The Holocaust: A Warning From History

In 1931, Heinrich Himmler began setting up a counterintelligence division of the SS. Acting on the advice of his associate Karl von Eberstein, Himmler agreed to interview Reinhard Heydrich, but cancelled their appointment at the last minute. Heydrich's wife ignored the cancellation message, packed Heydrich's suitcase, and sent him to Munich. Eberstein met Heydrich at the railway station and took him to see Himmler. Himmler asked Heydrich to convey his ideas for developing an SS intelligence service. Himmler was so impressed that he hired Heydrich immediately. Heydrich decided to take the job because his wife's family supported the Nazi movement, and the quasi-military and revolutionary nature of the post appealed to him. On 1 August 1931, Heydrich began his job as chief of the new 'Ic Service' (intelligence service). He set up office at the Brown House, the Nazi Party headquarters in Munich. By October he had created a network of spies and informers for intelligence...

The eighteenth century Austro-Hungarian town of Theresienstadt, part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, was known as Terezin in Czech. In October 1941, the 3,700 Czech inhabitants of the town were ordered to leave by the Germans, who turned it into a ghetto. More than 96,000 Jews were brought there from all over Europe. Conditions were harsh, dominated by overcrowding and hunger. More than 33,000 Jews died in the ghetto, mostly of starvation. Among those deported to Theresienstadt were artists, writers, musicians, scholars and teachers. Under Jewish leadership, several orchestras were founded there, as well as an operatic and theatrical troupe. Lectures were organized, and a library of 60,000 volumes opened. Jewish studies played a major part in cultural activities. Classes were held for the children, who had to carry their benches into the classroom under the protective eye of Jewish guardians, who, like all adults in the ghetto, were obliged to wear the yellow star. From January 1942, the...