Brundibár, the children’s opera by Czech composer Hans Krása (1899–1944), is the story of two children who go to town to seek some milk to help their sick mother. When they arrive the children are bullied by the Brundibár, a mean adult who plays the organ grinder and takes the children’s money. To fight back against the overbearing Brundibár the children seek the help of the town’s young people—along with three fairy-tale animals—to make the town square a safe place again. The piece was performed in 1942 by the children of Prague’s Jewish orphanage, and then presented with child singers in the Terezín concentration camp 55 times during World War II. A performance of Brundibár was a central part of an International Red Cross visit to Terezín in 1944, and sections of the work were later included in a Nazi propaganda film. In 2003 a third version of work was produced with a new English adaptation of the text by Tony Kushner. The composer and many of the original performers were killed before the conclusion of the war; however, one survivor, Ela Weissberger, who performed the role of the Cat in the Terezín production, now lives in the United States and often visits productions to speak about her experiences and help contextualize the work. Brundibár remains a moving and powerful work of art, both as a children’s opera and as a symbol of resistance against the Nazi regime, but it presents many logistical and artistic challenges to directors and producers who may be interested in mounting a production. This project will provide some background on the work, including the circumstances of its creation and performance history. It will then lay out the work’s unique performance challenges and offer practical solutions to make the process of designing, rehearsing, and performing Brundibár more accessible and effective.

This thesis aims to analyze the ways many Jewish victims of the Holocaust used comedic theatre to help them overcome their dire circumstances by exploring the high demand for comedic performance in both the ghettoes and concentration camps and analyzing the numerous comedic works that were penned amidst the terror and catastrophic loss surrounding the Jews at this time. The second portion delves into the therapeutic values of comedy and explores the ways laughing may have benefitted those who partook in comedic theatre events. The final chapter investigate whether or not laughter should still be used to help cope with the calamitous events of the Holocaust. Many Jewish victims chose to laugh about their circumstances, but should we, those far removed from the actual events, be able to use comedy without facing a dilemma of morals?

The purpose of this study is to focus on the destiny of an unknown Jewish poet Ilse Weber (1903-1944). In the first part, the emergence of the Holocaust Literature is presented. The thesis then illustrates the history of the Jewish population in the Czech lands. The main attention is paid to the life and writings of Ilse Weber. She was born in Vítkovice near Ostrava and wrote in German, notably songs, fairy tales and theater pieces for children. During her imprisonment in the Terezín concentration camp she wrote around sixty poems, which were luckily saved. These writings describe the horror of her surroundings. Her husband and the older son survived the war, Ilse and the younger boy were sent to the gas chamber on arrival at Auschwitz in October 1944. In conclusion, the thesis argues that this forgotten poet was an admirable personality, who was able to grasp emotions and give hope to others in hard times. KEYWORDS Holocaust, World War II, literature, Jews, Terezín.

This diploma thesis focuses on project teaching method in "civic education" classes, which are focused on history. The contemporary calls for the elimination of fact and positive approach to teaching are encouraged by project teaching method. Project teaching method organises itself in a new way, so the pupils do not have to listen to a lecture, watch demonstrations, remember the information and finally reproduce the received and remembered information. The thesis is divided into two parts, of which the first one is analytical and concerns itself with the essence of project teaching method and its history and use in "civic education" classes. The author is explains how an excursion should look like and how to organise it. An important part of the analytic part is the history of the Czech nazi work-camp called Terezin. In the second practical part, the author emphasises the actual in-class use of the previous findings. The author also incorporates the topic of holocaust into curriculums of certain schools and grades. Finally an excursion which particular schools undertook is described and evaluated via a quantitative questionnaire-based research.

This Diploma thesis deals with the use of diaries from the Terezín Ghetto in project teaching. Their use should be made through a series of worksheets designed for project teaching. The benefits and success of worksheets were tested on several groups of elementary and secondary schools. The first chapter is devoted to theoretical introduction to the issue of projects and project-based teaching, the following chapter discusses the history of Terezín, the third chapter deals with the Terezín diaries and their authors, in the fourth chapter are placed excerpts of diaries with the relevant historical context. Into the last chapter are included worksheets created on the basis of excerpts from the diaries, their solutions and evaluation for their success by students. The last pages are devoted to the work attachment list and a list of references and online resources. The work demonstrates that diaries are a good source for creating worksheets about everyday life in the Terezín Ghetto and that they bring to learning new ways of work and wider view of the issues being discussed.

The thesis, The testimony of the people who survived the Holocaust, is based on the authentic testimony of the Jews who were sent to concentration camps during the 2nd World War, their lifes before the war and after the war are also presented in this thesis.Furthemore, the thesis discribes the impact of this experience on their present lives.

This disertation is entiteled by "Spiritual and cultural life in the Terezin ghetto 1941 - 1945". The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first part persues to a short introduction of a historical context which lead to formation of the ghetto. The next chapter deals with the Terezin ghetto. There is mentioned a few curcumstances of creation of it, living conditions, which were in it and also a nazi propaganda. The third part is followed up with the spitirual life in ghetto, how it all had been practised and there is also an effort to define a meaning of the spiritual life for people in the ghetto. The last chapter deals with the cultural life, which were developed in the Terezin ghetto. There is described how the cultural life in Terezin had started and also the greatest pieces of art, which were created on a ground of the ghetto. The chosed metodology for this disertation is an analyse of documentations which are preserved after survivors and then the analyse of professional literature which were written about a topic of this thesis.

The dissertation focuses on the fates of some 5 000 men, women and children of mostly Jewish descent who were deported by German Nazi authorities from the occupied Slovak State into the Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück, Bergen-Belsen and Theresienstadt concentration camps in the period ranging from November 1944 to the end of March 1945. The main objectives of the dissertation include the establishment of the number and identity of the deportees, the circumstances of their arrest, deportation, imprisonment and liberation as well as the causes of survival, or death, of the victims of racial persecution during the German occupation of Slovakia. Based on a comparative and content analysis of the available archival sources, oral and written testimonies by survivors and, to a limited extent, of secondary literature, the writer attempts to explain the conduct of the perpetrators and victims as well as the general historical context of the deportation and imprisonment of Slovak Jews by the Nazi regime. Based on an analysis of documents related to the anti-Jewish measures taken by the Nazi security apparatus in Slovakia with the assistance of local collaborators, more general conclusions are made with regard to the development of the Nazi "Final Solution of the Jewish Question" in the German Reich and the...

Basic information: Kučerová, Petra: FRIEDL DICKER-BRANDEIS - DIDACTIC LINKS (Diploma Work) Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education, Art Education Department Content: The theoretical part deals with the inheritance of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis in the context of particular life stages. Monitoring is the artistic development of Brandeis, the principles of the Bauhaus and Johannes Ittena didactics. On the basis of preserved relic and historical sources are specified and documented the nature of methodology applied in Terezin. Content are observed with regard to the current didactics of arts and methods can be ispiring. Teaching part is devoted to contemporary educational and social institutions in which teaching practice has been implemented and these pictures were made at the art part of the thesis. Key words: Friedl Dicker - Brandeis, Johannes Itten, a preparatory course, Terezin, memories, free art, study, dictation

The master thesis called "Antisemitism in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia" is describing, based on historical events, progress of solution of the Jewish question in the occupied Czech lands during the Second world war. In the first chapter the author describes the main events of the Jewish minority life in the protectorate. Jews had lost all their personal rights and discrimination in this regard was almost unbearable. German Nazism developed and at the same time realized "final solution" of the Jewish question. This term signified euphemistic name for the physical extermination of the Jewish nation. The second chapter devotes to the analysis of the press. The most important part of the whole thesis introduces three collaborationist periodicals from protectorate, which were chosen by author. They are called: Zteč (Assault), Árijský boj (Arya fight) and Národní politika (National politics). Construction of the Terezin concentration camp and subsequent life in it describes the last and the third chapter. This ghetto meant an important part of the whole Jewish question and its solution. Although the transports to eastern areas took place here, some Jews arranged better life through cultural activities and illegal educational activities. One of the specifics of Terezín was also the role that the camp played in the Nazi propaganda.