The Nazi's claimed that Terezin was a city for the Jews, to protect them from the vagaries and stresses of the war. A film was even made to show this mythic, idyllic city to which the Jews from the Czech Lands and eight other countries were taken. Notable musicians, writers, artists, and leaders were sent there for “safer” keeping than was afforded elsewhere and to stave off any possible objections from other countries. This ruse worked for a very long time, to the great detriment of the nearly two hundred thousand men, women and children who passed through its gates as a way station to the east and probable death.
There were so many musicians in Terezin, there could have been two full symphony orchestras performing simultaneously daily. In addition, there were a number of chamber orchestras playing at various times. A number of distinguished composers created works at Terezin including Brundibar or the Bumble Bee, a children’s operetta and a number of chamber compositions which only now are being resurrected and played in Europe and the United States.
Between October 16, 1941, and liberation on May 8, 1945, more than 155,000 Jews passed through Terezin. Roughly 80 percent of them died – 35,440 perished in the ghetto and 88,000 were deported to be murdered. Fewer than 3,100 of these deportees are known to have survived. More than 2,400 either escaped or were released by the Germans in 1945. When Soviet troops entered Terezin on May 9, 1945, they found 16,832 Jews. After liberation, more than 1,500 died. Altogether, approximately 263,000 Czech Jews perished during the war, including 15,000 children. Only 132 children were known to have survived. Today, the names of the victims are displayed on the walls of the Pinkas Synagogue.