Remembering Theresienstädte: Oral History, Memory, and the Children of Theresienstadt

This study discusses the experiences and memories of holocaust survivors who spent part of their childhood or youth in the Theresienstadt ghetto. The paper first assesses the opportunities and challenges of working with written and oral testimonies, and then proceeds to discuss the accounts of child survivors and their caretakers, with a particular focus on Theresienstadt. Their recollections of life in the ghetto reveal a perspective that helped them survive despite the inhumane circumstances, and the hunger and agony they lived with, by developing the ability to build, recognize, and participate in a supporting society and even experience joyful moments during the cruellest time of their lives.