Terezin to honor victims of World War II

By Tracy A. Burns

Honoring the victims of Nazi persecution, a remembrance ceremony – Terezinska Tryzna – will be held at Terezin, a former fortress town that served as a Jewish ghetto and prison during World War II, on May 19. The ceremony will take place at the National Cemetery in front of the Small Fortress at 10 am and will last approximately two hours. During the ceremony, the Small Fortress will be closed. The entire day there will be no admission fee for Terezin’s sights that are harsh reminders of human depravity.

Czech President Milos Zeman will give the main address at the ceremony. The Honor Guard of the Army of the Czech Republic will also perform. Both Christian and Jewish prayers will be recited. At the end of the ceremony, the Decin choir will sing Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem La crimosa a Agnus Dei.

During World War II, some 32,000 prisoners went through the camp and were often then deported to other camps farther East, where they met their deaths. Approximately 2,500 inmates died in the small fortress, which served as a Gestapo prison. About 155,000 Jews were brought to the Terezin ghetto during the war. Approximately 87,000 were deported to concentration camps farther East, while about 34,000 died in the ghetto. Of the more than 10,500 children who lived in the ghetto before being deported East, only 245 survived the war.