Working in a Trap: Drawings from the Theresienstadt Ghetto 1941-1942

Paraphrased from a discussion with Susie S., local Holocaust survivor and member of the Holocaust Center's Speaker's Bureau:



My cousin, Ruth Perry, is about my age and lives in Ramat Gan, Israel. Other than my sister and I, she is the only remaining direct relative of our generation. Ruth comes to visit us now and then ... recently she spoke of some very special pictures that her family and others in Israel were trying to put together for a limited printing. She said that these paintings were to honor an important Jewish "Elder" of Terezin. My own dear family, on my mother and father's side, was dragged to Terezin in 1942. I thought that I knew the names of the "Elders of the Jews" in Terezin, but the name she used was not familiar to me and I became curious. As it turns out, I did not understand the Hebrew version of Jacob Edelstein's name. Edelstein was an influential leader chosen and used by the Germans to aid in carrying out their horrible plans.

There has been much written about the "Jewish Elders," those people who had to pass down the edicts of the Germans. The Nazis tried to turn the inmates against the Elders and were successful in some instances. While many writings are critical of some of the elders, this album shows that Edelstein had a good, courageous heart and did the best he could.

My cousin, Ruth, was a friend of "Dittle." As it turns out, "Dittle" was Dr. Edith Ornstein, one of the creators and signatories of the album. Ruth told me of a time when Dittle had to sit on the paintings when Adolf Eichmann came into her living area. The paintings, by Leo Haas, were presented to Jacob Edelstein on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Nazi-established ghetto.

The timetable of Theresienstadt and the Final Solution is so organized and easy to read that one can get a clear understanding of the timetable behind the horrific main events from 1933 to 1945. The pictures and writings in the album record the efforts of the labor center and serve as an empowering and sensitive text, giving a new and deeper understanding of the Holocaust. In particular, it gives me a newer understanding and feeling of the horror that was Terezin. The album also gives information on the German use of propaganda using the "Jewish Town."


This album shows the positive relationship that Edelstein had with his staff, who recognized his efforts as leader towards helping those inmates of Terezin as much as he could. I am honored on behalf of my family to loan this very special and poignant album to the Center for one year.