jul 23, 1943 - Secret School

Description:

Starting on July 27th, 1942, Jewish education was forbidden throughout the German Reich. Nazi ideology stated, "Every educated person is a future enemy. They can have religion as a means of diversion. As for food they don't get more than is absolutely necessary."

The self-governing body of Jewish inmates within Theresienstadt secretly worked to give these children the best education they could, under the circumstances.

"transports came and went nearly all the time. And that's how it was with the teachers too: they came and went. But despite this, we learned a lot. We learned things we would never have been able to learn outside the Ghetto...we learned in secret."
- Handa Drori, née Pollak

"...teaching was forbidden. But I know that we had high-calibre teachers, better than we had ever had at a normal Czech primary school...many of the teachers who taught us children were professors and artists."
-Hanka Weingarten, née Wertheimer

From the diary of Helga Pollak:
"Friday, 23 July 1943
A real problem for me in Theresienstadt is that I can't study. It's impossible to learn anything here. What we do here is not real learning. For me learning must go at a completely different pace and for that I borrow books from which I can learn something."

"Thursday, 28 October 1943
Wasn't it beautiful, moving? Professor Brumlik is a genius - I love the way she teaches. Although I did not experience the First World War, I was so moved by the way she described it that I felt I had experienced what she said myself.

This was my second beautiful 28th of October, the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Czechoslovakia from the Habsburgs. And soon there will be another 28th of October, no matter whether it is in January or May or any other month. And suddenly and surprisingly everything will be the way it was before. And when that day comes, we will all come back, we will be a free state again and throughout the Czechoslovak Republic people will sing: KDE DOMOV MŮJ - WHERE IS MY HOME."

Source: Brenner, Hannelore. Theresienstadt. The Girls of Room 28. Compendium 2017. Edition Room 28, an offshoot of Room 28 Projects, 2017.

Added to timeline:

Date: