The Children of Terezín and the Monster in a Mustache

At Terezín, many children sang for the Nazi officials and the Red Cross. They were used as propaganda tools, between 1943 and 1944, to make the world believe that Hitler had given a “paradise” to the Jews. Only around 100 of the 15,000 innocent people who passed through this transit camp survived.

Ela Stein Weissberger, deported at the age of 11, is one of the few survivors. In Hans Krása’s opera Brundibár (The Bumblebee) performed at the camp, she played the role of the Cat, the rebellious animal who attacks the mustached monster in the hope of winning the war! Her poignant testimony gives voice once again to the courageous, hopeful children who left 4,500 drawings, diaries and poems at Terezín.

Like an internal road movie, the author offers a parallel narrative—she looks back on her own family history, her search for Ela, her anecdotes from the shooting of a documentary film, and she speaks up for all children targeted by hatred.

 

Writer, journalist, director and stage director, Henriette Chardak has written biographies of Kepler, Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci… and an investigation into the health effects of sweeteners (Lite is dangerous, Max Milo, 2018).

 

The documentary LES ENFANTS DE TEREZÍN ET LE MONSTRE À MOUSTACHE, produced by Artisans du Film, broadcast on France 5 in La Case du siècle in 2019.