Emotional Excursions

      The first weekend of March I turned 21 and our program visited Lidice and Terezin. Both days were extremely emotional and sad, but really good experiences.
      On Friday the Central European Studies program drove to Lidice. In 1941 Reinhard Heydrich became the Protektor of the Protektorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He immediately declared martial law and quickly turned the Czech government into his puppets. He was extremely brutal and played a large part in the thinking behind and creation of the 'final solution' to the 'Jewish problem'. Needless to say he wasn't the best guy in the world. Meanwhile Czech resistance was growing, especially abroad. Two Czech paratroopers were selected by the Czech provisional government and trained by the British to carry out a mission to illustrate that the Nazi regime and its leadership were not untouchable. They dropped down in the Czech Republic in 1942 and after several months of planning were finally ready. On May 27th 1942 the two men jumped in front of Heydrich's open convertible (the only Nazi leader cocky and dumb enough to drive without protection). One paratrooper pulled the trigger, but his gun malfunctioned and jammed up. The other paratrooper threw a grenade that hit the vehicle and exploded before the two men ran. Heydrich died in a hospital of blood poisoning a few days later. The two paratroopers along with a few other British trained resistance fighters holed up in the catacombs of a church before one of their fellow resisters betrayed them. The men were killed in the church two weeks after the assassination, but only after putting up a ferocious fight.

Window to the Catacombs

      Hitler arrested and killed hundreds of people after Heydrich's assassination. In the end, Hitler singled out the small town of Lidice and took his revenge on the Czech people. Every man over 16 was shot immediately, the women were all sent to concentration camps, and the children were gassed in trucks after being starved for a few days. The town was then burned and dynamited to teach the Czech Republic a lesson.
      The site of the town today is home to an extremely emotional museum and several memorials. Part of the museum was dedicated to the children of Lidice where a recording of children reading the last letters the children wrote to family members days before their death played. The children begged for food and clothing to be sent along with thanks and promises to return the favor. After the museum we walked to the children's memorial which was very well done, and the mass grave of the men.

Children's Memorial

      We ended the day talking to a woman who was sent from Lidice and survived in a labor camp only to find that her father had been killed along with the rest of her former home. Her story was exceptionally sad, but right when we had lost all hope in humanity she shared the story of how she met her husband (adorable) and all hope was restored.

Woman who Survived Lidice

      Sunday was even more difficult. I joined the Jewish Studies program to visit Terezin, which was a concentration camp used by the Nazis for propaganda. The small town is nearly empty today, and feels a lot like a movie set rather than a historical site or a town. We got a tour from a woman who lived in Terezin for 18 months before being sent to Auschwitz and eventually a labor camp before being liberated by the British. Her story was impossibly sadder than the story I heard on Friday. We were standing in the children's museum where we stopped in a room to hear some facts about the camp. Pictures of children who had lived in Lidice and died during the war played while she was taking, and mid sentence she stopped and said "oh there's my sister" and later again to say "and that's my cousin." Though the pauses didn't seem to phase her we were all shocked and overcome. At the end of her tour she told us more about her story. We found out she had come to Terezin with her entire family. Her grandmother was sent to Auschwitz almost immediately and her father died soon after in the camp. After 18 months she was sent with her sister, mother, and cousin to Auschwitz. Her sister and cousin were too young to qualify for a labor camp and her mother was too old. Though our guide was too young to be sent to a labor camp, a guard mistook a five for a nine on her papers. Thinking she was four years older than she was, he sent her to be chosen for labor camps. She told us she shouldn't have lived. I cannot imagine how it would feel to view your survival as a mistake while your entire family had perished. We visited the crematorium which just felt entirely creepy in every way. I got out of there as fast as I could.

Baraks in Terezin

Autopsy Table in the Crematorium

      We ate a surprisingly cheerful lunch before going to the Gestapo Prison. This site felt much more real than the actual concentration camp next door. Political prisoners, prostitutes, and others were held here along with Jews who had committed small crimes in the camp such as walking on the sidewalk or smoking a cigarette. The hardest moment was when our group of fifteen squeezed into a small room with only a hole in the wall about four inches by four inches large only to learn that about 60 Jewish prisoners would be held in the room, most suffocating to death from lack of air. Suddenly the room felt much more crowded as my lungs imagined the lack of air. Another interesting moment was a room filled with surprisingly nice sinks and mirrors. This room was created as part of a beautifying project meant to make the camp look much nicer for Red Cross inspectors. The tour for the inspection was planned down to the second to ensure the inspectors would see the great 'culture' and 'freedom' the Jews were given. The room with the sinks was supposed to be shown as a communal shaving area, but no plumbing was ever installed. The room was locked up never to be used.

Entrance to the Gestapo Prison

      The whole weekend was extremely emotional and a completely unique experience I will never forget. I'm extremely nervous to visit Auschwits in a few days after seeing Terezin, I can't imagine a more depressing place, and I'm not sure my emotions can handle it. It was also a bit strange to visit a concentration camp on my 21st birthday; the day was definitely not at all about me, and I honestly forgot it was my birthday. I do not regret going at all, who can say they had such an eye opening experience on one of their biggest birthdays?
      This past weekend I spent doing work almost every minute. I wrote a paper, studied for two tests, and prepared two presentations. I did take one break to go to the Sparta vs Jablonec game! It was so much fun and nothing like American sporting events. The entire crowd was totally engaged in every moment, chanting and jumping in unison. A smoke bomb went off at one point which was pretty cool and crazy. The food and beer were impossibly cheap; I guess I'm just used to insanely priced food and drinks at sporting events in the States. It was pretty funny watching, mostly because I couldn't yell like I usually do. I don't know enough Czech soccer terms to yell anything worthwhile. In fact, I yelled at the forwards to check at one point and quickly realized it must have sounded like I was yelling Czech which made no sense seeing as both of the teams were Czech. Overall it was amazing and I definitely want to learn more about a few of the players. I'm going to try to go to another game to buy a jersey and watch without a crowd of American students around me. It was one of my favorite experiences so far!

Enjoying a Beer at the Game!

      I'm leaving for our traveling seminar bright and early tomorrow. We're going to Krakow first, then Auschwits, then we'll drive back through the Czech Republic stopping in Brno, and ending in Vienna. I'll try to update my blog between each stop so I don't get too backed up (I know my posts are already too long for most of you, sorry about that). Until then, I can't wait to get on the road! =D

Na Zdraví
Patty