The Lautsch workshop was a branch of the Prague-based Company that produced paintings and artisan products during 1942-1943. The Germans closed the workshop after discovering it had been used for smuggling letters and packages into the ghetto.
The issue of establishing an archive was an inseparable part of the discussions held surrounding development of Beit Theresienstadt. As early as 1955, Yehuda Agmon, a member of Kibbutz Givat Haim Ihud who took part in these discussions, wrote: “We resolved to gather in one house all the documents, whether originals or photocopies, to keep them under excellent protection”. This careful wording mentions the existence of an archive but makes no commitment as to its contents. Other mentions as well refer to an “archive” and even to its operation (in the initial years the Beit Thereisenstadt archive operated together with the kibbutz archive. “The room that contains the association’s archive also contains the kibbutz archive. The kibbutz member working in the kibbutz archive will also take care of all the work needed for the association’s archive”. Although this was defined in the agreement between the association and the kibbutz in 1972, the materials to be kept in the archive were not specified.
Frequent discussions were held about the nature of the archive. In early July 1972 Ruth Bondy wrote to Zeev Shek, at that time chairman of the association, expressing her opinion that “Ever since talk began about the contents of Beit Theresienstadt you have been referencing the Archives Law and asking archive managers in Jerusalem for their opinion on whether original material should be kept at Givat Haim. We both know that their answer is obvious. You can fight for the material to remain in Jerusalem, you are entitled to that course […] maybe Beit Theresienstadt has no claim to the “Dokumentačni Akce” materials – if so, this should be stated outright […] Concerning the material that we ourselves wish to collect, the situation is different […] Givat Haim must be a center, also for gathering original material”.
In this context, some information should be provided regarding Zeev Shek, who initiated the campaign to gather historically significant materials. The campaign, called “Dokumentačni Akce”, meaning the “Documentation campaign”, was carried out during 1945-1946. For eight months, a group of survivors from the Theresienstadt ghetto under the leadership of Zeev Shek collected material documenting the history of the ghetto. Materials had in fact already been gathered in the ghetto itself. At the conclusion of the Second World War, Shek recruited several people to run the campaign with him, operating from an office in Prague under instructions of the Jewish Agency. Aside from various types of documents and artwork, the group also collected testimonies from survivors. Some of them traveled to the city of Theresienstadt to search for additional documentary materials within the walls of the former ghetto.
A protocol of the association from 1970 reports on options for purchasing archival material from the period of the ghetto, showing that members of the association were active in gathering material not only from among themselves but rather also from the general public. This campaign required the establishment of a collections room with proper storage conditions.
Shek answered Bondy at length, but between the lines it is possible to sense his hesitation regarding the nature of the archive. “It can be a display-oriented archive of original material, it can be a general archive of all the original material, it can be a display-oriented archive of original material and a theoretical one of photocopies, and – in the current photocopying conditions – it can also be all in the form of photocopies”. Shek also adds that due to financial issues he as chairman must set the priorities and give top priority to completing the “communion room”.
We thank the Claims Conference for supporting the Beit Theresienstadt Archive
One of the 1564 Torah scrolls that belonged to the Jewish communities of Bohemia and Moravia. During World War II, the scrolls and other religious artifacts were brought to Prague, while the communities themselves were destroyed in the Holocaust. For many years, the scrolls lay in dank basements until they were redeemed by an English benefactor and brought to London, for safekeeping by the MST (Memorial Scroll Trust). The Torah scroll that belonged to the Olomouc community was loaned to Beit Terezin for educational purposes.
One of the archivist’s roles is to search for connections. Recently, the staff of the Beit Theresienstadt archive managed to connect between a drawing by a child in the ghetto and the survivor who drew it. The drawing was created in April 1944 and it was signed by Petr Loew. A fascinating encounter with Gidon Lev, a survivor of the Theresienstadt ghetto who spoke of his love for the game of soccer, led to his identification as the artist.
Patya the teddy bear reached Ruti Bobek through a wealthy family in whose offices her aunt had been employed. Ruti promptly fell in love with him and he became her best friend. In the summer of 1942, when the Bobek family was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, Ruti did not leave Patya behind. She kept the teddy bear throughout her period in the ghetto. After the war, in preparation for immigrating to Israel, she found him a checked shirt to protect him from the strong sun.
The Beit Theresienstadt collection contains eight artificial flowers/flower arrangements made of wire, fabric, leather, and string. These flowers, worn by women on their coat lapels, were made by Hilda Treibl Gelbert, born in 1905, deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto from Vienna and employed in the artificial flower workshop for German suppliers.
Personal card from the Main card index prepared in the initial post-war years in Czechoslovakia. At this stage, basic information on each inmate was recorded, including information on the individual’s transport to the Theresienstadt ghetto. At the second stage, carried out in Vienna from 1968-1972, Dr. Weiss added details of the transport from Theresienstadt to camps in the East.
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