Paradise Camp
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''Paradise Camp'' is a 1986
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
about
Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...
in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, written and directed by Australians
Paul Rea Paul V. Rea is an American radio, TV and web journalist, and media personality based in Clarkesville, Georgia. Early life Rea was born in Clarkesville, Georgia to Judy, a florist, and James M. Rea, an attorney. According to his mother, he want ...
and
Frank Heimans Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusa ...
, respectively. Czechoslovakian
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
were first told that Theresienstadt was a community established for their safety. They quickly recognized it as a ghetto and concentration camp. In 1944, the Nazis cleaned up the camp, painting buildings and planting flowers, and deporting inmates to reduce overcrowding, in order to fool international
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
officials on a visit into believing the Jews were being well cared for. That year, the Germans also filmed a
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
documentary at Thereienstadt to promote how they were caring for Jews. The 1986 film includes excerpts from the propaganda film, in contrast with interviews of survivors, other material about the facts of the camp, and examples of art made by prisoners, including thousands of children's drawings hidden and preserved by their teacher.


Summary

"They had nice coats. They brought pictures", a witness remembers of prominent
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
Jews entering Theresienstadt at its opening. "They wanted to make their beautiful spa stay very nice, and, when they arrived in big barracks, they couldn’t understand what happened". ''Paradise Camp'' reveals how Nazi deception fooled Jews into entering Theresienstadt willingly. Elderly Jews were told the camp would be their safe haven,
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
veterans thought that their service to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
was being rewarded, and prominent Jews thought they were being given special treatment for their German
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
, with fine accommodations and protection from the war. But they all were soon held in densely overcrowded barracks, eating meager portions of bread, and fearing for their lives. ''Paradise Camp'' features interviews with survivors, who experienced the hunger, filth and terror that the Nazi officials intermittently masked, and displays old photographs and archival film footage, to reconstruct the truth about Theresienstadt. Originally a fortress town in Terezin,
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, Theresienstadt was built in the 1800s for the
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...
Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...
. But the Nazis realized the high stone walls that surrounded the city made it an ideal site in which to resettle Jews from Czechoslovakia and its neighboring
Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountains, and ...
nations. In 1941, the Germans established it as a
Jewish ghetto Jewish ghetto(s) can refer to: *Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany *Jewish ghettos in Europe of early Modern Era *Jewish quarter (diaspora) worldwide *Shanghai Ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stat ...
, and transported tens of thousands of Jews there, forcing them to do the work to house and feed the large population. More than 150,000 Jews passed through Theresienstadt; most were killed in death camps. In late 1942, the Germans began to deport Jews from Theresienstadt to
extermination camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
throughout Eastern Europe, including
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
,
Majdanek Majdanek (or Lublin) was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It had three gas chambers, two wooden gallows, ...
and
Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...
. A smaller fortress on the other side of the river was used for political prisoners and, later, some Allied prisoners of war. In 1944, preparing for a visit from the
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
(the Danish government had expressed concern about their nationals and the Germans were trying to maintain some Danish cooperation for forced labor), the Nazis had Jewish workers improve the complex, painting buildings and cleaning the streets, planting flower pots. The Germans deported thousands of inmates to concentration camps to reduce overcrowding. They brought in ample props. That year they directed a Jewish prisoner filmmaker to produce a propaganda film portraying life at Theresienstadt concentration camp as comfortable and enjoyable. In the film, older women knit, a small boy waters a garden from an oversized water barrel, and everyone wears a lazy smile and a healthy layer of fat. The 1986 documentary has interviews with survivors, who recount what life was really like at Theresienstadt. One woman remembers eating crushed red brick and pretending it was
paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...
, while crushed bark served as an alternative spice. Another woman recalls that before the Red Cross inspection, the Nazis built children's rooms painted in bright colors and lined with small beds. But the Nazis never told the Red Cross inspectors that the tiny beds were used by 17-year-olds, because all the younger children had already been deported and murdered in
extermination camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
. Together with academic classes, prisoners arranged for drawing classes for children. Their teacher hid 4,000 drawings, which were found a decade after the war. Adult artists were also among the prisoners, and their work expressed the horror of daily life. The documentary shows their work: sketches of prisoners with sunken eyes, ragged clothes, and bony fingers document starvation and need.


Filmmakers

Paul Rea is an Australian journalist who in 1985 produced ''Where Death Wears a Smile'', a documentary about Allied
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
being held at the smaller fortress of Theresienstadt during World War II. He alleged that dozens had been killed there.Australian International Justice Fund
/ref>National Archives WO 311/199, WO 309/377; ANZAC POW website
While the executions were refuted by an Australian survivor of the camp, the film attracted attention from the government. For years, New Zealand and Australia had denied that any of their POWs were held there. After Rea's film, in 1987 the Australian government conducted a formal investigation, finding that some Australian soldiers had been interned at Theresienstadt, under conditions that violated the
Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...
. They paid the survivors $10,000 each in compensation. Frank Heimans is a director and producer.


References

* *


External links

* {{official website, http://www.mediarights.org/film/paradise_camp, Paradise Camp
''Paradise Camp''
reviewed by ''The Jewish Channel''

I Survived


Terezín Memorial
Australian documentary films 1986 films Documentary films about the Holocaust 1986 documentary films Theresienstadt Ghetto 1980s English-language films English-language documentary films 1980s Australian films