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Idan.ofer@gmail.com

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A SPECIAL MUSEUM:

ON FEBRUARY 6TH

, 2012, MEIR SHAMIR DEDICATED

HIS PRIVATE VIP SUITE IN "HAMOSHAVA STADIUM"

IN PETACH TIKVA AS A SPECIAL MUSEUM FOR

TEREZIN GHETTO. HE DID IT IN ORDER TO HONOR

AND REMEMBER THE JEWISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE

IN TEREZIN, WHICH WAS MEANT TO BE A SHOW-OFF

FOR THE WORLD. I WAS TOUCHED BY MEIR'S

GESTURE. THIS SPECIAL BULLETIN IS MY ANSWER

TO HIS DEED.

THE MISSING FILM

THE PAINTER ,MUNKHANS

In the crowd, among the watchers, there was also

a painter who was a jewish guard. Only in the late

eighties, one of his paintings made its way to the

hands of PETER EISENBERG, a player in that

match who survived. In the same match, the

germans shot a propaganda film. Peter, The

survivor, was in Petach Tikva in the opening of

the museum. Amazingly, the painting and the

remains of the film show the same moments in

the game. Watch for yourselves.

THE LEFT BACK

PETER WAS AN ATHLET LONG BEFORE THE WAR.

THAT'S WHY HE JOINED ONE OF THE GROUPS IN

TEREZIN. IN THE FILM YOU CAN SEE HIM RUNNING

AFTER THE BALL, WITH BANDANA ON HIS HEAD. IN

ASHKELON TODAY HE IS KNOWN AS PETER ERBEN.

ONE OF THE LAST FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO ARE

STILL ALIVE TODAY FROM TEREZIN.

INSTEAD OF WRITING ABOUT THE

HOLLOCAUST AND 6,000,000 VICTIMS, I

DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT GHETTO

THERESIENSTADT. A RESULT OF WHAT

I SAW IN THE NEW STADIUM IN P.T.

THE PAINTINGS ON FIRST AND LAST

PAGES WERE DRAWN BY PRISONERS

IN TEREZIN.

ETTOHG WTHE FALL OF WARSA

THE ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY FOR THE

HOLLOCAUST IN ISRAEL IS THE DATE

WHEN THE SIEGE STARTED IN

WARSAw, TOWARD THE END OF THE

HEROIC UPRISING AGAINST THE NAZIS.

KIBBUTZ YAD MORDECHAY WAS

NAMAED AFTER THE LEADER –

MORDECHAY ANILEVICH.

THIS IS THE DAY I ISSUE THIS SPECIAL

BULLETIN.

MEIR SHAMIR IN THE 'MOSHAVA MUZEUM'

THE NAZIS DECIDED TO

MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THE

VIVID LIFE IN TEREZIN. ONLY

SHORT PARTS WERE

DISCOVERED. MOST OF THE

PEOPLE SHOWN IN THE

MOVIE WERE KILLED,

INCLUDING THE DIRECTOR

WHO NEVER HAD A CHANCE

TO SEE IT EDITTED. IN THE

NEW MUSEUM YOU CAN SEE

3.5 MINUTES OF THAT

MATCH. ALSO IN BEIT

TEREZIN.

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STORY OF A PHOTO FROM THERESIENSTADT GHETTO

BY ODED BREDA

I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT A LONG SPECIAL JOURNEY I HAVE MADE, IN ORDER TO FIND THE

SOURCE OF THIS PICTURE. I HAD A VISITOR FROM CHILE WHO CLAIMED THAT THE MAN, WITH THE

WHITE SHIRT, WAS PAVEL BREDA, THE BROTHER OF MY FATHER. THE OLD PIECE OF NEWSPAPER

WAS A SURPRISE. LET ALONE A SHOCK: WHO CAN BELIEVE THAT JEWS WERE PLAYING FOOTBALL

IN A GHETTO??? WAS IT A 'SUMMER CAMP'?

IN JUNE 1944, THE NAZIS DECIDED THEY HAD TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT ALL THE RUMUORS

ABOUT CONCENTRATION CAMPS WERE ONLY PROPAGANDA OF THE ALLIED COUNTRIES AND THE

JEWS'. THEY PREPARED TEREZIN FOR THE VISIT OF THE RED CROSS AND 2 MONTH LATER FOR THE

FILM, WHICH WAS DIRECTED BY THE JEWISH DIRECTOR KURT GERRON, WHO WAS SENT TO

AUSCHWITZ, RIGHT AFTER THE FILMING.

IN THE FILM, THEY SHOWED THE JEWS IN TEREZIN. PROPERLY DRESSED, SPENDING TIME IN

COFFEE SHOPS, THEATERS, LIBRARIES, CONCERTS ETC. BEFORE FILMING, THEY REDUCED THE

POPULATION BY SENDING PEOPLE "TO THE EAST", MEANINGLY: EXTERMINATION.

SURPRISINGLY, LIGA TEREZIN EXISTED 3 YEARS, WITH 12 GROUPS. IN THE COURTYARD CALLED

"DRESDEN". IT WAS ORGANIZED BY THE LEGENDARY FREDY HIRSCH WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE

PART OF THE GERMAN OLYMPIC TEAM, IN 1936. HE WAS KICKED OUT, OF COURSE. IN "YAD

VASHEM", IN JERUSALEM, THERE IS A SPECIAL MEMORIAL EXHIBIT IN HIS HONOR.

IN LIGA TEREZIN, THERE WERE PLAYING GROUPS WITH NAMES CONNECTED TO THEIR WORKING

PLACES: THE COOKS, THE BUTCHERS, CLOTHS WAREHOUSE ETC. SOME GROUPS HAD NAMES OF

FORMER TRADITIONAL JEWISH TEAMS LIKE "MACCABI", "HAGIBOR" AND EVEN "HAKOACH VIENNA".

TABLE FOR EXAMPLE:-YOU CAN SEE A LEAGUE ON THE NEXT PAGE

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IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS MY UNCLE IN THE PICTURE. HIS LAST PHOTO I KNEW WAS

FROM 1939, WHEN HE WAS 15 YEARS OLD. WE ALL KNOW HOW WE CHANGE FROM 15 TO 20, THE

AGE HE WAS WHEN HE WAS IN GHETTO THERESIENSTADT. BUT, CAN YOU REALLY IDENTIFY A

MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY? IS IT NOT ONLY A WISH OF YOUR HEART? WE ALL REMEMBER THE

FAMOUS PHOTO OF THE JEWISH CHILD, WITH HIS ARMS IN THE AIR IN THE GHETTO, FACING

GERMAN RIFLES. 9 DIFFERENT PEOPLE IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES IN THAT PHOTO AS THAT CHILD.

FOR MANY YEARS, THERE WAS NO ANSWER TO MY QUESTION. MEANWHILE, THE MOVIE WAS

SHOWN IN "PILLAR OF FIRE" [AMUD HA'ESH] AND WE WERE ABLE TO SEE THE PLAYERS FOR FEW

SECONDS IN THE MATCH IN TEREZIN. I KEPT THIS SHORT VIDEO ON MY PC FOR YEARS, OF

COURSE.

IN 2005, THERE WAS A STORY IN ISRAEL CHANNAL 5, ABOUT LIGA TEREZIN. THEN I REALIZED THAT

THERE IS A PLAYER ALIVE FROM THE SAME TEAM, PETER ERBEN FROM ASHKELON, I WENT TO SEE

HIM. PETER CONFIRMED THE STORY OF MY UNCLE, ASKING ME TO READ HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHIC

BOOK "IN MY OWN PATH". THERE, ON PAGE 65, PETER TELLS ABOUT THE GAME WHICH WAS

FILMED, ABOUT THE TEAMS, AND I FROZE: PETER AND MY UNCLE – PAVEL BREDA - WERE

DEFENDING THE GAUL TOGETHER. THE CIRCLE WAS CLOSED. I FINALLY FOUND MY UNCLE, NO

MORE NO LESS – IN MY FAVORITE HOBBY - FOOTBALL.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MY UNCLE, THE DETAILS ARE WELL DOCUMENTED. HE

WAS TRANSPORTED TO AUSCHWITZ IN TRANSPORT EL-72 ON 29.9.1944. THE MATCH IN TEREZIN

WAS PROBABLY THE LAST HE EVER TOOK PART IN. THE SHOW WAS OVER. ON 8.5.1945 19,000

SURVIVORS IN TEREZIN WERE LIBERATED, REMAINS OF 160,000 WHO PASSED THROUGH.

MY FATHER, MOSHE, CAME FROM BRNO, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, WITH "ALIYAT HANOA'R", IN JANUARY

1940. HE JOINED THE BRITISH ARMY AND FOUGHT IN EUROPE. LATER, HE TOOK PART IN THE WAR

OF INDEPENDENCE, SERVING 26 YEARS MORE IN THE IDF. HE ALWAYS TOOK ME WITH HIM TO

WATCH FOOTBALL MATCHES. WHERE I WAS 'INFECTED' WITH THIS HOBBY.

I DEDICATE THIS ARTICLE TO MY UNCLE, ON THE MEMORIAL DAY, TO MY UNCLE PAVEL BREDA

WHOM I HAVE NEVER KNOWN.

ODED BREDA

DIRECTOR OF BEIT TEREZIN

PETER AND ODED

6/2/2012

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THE MAN WHO SURVIVED 5 CAMPS

HE ONLY ASKED ME TO JOIN HIM TO THE

CEREMONY. WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS

WAITING FOR US. IN ASHKELON HE IS A

WELL KNOWN CONTRACTOR. STRONG AND

OPTIMISTIC. IN THERESIENSTADT,

AUSCHWITZ, BIRKENAU, MAUTHAUSEN AND

GUSEN HE WAS ONLY A NUMBER: B 11033.

SINCE THAT WAR HIS NAME IS PETER ERBEN.

HE SURVIVED TEREZIN THANKS TO FREDY

HIRSCH WHO GAVE HIM A JOB IN THE

GHETTO. FREDIE DIDN'T MAKE IT, PETER

DID. THE FOOTBALL WAS ANOTHER WAY

OF SURVIVING. IN AUSCHWITZ, HIS

OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING SAVED HIM. IT

WAS THE SAME IN MAUTHAUSEN. PETER

BELIEVES IT WAS SIMPLY LUCK.

AFTER THE WAR, PETER MET EVA LEWIT.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET WAS WEN SHE

WAS 12. NOW HE TOOK HER FROM THE

ORPHANAGE WHERE SHE WAS STAYING.

NEVER SEPERATED AGAIN. THEY GOT

MARRIED IN PARIS, CAME TO ISRAEL AND

THEY LIVE IN ASHKELON SINCE 1951.

PETER WROTE 2 BOOKS ABOUT HIS LIFE.

THE FIRST IS ABOUT HIS LIFE IN EUROPE

AND THE SECOND ABOUT HIS NEW LIFE.

HIS WIFE, EVA, WROTE A BOOK OF HER

OWN ABOUT THE "DEATH MARCH" IN

WHICH SHE TOOK PART. SHE IS THE LAST

SURVIVOR OF THAT MARCH AND SHE IS

INVITED TO LECTURE ABOUT IT ALL OVER

THE WORLD.

EVA AND PETER HAVE THREE CHILDREN,

DANIELA, ALON AN AMIR. NINE

GRANDCHILDREN AND TEN GREAT

GRANDCHILDREN.

PETER PLAYING IN TEREZIN

HANS MUNK'S DRAWING

62/2/02/

PETER WITH EHUD ULMERT

IN THE MOSHAVA STADIUM

62/2/02/

PETER AND FAMILY AT WORK

DRAWING FROM TEREZIN

PETER DID NOT KNOW THAT HANS

MUNK DREW THE PICTURE YOU

SEE ON THE RIGHT. MUNK GAVE

HIS WORK TO HIS WIFE AND WAS

SENT TO AUSCHWITZ. HIS SON GOT

IT ALL AND HID IT IN THE ATTICK,

NOT KNOWING WHAT HE HID. AS A

SUCCESSFUL PILOTE HE NEVER

GAVE IT TIME AND THOUGHT. IN

THE EIGHTIES HE DECIDED TO

CHECK THE TREASURE. HE CALLED

PETER AND GAVE HIM THE

PICTURE. THIS PICTURE IS THE

COVER OF PETER'S BOOK. YOU

CAN SEE THE SAME MOMENT OF

THE GAME IN THE NAZI FILM.

ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN ALSO SEE

2 OF THE GUESTS WHO CAME TO

THE CEREMONY IN PETACH TIKVA.

ALL THE PEOPLE THERE WERE

PROUD TO MEET A PLAYER WHOM

THEY SEE IN THE FILM AND

SURVIVED – PETER ERBEN.

THE COMBINATION OF A MODERN

STADIUM AND A MEMORIAL

MUSEUM FOR LIGA TEREZIN IS SO

UNIQUE, SO I DECIDED TO TELL

YOU ALL ABOUT IT.

OFER IDAN

ASHKELON

APRIL 19TH

. 2012

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MISTAKE SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT TEREZIN WAS A RECREATION SUMMER CAMP. WHAT A MISTAKE. THE RESIDENTS NEVER KNEW THEY WERE WAITING FOR EAST-TRANSPORTS. CULTURAL ACTIVITIES WERE A REFUGE FROM THE EMPTINESS AND THE NAZIS PREFERED IT THAT WAY, RATHER THAN UPRISING WHICH NEVER CAME. THE LONG ARTIFICIAL SILENCE WAS CUT FROM TIME TO TIME. THE VISIT OF THE RED CROSS PRODUCED TOUGH REPORT. THE GERMANS PREPARED A NEW VISIT. THIS TIME, THE TRACK OF THE VISIT WAS THOROUGHLY CHOSEN, NO ONE WAS ALLOWED TO TALK TO THE VISITORS. COFFEE SHOPS AND THEATERS WERE PART OF THE TOUR. A WELL DIRECTED AND REFINED SHOW. THE PRODUCTION OF THE FILM WAS DECIDED UPON ONLY BEFORE THE END OF THE WAR. THE PUBLIC AND PLAYERS WERE DIRECTED HOW TO ACT ALL WAY LONG. YOU CAN SEE PART OF PERSONAL EVIDENCE DOWN THIS PAGE.

KICKOFF ON OCTOBER 22ND. 2012, THERE WAS A

MEMORIAL LEAGUE TOURNEMENT IN ISRAEL.

GUESTS ARRIVED FROM ENGLAND AND

ARGENTINA ALSO. SPECIAL SHIRTS WERE

PRINTED FOR THE OCCASION, WITH THE

ORIGINAL NAMES OF TEAMS FROM

THERESIENSTADT. PART OF THEM –

CHILDREN'S LEAGUE, BECAUSE THEY ALSO

HAD THEIR TEAMS THERE.

PETER ERBEN WAS HONORED WITH THE

KICKOFF. HIS NAME WAS PRINTED ON THE

SHIRT HE WAS GIVEN. WITH THE NAME OF

HIS OLD GROUP.

THE GAME WAS ORGANIZED BY MACCABI

WHICH WAS ALSO REPRESENTED IN TEREZIN.

GUESTS ON THAT DAY SAY THAT OF ALL THEIR

VISITS TO ISRAEL AND MUSEUMS, THIS WAS

THE MOST EXCITING.

THE KICKOFF

DEATH NUMBERS

DURING 3.5 YEARS, 163,200 PRISONERS INHABITTED

TEREZIN. IT WAS A TRANSFER STATION FOR

EXTERMINATION AND THE RESIDENTS KNEW NOTHING

ABOUT IT. THEY WERE BROUGHT FROM BOHEMIA,

MORAVIA, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, HOLLAND, DENMARK,

SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY AND MORE PLACES.

88,129 RESIDENTS WERE SENT TO DIE IN THE EAST BETWEEN

9.1.1942 AND 28.10.1944, INCLUDING THE FOOTBALL

TEAMS. 35,217 RESIDENTS DIED IN TEREZIN FROM SICKNESS

OR FATIGUE.

ONLY 4,136 SURVIVORS REMAINED FROM THIS CAMP.

THEATER IN THERESIENSTADT

A SPECIAL DAY WAS DEDICATED TO THE ARTS OF THE THEATER IN TEREZIN

IN YAD VASHEM, ON MARCH 15.3.2012.

THE DAY WAS DIRECTED BY DR. BELLA GUTERMAN, THE HEAD OF THE

INTRNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH OF HOLOCAUST IN YAD

VASHEM.

THE CZECH AMBASSDOR WAS A GUEST OF HONOR AND MANY SCHOLARS

AND WRITERS SPOKE ABOUT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE THEATER IN

TEREZIN.

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AMONG THE RESIDENTS OF THERESIENSTADT THERE WAS ALSO JACOV TZUR FROM KIBBUTZ NA'AN.

TODAY HE IS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ASSOSSIATION OF SURVIVORS FROM THE LABOR CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN

RAVENSBRüCK AND SACHSENHAUSEN. HE ALSO ATTENDED THE FOOTBALL GAME ON THAT DAY, IN TEREZIN. LIKE PETER,

JACOV SURVIVED FEW CAMPS AND IMMIGRATED TO ISRAEL. HIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT HERE WITH MUCH APPRECIATION

AND NEEDS NO FURTHER EXPLANATION ABOUT THE NAZI POLICY BEHIND THE HORROR:

ESTABLISHING FAMILIES CAMP FOR JEWS FROM TEREZIN IN BIRKENAU

THE THIRD REICH WAS AN UNREASONABLE PHENOMENON AND A FAMILY CAMP, IN THE AUSCHWITZ INFERNO, WAS UN BELIEVABLE. WHEN THE NAZIS WON THE REGIM IN GERMANY, IN 1933, OPRESSION OF THE JEWS STARTED AND INCREASED STEP BY STEP. ON JANUARY 30TH. HITLER SAID IN THE REICHSTAG THAT IF THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL JEWERY SUCCEEDS AGAIN TO INVOLVE THE WORLD'S NATIONS IN A NEW WORLD WAR, THE RESULT WOULD BE THE EXTERMINATION OF THE JEWISH RACE IN EUROPE. AFTER THE DECLARATION OF WAR BY BRITAIN AND FRANCE, ON SEPTEMBER 3RD. 1939, THE HIGHEST SS COMMANDER, REINHARD HEYDRICH, SENT A TELEGRAM TO THE COMMANDERS OF THE SECURITY POLICE, INCLUDING GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE POLICY CONCERNING JEWS IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: SECRECY MUST BE KEPT ABOUT THE FINAL PLAN. WE MUST DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE FINAL GAUL, WHICH MAY TAKE TIME, AND THE STAGES TOWARDS THAT GAUL, WHICH WILL BE ACHIEVED GRADUALLY. 1.FIRST STEP – TO GATHER ALL JEWS IN BIG CITIES. MUST BE DONE QUICKLY. 2.IN EVERY JEWISH COMMUNITY A LOCAL COUNCIL MUST BE SET FROM RABBIES AND LOCAL PUBLIC FIGURES.

IN JUNE 1941, AFTER INVADING RUSSIAN TERRITORIES, GERMANS STARTED KILLING THE JEWS THEY MET. IT WAS ALSO DECIDED TO EXILE THE JEWS FROM CENTRAL EUROPE. KILLING WAS NOT SPOKEN YET, UNLIKE THE RUSSIAN JEWS. THEY DECIDED TO START WITH JEWS FROM GERMANY AND THE PROTECTORAT, NAMELY – FORMER CZECHOSLOVAKIA, TO THE NEW TERRITORIES OF GERMANY IN POLAND. THUS, THEY COULD PLAN SENDING THEM FURTHER TO THE EAST IN THE FOLLOWING SPRING. IN ADDITION TO ALL HIS TITLES, HEYDRICH GOT THE NOMINATION OF THE COMMISSIONAIR ON 27.9.1941 [REPLACING HIM] IN FORMER CZECHOSLOVAKIA. HE WANTED TO EXILE ALL THE CZECH JEWS IN FEW WEEKS. FIRST – 5,000 PEOPLE FROM PRAGE TO LODGE. HIGH GERMAN OFFICIALS REFUSED TO GET MORE. THE SOLUTION FOR A NEW PLACE WAS THERESIENSTADT. ABOUT WHICH THEY SPOKE BEFORE WITH ADOLPH EICHMAN [ON OCTOBER 23RD.] AS A POSSIBLE LODGE FOR THE ELDERLY JEWS FROM GERMANY AND AUSTRIA, AND FOR THOSE WHO HAD SPECIAL CONTACTS. BEFORE THE FIRST JEW ARRIVED IN TEREZIN, IN NOVEMBER 1941, THE GERMAN INSTITUTES DECIDED THAT THIS GHETTO WAS NOT MEANT FOR JEWS ONLY. IT WAS ALSO A TRANSIT STATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE SENT TO THE 'EAST'. THERE WAS OBJECTION IN GERMANY TO EXILE JEWS WHO WERE MARRIED TO ARIANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. THE ARMY OBJECTED DEPORTATION OF WAR VETERANS AND HEROS FROM WW1. THERE WAS ALSO FEAR FROM DISAPPEARANCE OF DIFFERENT FAMOUS PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO HAD CONNECTIONS WITH THE REGIM ETC. THE PUBLIC DID NOT BELIEVE NOR THE STORY ABOUT JEWS BEING SENT TO THE EAST TO WORK , NEITHER THE STORY ABOUT SENDING OLD PEOPLE AND CHILDREN.

THERE WAS A NEED TO SHOW THE PEOPLE THE "TRUTH". THE GERMANS NEEDED TO USE DECEPTION, FRAUD, CAMOUFLAGE AND DISINFORMATION ABOUT THE DESTINATIONS OF ALL JEWISH TRANSPORTS. THE GHETTO IN THERESIENSTADT WAS EXACTLY WHAT THEY USED FOR IT.

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TO THIS GHETTO THEY TRANSFERED OLD JEWS AND OLD WAR DECORATED VETERANS. IN WANNSEE CONFERENCE, IN JANUARY 1942, HEYDRICH ANNOUNCED THAT IN THIS WAY THEY WILL AVOID UNNECESSARY INTERFERING. THIS WAS A KEY SENTENCE TO COVER EXTERMINATING BY EVACUATING. FOR MOST OLD GERMAN JEWS, TEREZIN WAS JUST A SHORT TRANSIT. HEYDRICH WAS KILLED BY CZECH PARATROORERS IN MAY 1942 AND HEINRICH HIMMLER STARTED SHOWING INTERES IN TEREZIN. EVERY TRASPORT FROM TEREZIN TO THE EAST HAD TO BE SPECIALLY SIGNED BY HIMMLER.

IN HIS TRIAL, IN JERUSALEM, ADOLF EICHMAN DESCRIBED HIMMLER'S RELATION TO TEREZIN 'VERY CLOSE TO HIS HEART'. THE DECEPTION WENT ON, TILL THE END OF THE WAR, APRIL 21ST. 1945! THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS, NORBERT MASUR, VISITED THE HEAD OF THR SS IN HIS HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH GERMANY. HIMMLER LIED TO HIM BY SAYING THAT HIS WISH WAS THAT ALL CAMPS WOULD BE LIKE TEREZIN. 'THIS CAMP WAS ESTABLISHED BY ME AND MY FRIEND HEYDRICH' HE SAID.

ON FEBRUARY 1ST. 1943, KALTENBRUNER WAS NOMINATED AS THE CHIEF OF THE SECURITY POLICE OF THE THIRD REICH, AS A SUCCESSOR OF HEYDRICH. ON THAT DAY HE WROTE A LONG MEMO TO HIMMLER DETAILING THE SITUATION IN TEREZIN. HE REQUESTED TO ALLOW THE EVACUATION OF 5,000 JEWS TO AUSCHWITZ. THE ANSWER WAS SENT ON FEBRUARY 16TH.:

THE REICHSFüHRER SS DOES NOT WISH TO TRANSPORT JEWS FROM TEREZIN BECAUSE THIS MAY EFFECT THE POLICY, THAT JEWS IN ELDERLY'S GHETTO THERESIENSTADT MAY LIVE AND DIE PEACEFULLY'. DURING THE NEXT SEVEN MONTHS NO TRANSPORTS LEFT TEREZIN FOR THE EAST. MEANWHILE, EXTERMINATION IN THE EAST WENT ON WITHOUT INTERFERENCE. TEREZIN AND THE FAMILIES CAMP IN BIRKENAU – LATER – FULLFILLED THE ROLL OF COMOUFLAGE, DECEPTION, FRAUD AND DISINFORMATION. THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS WAS ONE OF THE FEW ORGANISATIONS WHICH HAD ACCESS TO GERMAN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, INCLUDING THEIR ALLIES. THEY ACHIEVED IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND HAD SOME INFLUENCE ON GERMANY. THIS BECAME STRONGER IN FEBRUARY 1943, AFTER FAILURES IN STALINGRAD AND NORTH AFRICA. MANY GERMAN PRISONERS WERE CAPTIVATED BY THE ALLIES. THE SECRETARY OF THE JEWISH DEPARTMENT IN THE GERMAN FOREIGN OFFICE WROTE THAT THE RED CROSS MUST NOT SEARCH FOR JEWS OR TRANSFER INFORMATION ABOUT THEM. THE GERMAN LEADERSHIP CAME UP WITH AN IDEA TO PREPARE TEREZIN FOR VISITS OF THE RED CROSS. THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT THE STORY OF ELDERLY'S GHETTO WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO COVER ALL THE KILLINGS IN EASTERN EUROPE. IN JUNE 1943, THE SS FIRST SUGGESTED TO THE RED CROSS A VISIT TO TEREZIN. TO SEE HOW THEY 'TREAT' THE JEWS IN 'HUMAN' WAYS. THE VISIT TOOK PLACE ON 28.6.1943 AND THE REPORT WAS HORRIBLE. EICHMAN WAS THE TOUR-GUIDE. BOMBING THE GERMAN CITIES BETWEEN JULY 25TH. AND AUGUST 3RD. AFFECTED THE GHETTO IN TEREZIN. 40,000 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN HAMBURG AND A SIMILAR NUMBER WERE INJURED. FEW GERMAN WOMEN, WHO WERE CHRISTIAN BUT HAD CHILDREN OF JEWISH FATHERS WHO WERE IN TEREZIN, ESCAPED TO TEREZIN, HOPING TO JOIN THE FATHERS. THE GATES WERE LOCKED AND THEY BELIEVED THAT THE ALLIES WOULD NOT BOMB THIS GHETTO. IN BERLIN, [WHICH ALREADY SUFFERED SOME BOMBING], THERE WAS FEAR THAT MASSIVE BOMBING WAS ABOUT TO COME, LIKE IN HAMBURG. FOR THIS REASON, THE NAZIS STARTED MOVING THEIR CENTRAL ARCHIVES, OF THE SECURITY OF THE REICH, TO TEREZIN. THEY ORDERED TO CLEAR IMMEDIATELY 3 BARRACKS IN 36 HOURS AND TO SQUEEZE INSIDE THE GHETTO 6,422 JEWS. THAT WAS WHY THE GHETTO'S SPACE WAS DIMINISHED.

KALTENBRUNER AND SS OFFICIALS, WHO ASKED, BETWEEN DECEMBER 1942 AND FEBRUARY 1943, FOR SPECIAL PERMISSION TO RENEW THE TRANSPORTS FROM TEREZIN, REWNEWED THEIR REQUEST. THEY SHOWED THE DANGER OF PLAGUE AWAITING IN THE GHETTO DUE TO THE DENSITY, AND ADDED THAT IN SUCH SITUATION THERE IS NO PLACE FOR NEW TOURS OF VISITORS. NOW HIMMLER AGREED TO EVACUATE 5,000 JEWS, ADDING AN ORDER FOR SPECIAL RECEPTION OF THIS GROUP IN BIRKENAU, ANOUNCING IN TEREZIN THAT THIS WAS A SPECIAL TRANSPORT FOR WORK. INDEED, WHEN THIS TRANSPORT ARRIVED IN BIRKENAU, 0N 8.9.1943, WITH 5,007 PEOPLE, EICHMAN WAS THERE TO SEE THAT HIMMLER'S ORDER IS FULLFILLED. MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WERE PUT TOGETHER IN THE SAME CAMP. EICHMAN PROVIDED POSTCARDS WHICH WERE GIVEN TO ALL THE NEW RESIDENTS TO

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WRITE HOME, WHERE EVER THAT MIGHT BE, IN ALL GERMAN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES. ESPECIALLY TO TEREZIN. THE ADDRESS WAS WORKING CAMP, BIRKENAU… PEOPLE WERE PROMISED THAT THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO RECEIVE PARCELS IN THE MAIL, A PROMISE WHICH WAS KEPT TO THE LETTER.

ESTABLISHING FAMILIES CAMP AND MAIL SERVICES SERVED 3 GAULS: - THE RECIEVERS OF THE MAIL BELIEVED THAT THE SENDERS WERE IN A WORKING CAMP IN GERMANY, NOT IN POLAND OR AUSCHWITZ.

EVERYONE BELIEVED THE GERMAN AND CZECH JEWS WERE SENT FOR WORK, NOTHING ELSE. -

THEY SUCCEEDED TO DECIEVE THE JEWS IN EUROPE, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN TEREZIN, IN 1943. -

IN DECEMBER 1943, 5,003 NEW RESIDENTS WERE SENT TO CAMP BIIb IN BIRKENAU FROM TEREZIN. ON 7.3.1944, ALMOST ALL THE PEOPLE FROM THE TRANSPORT OF SEPTEMBER WERE MOVED TO CAMP BIIa NEAR BY. THE DEPUTY COMMANDER CHOSE 40 MEN FROM CAMP BIId, WHO WERE KNOWN TO BE CRUEL, AND MARCHED THEM TO CAMP BIIa. BEFORE 21.00H THE PRISONERS WERE FORCED INTO TRUCKS AND TO THE GAS CHAMBERS. IN MAY 1944 7,500 NEW PRISONERS WERE BROUGHT TO CAMP BIIb IN BIRKENAU. ALTOGETHER, 17,500 JEWS WERE SENT FROM TEREZIN TO BIRKENAU. AFTER THE VISIT OF THE RED CROSS, THE NAZIS DID NOT NEED TO KEEP THE FAMILIES' CAMP IN AUSCHWITZ. 3,500 PRISONERS SURVIVED THE LIQUIDATION OF THE CAMP ON 13.7.1944. TILL THE END OF THE WAR, ABOUT 60% OF THEM DIED IN OTHER CAMPS OR 'DEATH PARADES'. ONLY 1,400 SURVIVED TO SEE THE LIBERATION, IN MAY 1945.

AS YOU UNDERSTAND, THE HOLOCAUST IS IMPORTANT TO ME. MY

GRANDPARENTS – ELSE AND PAUL KUZMINSKI ד"הי FROM

BERLIN – WERE MURDERED IN AUSCHWITZ. [photo on the right].

I RECIEVED MANY LETTERS TO MY E-MAIL BOX, TELLING ME THAT THE

HOLOCAUST STUDIES WERE TAKEN OUT FROM THE EDUCATIONAL

PROGRAMS IN ENGLAND. I COULD NOT ACCEPT IT SIMPLY OR BELIEVE.

SO I WROTE TO ENGLAND. THE ANSWER IS RIGHT HERE, ON THE NEXT

PAGE. USE IT IF NECESSARY:

HELP NEEDED RECENTLY, A CZECH TV TEAM VISITED ISRAEL. FOR FURTHER DOCUMENTATION THEY NEED

ARCHITECTS, ARTISTS, PHILOSOPERS, MD'S ETC.

WHO LIVED IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA DURING WWII AND LIVE IN ISRAEL TODAY

PLEASE SEND DETAILS TO: PETER ERBEN P.O.BOX 5018 ASHKELON

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REMEMBER!