Cooperation of the Terezín Memorial’s Department of Education with the So-Called Second-Generation Holocaust Survivors
The life-story of Zuzana Peterová
In 2023, the Department of Education of the Terezín Memorial commenced its collaboration with second-generation witnesses, who are the descendants of Holocaust survivors born after the war and who were not directly exposed to the traumatic experiences themselves. Initially, these second-generation witnesses participated in in-person discussions during educational seminars for school groups at the Terezín Memorial. In 2024, this initiative expanded to include online discussions. An educational course titled “The Experience of Descendants Born to Survivors of Nazi Persecution and Repression” had its debut in September 2024. This was organized in partnership with the Terezín Memorial, the Lidice Memorial, the Jewish Museum in Prague, the Foundation for Holocaust Victims, and the Czech Auschwitz Committee. Another seminar is scheduled for 2025.
In the individual issues of the Newsletter, we would like to gradually introduce you to the second generation witnesses cooperating with us, whom we have approached and asked to write us contributions about themselves. These are Zuzana Peterová, Alena Lehovcová, Frank Frištenský and Michal Arend.
Sylvie Holubová
Zuzana Peterová – 2nd generation after the Holocaust:
I admire you, grandma and mum…
If someone were to ask me what it’s like to be born into a family of Holocaust survivors, I would say it is a profound school of life. This experience cannot be learned from books; it must be lived…
I remember my grandmother, Gertrude, and my mum. After the war, both tried to relearn how to live, as the time spent during the war was not, as they told me, a time of life, but rather a period of waiting for death or for a miracle ‒ there was nothing in between. Before the war, they both spoke German, and Czech was not their mother tongue. This meant that after the war, they had to learn Czech quickly since no one was friendly toward Germans. But what were they to do with a child in a playground full of other Czech mothers and grandmothers? Speaking with a German accent in such a setting was not safe. So, I grew up in the New Jewish Cemetery, where Franz Kafka, Ota Pavel, Arnošt Lustig, and others are buried. It was not a place many visited, which allowed my grandmother and mother to speak German with me without fear. That’s how I first heard my grandmother’s phrase, which she sometimes uttered in front of certain tombstones: “Look, Zuzana, this man was lucky! He died in time…” I didn’t fully understand what “dying in time” meant until I was older; it referred to dying before Hitler came to power, during a time without the horrors of gas chambers… During my childhood, I also learned what it was like to feel alone – even while being part of a children’s group that never spoke to me. Why? Because not only was I Jewish, but I also had a father who was imprisoned in the 1950s. He was a political prisoner, considered an enemy of the socialist state. Anyone who might befriend me would be seen as a risk by their parents. It was deemed “inappropriate” to associate with the children of political prisoners, especially given my unusual racial background, which some of my teachers also noticed. As a result, I learned to be alone, to rely on myself as much as possible, and to strive for academic success. My mother often told me that she could give me nothing more in life than the ability to learn as much as possible and acquire extensive knowledge. She said that no one could take them away from me – not Hitler or any state policy.
Even though religion was officially permitted by the local communist ideology at the time, anyone who attended church, let alone a synagogue, was not considered a “proper” citizen, and the Czech secret police StB kept detailed records. However, my grandmother was very brave; she ignored these pressures and took me to the synagogue for the High Holidays. To outsmart the state power and its spies, she devised a clever ruse: she bought the daily newspaper Rudé právo, wrapped a Bible in it, and armed with this disguise, we went to the synagogue. She believed this would help us evade detection… Unfortunately, it did not work, and the StB ended up gathering more information about us… Despite this, I learned the importance of perseverance in life. I often remind myself that my deceased aunts, uncles, and other relatives did not have the same opportunity to resist Hitler.
This is why I hold onto my grandmother’s wisdom, who often said, “Remember, Zuzana, until you go to the gas chamber, nothing serious is the matter.” This saying provides me with a different perspective on my everyday worries, and gives me the strength to overcome difficulties…
PhDr.Zuzana Peterová
