Thankfully this time around it all worked out and I want able to go. On the bus I overheard a woman talking about Living Environment and I went back to sit by her and she was from Long Island and a special education teacher who pushed in a LE class. We briefly chatted about it and it was nice once again to speak with Americans, and about a something we have in common. There was also another couple from New York and the husband's mother lives in Northbrook and their niece went to U of I. Small world yet again. I talked to these four people most of the time during this five hour tour. Once the bus got going, I actually fell asleep and before I knew it, we had reached Terezín. When we got there, there was a huge cemetery out front with tombstones of those that died there. Some had names and some just had numbers. There were just so many. So sad.
Once inside, I got a lot of information that I had no idea about this camp. I really learned a lot today. Terezín was originally a fortress but was established as a WWII Ghetto in November of 1941. It wasn't a killing concentration camp, but a prison and ghetto. 90% of its occupants were Czech people and by the end of war almost 32,000 people passed through there.
On the tour, we went through the administrative area first. This is where the prisoners went upon first arriving at Terezín. There they were given a uniform and number and colored triangle dependent on their reason for being there. There were obviously different colors for the different reasons for being there and as I assume most people know, Jews got the yellow Star of David (two yellow triangles overlapping).
After the administrative area, we went through the front gates that read "arebeit macht frei" which means "work will set you free." Obviously no matter how much these prisoners worked, they weren't going to be released. Beyond the front gates was the men's courtyard (the women's was on the other side). There was Block A and Block B with 17 cells and solitary. In each block were three story wooden bunk beds that were supposed to sleep 30-40 people but actually ended up holding like 100 due to overcrowding. There was one toilet, one sink and a table and benches to eat in each bunk. Meals for breakfast were imitation coffee and slice of bread. Lunch and dinner was a soup. That was when the prisoners actually got three meals, which wasn't the case all the time, especially at the end. Workers got more food than people who weren't working but toward the end of the war when conditions were deteriorating, everyone was lucky if they even got one meal a day there and many starved to death.
We also saw an isolation cell that was used otherwise, holding about 70 people with one single air hole. They had to sleep standing up and barely survived the night because of lack of air. Next up was the sick beds room where very ill prisoners were treated by prisoner doctors. There were eight beds in their that slept two prisoners each. The last part of the camp we saw were the other isolation cells that had no light and were very small. After seeing the different areas we went out back and saw the execution plank where prisoners were lined up and shot. Horrifying.
After seeing where all the prisoners lived, we then saw where the workers and guards lived on a the other side of camp with was obviously much nicer and even had a swimming pool and cinema. In the cinema, we were shown a propaganda movie made in Terezín used to show how "great" life was there for the prisoners. Our guide told us that after the film was shot, all the "actors" in the film were taken to Aushwitz and gassed within two hours. My jaw dropped when I heard this. They used some of the healthiest and happiest looking people in the camp for the film, then just killed them. Again, horrifying and sad.
Everyone in my tour group was very respectful the whole time. There was however, a few people who were already at the camp as couples or families and joined our group for numbers and their behavior was disgusting. One couple was taking pictures of themselves through the portholes in the prison cell doors. I was so repulsed by this. It was gross and in such poor taste. I overheard another woman make a joke to her child (Her child!!! This is where children learn their behaviors) about the film saying it was "a killer production." So not funny. So not okay. I wanted to punch her. What is wrong with people? Zero compassion and zero respect. It truly was so disgusting, it angers me so much. At least no one took a selfie like that dumb bitch did at Aushwitz last year.
Anyway, after the tour of the Terezín camp, we headed to the Terezín Memorial Ghetto Museum. There was an exhibit there on the camp clarifying a lot more of the information that the tour guide at the camp gave us. Again, so sad. To conclude the tour, the last stop was to the crematorium. This was probably to most jaw-dropping part of the tour. When you walked in the room, you saw the four burners right there. My heart literally stopped and I got choked up. I mean, I can't even imagine what it was like working there and smelling that and seeing all the death everyday. Prisoners of the camp were the ones who worked the crematorium burning the bodies. One body took 30- 34 minutes in the fire to be cremated. Toward the end of the war with so many bodies, it was being used 24 hours a day. The guide told us a story of one of the prisoners working who was putting the bodies in the fire and came across his brother. Oh my god. Terrible.
Overall, this trip to Terezín, although emotional for me and horribly depressing, was so worthwhile. It's such an important part of history and of my religious past that I knew I had to go. I know how important it is to remember the Holocaust and all those who were persecuted and died during and after it. Although I've read about it a lot and seen some movies about it, being in Terezín brought it to life even more (even though this wasn't even "that bad" of a camp compared to others). I can't even fathom how people survived this and still managed to go on with their lives. Hopefully nothing even close to this will happen again and by keeping these things memorialized and being able to learn from them is key.
I was back in the city by 2:45, the rain that started at Terezín had stopped and I had the rest of the day to get my last licks of Prague in. I, of course got my chicken sandwich for lunch again; the third day in a row. Yum, again! Then I went to meet up with my AP and her daughter. We decided to take a Swan boat out on the Vltala River. It was a lot harder than it looks but we had a lot of fun. We were peddling so hard and not moving that much. It was actually pretty comical. I'm sure my quads will be sore tomorrow too from all the pedaling; apparently SoulCycle is no match for a swan boat!
Then my AP wanted to show me around some more local parts and take me back to the castle to show me some stuff I didn't see the other day. We took the tram up to the castle and walked around all these cobblestone, windy streets up there seeing more of a calmer, residential part of Prague. A lot of people live up there even though it seems so inconvenient but they were placed there and it's better than nothing. The architecture on some of the buildings was so cool. Before there were addresses on some buildings, they just had paintings above their doors and that's how their homes were identified to each other, by what the painting was. Pretty neat. "Hey, I live at the two peacock house." Or, "I'm next to the Virgin Mary house."
From there, we went to Zlatá Ulička which when I went the other day was a ticketed part of the castle. I didn't have a ticket and didn't want to pay so I didn't go and dint even care. This time there was no one there but the gates were open so we walked to tiny area. It was so cute with the little houses and cobblestones streets. We walked around there a bit and then walked back down from the castle and stroll around a bit more before heading back to the hotel. I finally got back to the hotel around 8 and relaxed before heading out again at 8:45 to see the sunset. I had really wanted to see a good one on my last night. Unfortunately, it was a less than mediocre but I'll take it anyway!
I can't believe today was my last night in Europe. This trip was everything I wanted and more. Once again, I had the time of my life and was just soooo happy the whole time. Everyday was a new days with new explorations, adventures, and experiences and I am so very grateful to have been able to come here. I can only hope that #RayRaysEuroVacay3 will happen much sooner than later. Let the planning begin...
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