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Who was Helga Weiss? Helga Weiss was a young Jewish teen who was able to survive the war she lived in and was able to share her stories about what she witnessed. Helga Weiss as of now is 95 and has a passion for art

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Helga Weiss is known for being able to survive the war by lying to Josef Mengele a well known german officer. She and her mother lied to Josef by telling him that Helga was fit for work. By saying this she was able to avoid being sent to a death camp.

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What else is Helga Weiss known for? Helga Weiss is also known for keeping a diary like a other well known young teen in world war two, Anne Frank. Both young teens kept a journal about the horrifying experiences they witnessed.

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Why is she important to world war two history?

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Why is she important to world war two history?

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Helga Weiss is important to the history of world war two because she helped share the traumatic experiences during that time. She helped people understand the horrible conditions they were in to survive. Helga Weiss also showed what the Jewish were thinking about what was happening in her journal.

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What was she experiencing during the war?

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What was she experiencing during the war?

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Helga Weiss like all the other Jewish people during the time was treated terribly and kept in poor terrible conditions. She and her mother were in run down housing crammed with many other Jewish people doing all they could do to survive. The only thing that kept helped her go through this terrible experience was her mother being there with her.

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During the war Helga Weiss experienced many horrible things. one of these experiences was her losing her father by him being sent away. While he was being sent away he was trying not to cry in front of her but couldn't handle it so he ended making a disturbing face that haunted Helga.

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What's an other experience she had to go through?

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What's an other experience she had to go through?

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An other terrible experience is the condition she and her mother had to live in. She and her mother were living in terrible crowed poor conditions houses to survive. She was living on a bed that could barely fit one with multiple other people.

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One of the ways she was able to distract herself from what was happening was her being able to make art. she and her sister would make art to distract themselves from what was happening. To this day Helga still makes art.

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all of us—are crying silently, but we don't let our emotions show.

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What to do in Houston? Visit the Czech Center Museum Houston

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Through her diary and art, Helga Weiss tells her story of survival and coping through the Holocausts. After being transported to Terezín at age 14, Helga clung to writing and art, depicting everyday life in the camp. Today her diary and art are known by many and has reached millions.

In an interview with BBC TV Helga Weiss described how much they were allowed to bring to the camp. "We were allowed 50 kg of luggage, so we took just our clothes and something important to us. I took two very small dolls, a pad, watercolors and crayons," Her art became a way of communicating and processing her experiences and feelings in the camp.

Helga's art was greatly encouraged by her father Otto Weiss. After receiving a picture of children in snow, he urged his daughter to "draw what you see". Her art mirrored her diary as she began to illustrate everyday life in the camp. Her art would prove as a medium of understanding the would she was living in.

Her drawings depicted the horrors of Terezin like rations, disease, the lice and bed bugs. The pictures show queues for food; a bleak, basic washroom; a girl ill with tuberculosis; people on stretchers; bread transported in a hearse marked "Welfare for the young". Helga did as her father told her and would later think of the snowman drawing as the first picture, she drew in Terezin, but also the last drawing of hers as a little girl.

Helga would later be sent to four camps, Terezin, Auschwitz, Freiberg, and Mauthausen. In the days leading up to her deportation to Auschwitz, she hid her drawings and poems from her father in the Terezin camp. Helga was one of 100 children to survive from the Terezin camp.

Today, Helga shares her diary and illustrations with the world. The atrocities of the Holocaust will forever be a part of her and in her art. Her diary has been published as well as two more books.

Recently Helga's story was included in the 2019 film Anne Frank Parallel Stories. Helga Weiss, Arianna Szörenyi, Sarah Lichtsztejn-Montard and sisters Andra and Tatiana Bucci share their stories side by side along with Anne Frank. These girls were all around the same age experiencing the Holocaust. The movie portrays their struggles and similarities. These women will go on to share their story and life with millions. Helga Weiss's story will continue through her writing and in her art.

At the Czech Center Museum Houston we are inspired by Helga Weiss and her art. The Creative Activism Project is the museums growing and interactive project. The project allows students to develop critical thinking skills by asking students the following questions: What does it mean to live through a traumatic event? How can we discuss sensitive topics? How can art be used to express empathy?

To answer the following questions, please research the history of the Terezin Concentration Camp and create a work of art based on what you've learned about the children in Terezin and what it means towards our times. Students are welcome to create an illustration representing how the information about Terezin had impacted their perspective on a historical event. In the fall of 2020, we will showcase the art in a special exhibit on Terezin in our museum.

You can share your artwork with us until August 31, 2020
For more information, email: Development@CzechCenter.org

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Helga Weiss - How a young Hero survived Terror through Art Czech Center Museum Houston - A place to celebrate our world's art, music, dance and diverse cultures - What to do in Houston? Visit the Czech Center Museum Houston The Czech Center Museum Houston is a meeting place for Czech and local culture, a place where artists and professionals, Czech and non-Czech alike, can celebrate art, culture and music.

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Through her diary and art, Helga Weiss tells her story of survival and coping through the Holocausts. After being transported to Terezín at age 14, Helga clung to writing and art, depicting everyday life in the camp. Today her diary and art are known by many and has reached millions.