The Red Cross at Theresienstadt

JAN 01 1944 · 12:00

Filming of the propaganda production directed by prisoner Kurt Gerron at Theresienstadt, 1944, made for the Red Cross visit and afterward. Place: Terezín (Theresienstadt) Figures: Maurice Rossel, ICRC delegate · Hans Günther, SS commandant of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Prague · Paul Eppstein, Judenältester (executed three months later) · Kurt Gerron, film director and prisoner By spring 1944 the Danish Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been asking, repeatedly, to inspect the camp where Danish Jews deported in October 1943 are held. Berlin agrees, with conditions. Months of preparation begin. The operation is called Verschönerung: beautification. Three to five thousand prisoners are deported to Auschwitz to relieve overcrowding. Fresh paint goes on the facades. Window boxes appear. A fake cafe opens on the main square, with sheet music on the piano. A fake shop window displays goods. A children's playground is built. The football pitch hosts a match. Brundibár, the children's opera, is rehearsed once more. A bandstand goes up. The route the delegation will walk is timed to the minute. Verdi's Requiem is performed by inmate choirs that the SS film, then deport.