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Current AffairsTerezin venue for challenging "Middle European" art
The Middle European Colony for Contemporary Art, also known as M.E.C.C.A,
is a civic association dedicated to bringing important world issues to the
centre of artistic creation. For the anniversary of the Soviet invasion in
August 1968, it has organized a one-day festival to remember Czech
history, to look at current Czech political issues, as well as worldwide
issues. The location of the event is at the 18th century former barracks
of Terezin, the town which the Nazis turned into a Jewish ghetto during
the war. Kay Grigar went to Terezin as the exhibition was being set up. More
Current AffairsRoma commemorate victims at Auschwitz-Birkenau
On Monday hundreds of Roma, including representatives of Czech Romani
groups, visited the site of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau,
southern Poland to commemorate thousands of victims of the Roma Holocaust.
The ceremony was held on the 60th anniversary of the darkest hour of the
Roma Holocaust when, on the night of August 2-3, 3,000 Roma were sent to
the gas chambers as the liberation forces drew nearer.
More
Current AffairsRomani group's Holocaust lawsuit against IBM in Swiss courts could lead to $12bn claim by Roma throughout Europe
A Swiss court has cleared the way for a group of Roma to sue the U.S.
computer giant IBM for allegedly helping Nazi Germany track and identify
victims for slaughter in concentration camps during World War II. The case
could open the door to claims from Roma groups throughout Europe,
including in the Czech Republic, where over 90 percent of the Romani
population was killed during WW II. More
Current AffairsCzech premiere of Song of Terezin marks Holocaust Remembrance Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked around Europe on January 27, the
anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Here in Prague
the day has been marked by the country's first ever performance of the
Song of Terezin, an oratorio written by the German-American composer Franz
Waxman which is based on poems written by children imprisoned at the
Terezin ghetto (known in German as Theresienstadt). The performance,
co-sponsored by Czech and Austrian agencies, took place on Tuesday
afternoon at the State Opera. A day before the premiere I spoke to Tomas
Jelinek, the chairman of Prague's Jewish Community, and began by asking
him how the idea of putting on the first Czech performance of the Song of
Terezin had come about.
More
WitnessJuraj Szanto: teenage memories of Raoul Wallenberg in Budapest
Juraj Szanto is a medical journalist, and has had a long career in Prague
as a dentist. He originally comes from the part of southern Slovakia that
was annexed by Hungary just before the Second World War. When the war
broke out, his father was sent to the Russian Front and his mother was
imprisoned in Budapest for her links with the resistance. Juraj was
fifteen when his mother was released in 1944, but this was just the time
when the Nazis began to transport Hungarian Jews to the death camps in the
east. Juraj and his mother were among thousands of people in the city who
found refuge in the Swedish Embassy, under the protection of the now
legendary Raoul Wallenberg. Here Juraj remembers not just Wallenberg, but
also other Swedish diplomats in Budapest, who helped to save tens of
thousands of lives, including his own:
More
ArtsArts news, presentation of Czech Culture in Budapest
In this week's edition of the Arts, Dita Asiedu we'll be looking at a
presentation of Czech culture that is part of the International Cultural
Festival of Candidate Countries to the EU currently taking place in
Budapest, and two exhibitions in Prague that have been extended due to
public interest...
More
WitnessJiri Brady - my first introduction to religious education
In the Czech countryside there is a tradition that each family slaughters a
pig once or twice a year, and lives on the meat for much of the time in
between. Although they were Jewish, the Brady family, who ran the general
stores in the little town of Nove Mesto na Morave, were no exception.
Until the arrival of Hitler, they never felt any different from their
neighbours and had never shown much interest in religion. Nothing in their
lives prepared them for the horror of what was to come with the
occupation. The entire family was murdered in the camps, and Jiri Brady,
who was thirteen when he was sent to the Terezin ghetto, was the only one
to survive the Holocaust. Here he remembers back to the days before the
Germans arrived, and with humour recalls his first introduction to
religious education.
More
Czech MusicFritz Weiss and a series of miraculous wartime jazz recordings
Prague's Jewish Museum recently released a CD that is nothing short of
miraculous. At the height of the Nazi occupation of Prague during the
Second World War, the Czech Jewish jazz musician, Fritz Weiss, made nearly
thirty recordings with the Emil Ludvik Orchestra. Weiss was musical leader
of the band and also made all the arrangements. Amazingly, he continued to
work with the band even after he was sent to the Terezin ghetto. In Encore
today, we'll be telling the story of these extraordinary swing recordings,
made literally in the shadow of the swastika.
More
ArtsTerezin Film Festival, Terezin Memorial, Arts news
In this week's Arts, Dita Asiedu looks at how the Terezin Memorial is
faring one year after the devastating floods, invites you to a film
festival in the town of terezin and an exhibition of photographs in
Prague, and reports why Czech President Vaclav Klaus may have to wait
longer than expected before moving into his office at Prague Castle:
More
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