Page 54 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes | Composers’ Societies Past and Present
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administration, it was formally set up in the autumn of 1942. The opening
of a coffeehouse in December 1942 symbolised the launch of cultural activ-
ities in Terezín. This event also marked the beginning of the SS propagan-
da plan. From this moment on, cultural and musical life were not only tol-
erated but actively supported and promoted – even beyond the borders of
the ghetto. Musical instruments and sheet music were gradually brought
into the camp, and works that had been banned in the Third Reich were
performed there.
Moritz Henschel (1879–1947) was appointed head of Freizeitgestaltung,
under which all cultural, educational, and sports activities were organised.
Administrative matters were handled by the young rabbi Erich Weiner
(1911–1944), later succeeded by the German-speaking Prague architect Otto
Zucker (1892–1944). Cultural activities in the ghetto reached their peak dur-
ing 1943–1944. As part of the so-called Stadtverschönerung (“City Beautifi-
cation”) project, Freizeitgestaltung was divided into several sections, one of
which was the music section. Hans Krasa became its head, while unit lead-
ers included Rafael Schächter (Opern- und Vokalmusik / Opera and Vocal
Music), Josef Stross (Kaffeehausmusik / Coffeehouse Music, until 1943), and
Pavel Libenský (Instrumentenverwaltung / Instrument Administration),
who after Stross’s deportation to Auschwitz also assumed his responsibil-
ities. Gideon Klein directed the Instrumentalmusik unit, which organised
all solo instrumental and chamber concerts of classical music.
In order to understand the repertoire and musicians who shaped this
cultural life, several important sources must be considered. One of the
most valuable testimonies to musical life in the ghetto is Viktor Ullmann’s
cycle 26 Kritiken über musikalische Veranstaltungen in Theresienstadt [26
Reviews of Musical Events in Theresienstadt]. Equally indispensable is the
9
so-called Hermann Collection, a wide-ranging set of documents relating
to the social and cultural life of the ghetto, assembled by the prisoner Kar-
10
el Herrmann/Heřman between 1943 and September 1944. Further insights

8 On the establishment of Freizeitgestaltung in Theresienstadt, see: H. G. Adler, There-
sienstadt 1941–1945: Das Antlitz einer Zwangsgemeinschaft (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr
[Paul Siebeck], 1955); see also: Ruth Bondy, Elder of the Jews: Jakob Edelstein of Ther-
esienstadt (New York: Grove Press, 1989).
9 Ingo Schultz, ed., Viktor Ullmann. 26 Kritiken über musikalische Veranstaltungen in
Theresienstadt, mit einem Geleitwort von Thomas Mandl (Neumünster: Bockel Ver-
lag, 1993).
10 Before his deportation to Auschwitz in October 1944, Karel Herrmann (1905–1953)
managed to conceal a valuable document with one of his fellow inmates. In the ear-

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