deine Zanne gesund." This sign perhaps may convey a two-fold message: "Keep your mouth and teeth healthy" or "Keep the mouth shut and your teeth healthy." Given the fact that the passer-by covers his mouth, showing a confused look, the artist may well be intending to convey the second meaning.
The perfect denture is accompanied by a toothbrush and toothpaste- commondoties that were never available in he ghetto. A passing ghetto inmate covers his probably imperfect set of teeth with the palm of his hand, or he is likely suggesting that he must keep his mouth shut (remain mum).
The inscription at the top in small print reveals that the dining halls in the barracks are being "shown to the gentlemen of the Red Cross", which is why the ghetto is being "beautified."
The temporary opening of a dining room for the elderly was another feauture staged for the Red Cross visitors. It was accesible only to seniors whose appearance did not disclose their deprivation. The Germans ordered several younger inmates to function as waiters. All this was a well-stages act. It was yet another attempt to show utmost sensitivity to the aged.
Tables were covered with white tablecloths and decorated with cut flowers. The charade was a complete success.
The pastry bakers prepared the pastries for the German officers. Note that even the cooks and bakers had to wear the yellow Jewish star patch stitched on their clothes at all times. With the exception of the Danish Jews, this was a compulsory order for all i nmates.
The baker drops some loaves of bread; the cook sits on a large cauldron, holding a wooden spoon; and the pastry baker holds several baked buns. Amid the starving multitudes, those who handled food were perceived to be the true aristrocrats.
Some Jews employed by the Jewish community in Prague, particularly those who worked as deportation organizers, were accused of collaboration with the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei) and were held in contempt. These individuals were deported to Theresienstadt last, shortening their detention time. Their names were never forgotten, however, as they were deeply resented. The caption tells us that the transport dispatcher Mandler is being ghettoized and is getting thrashed by his fellow ghetto inmates.
The beaten dispatcher is accompanied by a ghetto guard, who can provide little help. The ghetto police were comprised entirely of Jewish prisoners, who were unarmed and responsible only for discipline and order in the overcrowded camp.
"Enrolled in the transport to the East, only one hour before departure," read the despondent words on this placard, announcing a deportation. There was seldom enough time to pack the few possessions one had and say good-bye to those being left behind. The distraught fellow in this painting has only one hour to prepare. The summons to join a transport was the most dreaded of orders, one that sooner or later hit most of the inmates.
Though initially the Jews did not believe the rumors of mass gassing and wholesale extermination taking place in the East, all inmates feared the order to report for a transport.
A view from the third floow of the Hannover barracks toward the nearby Bohemian city of Bohusovice offered a glimpse of the town's church spire behind the trees in the backgroun.
The Bohusovice church spire is clearly visible in the background of this revised version. In the foreground are Theresienstadt's bastions and casemates. The only inmates of Hannover barracks were men. On of the ghetto's kitchens was located there.
The sight is bleak. It is probably winter, as the trees surrounding the ramparts are bare, stripped of their leaves, and as gloomy as the life of the inmates within the former fortress town that the Nazis converted into a wartime ghetto.
Sometimes scarlet fever came at the right time. Instead of being deported, one would be removed from the transport and taken to one of the medical wards. Exclusions of critically ill people from transports to the East may have been provisioned by the ghetto's regulations. Chances of recovery were always slim, but for the time being an imminent end was postponed.
The Theresienstadt ghetto was constantly ravaged by epidemics, scarlet fever being one of them. The Germans, fearful of contagious diseases, ordered inmates who contracted scarlet fever be placed in an isolation ward for six weeks. If the convincing symptoms cropped up at the appropriate time, the deportation order was revoked.
Here two orderlies carry a stretcher with a "lucky guy" who was taken off the transport to the East. His belongings were most likely tossed onto the train, but the fortunate patient's life was saved, for the time being, by the then-most-welcome bacterium.
The fortunate scarlet-fever victim is accompanied by the envious glances of less-forunate deportees, burdened by their backpacks, bundles ready for the journey into the Eastern "death camps."
