Helga Hošková-Weissová/Helga Weiss by Lucy Schlake

lucyschlake — 2024-04-08 20:26:00 UTC

Helga's Thoughts on her Diary

lucyschlake — 2024-04-08 20:28:48 UTC

Helga Continues to paint in her old age

lucyschlake — 2024-04-08 20:30:40 UTC

Helga's Diary

lucyschlake — 2024-04-08 20:32:12 UTC

Helga was only 12 when she went to the concentration camp.

Helga's Beginnings

lucyschlake — 2024-04-08 20:36:18 UTC

Helga Hošková-Weissová was born on November 10 1929, in Prague-Libeň. Her mother's name was Irena Fuchsova, and she was a seamstress. Her father, Otto Weiss, worked at the state bank in Prague. She was raised there until her family was sent to the concentration camp.

Helga's Inspiration

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 16:13:12 UTC

Helga's life as an artist had some major inspiration. While at the concentration camp in 1941, her father said to her, "draw what you see," and she did just that. Her drawings and paintings depict life at Terezín. Not only did her art survived, but her Diary she kept helped to explain her art in much more detail, as writing is an art in itself. Much of her art survived the war.

Quote from Helga

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 16:41:41 UTC

Helga says she often didn't understand what was happening, and it often lead her to believe they were hiding things from her.

"I was always asking my parents, 'What's happening?', and became angry at them if I thought they were trying to hide something, to protect me."

More Quotes

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 16:46:25 UTC

Helga's art was inspired by her family to make her art.

In December 1941, her father said to her "draw what you see," and Helga took that to heart.

What did she do?

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 16:51:08 UTC

Helga defied the Nazis. When her family was sent to Terezín, she was only 12. This meant she was unable to work for them, and she would be sent to the gas chambers to die. Instead, she lied to Josef Mengele, one of the most prominent Nazis in the war, about her age. She claimed she was 18 and could work for her keep. Her mother convinced the Nazis under Mengele's command that Helga was her daughter's older sister, and she was forced into the labor barracks and not the gas chamber.

Want more information?

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 16:55:20 UTC

Click on this article to learn more.

Summary of her Diary

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 16:59:43 UTC

According to BookBrowse, the diary is as follows,

"In 1941, Helga and her parents were sent to the concentration camp of Terezín. There, Helga continued to write with astonishing insight about her daily life: the squalid living quarters, the cruel rationing of food, and the executions—as well as the moments of joy and hope that persisted in even the worst conditions.

Reconstructed from her original notebooks, the diary is presented here in its entirety. With an introduction by Francine Prose, a revealing interview between translator Neil Bermel and Helga, and the artwork Helga made during her time at Terezín, Helga's Diary stands as a vivid and utterly unique historical document."

After Terezín

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 17:03:05 UTC

Helga and her family were sent to Auschwitz in 1944. Before she left, Helga's uncle, who worked in the Terezín records department, hid her diary and drawings in a brick wall. He was able to reclaim them for her after the war. Only 100 of the 15,000 children originally sent to Terezín survived. Helga was one of the few.

Summary

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 17:06:54 UTC

To conclude, Helga Weiss was a Jewish girl who survived the Holocaust by lying to a prominent Nazi. Helga's lie about her age saved her and her family's lives. Her act of treason showed how even kids could stand up to the Nazis, even if it wasn't in the way anyone thought of before.

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 17:09:27 UTC

Helga before she was sent to the Concentration Camp

Sources

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 18:54:41 UTC

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/22/helga-weiss-diary-nazi-death-camp

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/16/schoolgirl-who-fooled-the-nazis

https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/2860/helgas-diary#:~:text=In%201941%2C%20Helga%20and%20her,in%20even%20the%20worst%20conditions.

Song

lucyschlake — 2024-04-10 18:59:23 UTC

This song illustrates a child longing to come home, on promises of the war being soon over. Helga's paintings and drawings express her despair in the camp, but also highlight the feelings in this song of hope and promises of returning home.