Attic Modifications– Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Most structural changes made between 1941 and 1945 were removed after the end of the war. Surprisingly, many traces, especially in the attics, were preserved until today. They offer clues of difficult living conditions in the ghetto. At the same time, they document prisoners’ ingenuity in utilizing materials within the complex conditions of the ghetto. We are trying to detect as many clues as possible from detailed photo documentation. We identify traces to learn more about them in the course of subsequent research.

This attic located in a private house serves as a perfect example of attics spaces that were converted into living spaces after 1942. The ghetto’s technical department usually called for the planning and execution of such projects. Heraklith panels (boards made of wood wool and cement) we used under the eaves as insulation. The construction work looks incomplete because no plaster was used.

The technical department had to optimize attic space, because the incoming transports of prisoners caused massive overcrowding. The prisoners could no longer be housed in apartments, houses or barracks. This post is a rare remnant from the ghetto period. The chalk numbers indicate prisoners’ sleeping spaces 80 – 84 and 70 – 79.

Refuge: The wooden partition under the eaves is all that remains of a “kumbálek” (tiny room) in the barracks. The chalked “6” is the number the ghetto administration assigned to this space. The housing department was the section of the Theresienstadt Ghetto self-administration responsible for registering all dormitory spaces, known in the ghetto as ubikace.*<br><br> <small>*Ubikace in Czech, are places for accommodation of large groups of people; basic, utilitarian, Spartan, dormitory-like housing</small>

Although hardly legible, a closer look reveals a form document issued by the technical department. It is an official attic inventory issued in 1944. The form lists: 35 stools, 3 chairs, 29 single beds, 1 double bed, 1 closet and 11 wall racks. Such inventories were usually affixed to the attic doors. This photo shows the only surviving list of its kind still hanging in its original place.

Remnants of a temporary attic structure: During the ghetto period, mattresses were nailed to the wooden frame that was used as a wall partition. The general lack of building supplies turned almost anything in the ghetto into potential construction material.

Poor abode: Two casements and a few boards bear witness to the meager structures that prisoners of the ghetto built in attics.

Dim lighting: This photo shows all that remains of electrical wiring, which was used almost exclusively for lighting. Porcelain insulators of all sizes, ranging from thimble-sized to several centimeters in diameter, may still be found in many attics. Some cables such as these also still exist. Porcelain insulators were commonly used to fasten and guide the exposed wiring.

This wooden rack was used in the construction of a wall partition, most likely made out of a recycled wooden crate.

This coat rack was located under one of the roof support beams. Furniture and other items necessary for stowing personal items and clothing were scarce commodities in the ghetto. Thus coat racks such as this one were rather rare.

Inconspicuous clues: Countless hooks and bent nails remind us of how prisoners hung their clothing in these attic spaces. Most prisoners had to make do with hooks and nails, since furniture pieces of any shape or size were impossible to get.

Spitting Forbidden: This prohibition appears in paragraph 14 of the ghetto laws, which the SS would regularly repeat in their daily order of the day. The inscription, written in colored chalk, was found in the entry to an attic space in a private house. It has survived 70 years, unscathed.

There are more tracks to look:

Ordinary Life – Traces of Everyday Life in the Ghetto

Attic Modifications – Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Messages From the Past – Poterne III

An Attic Full of Stories – L 237

WE ARE LOOKING FOR (EYE)WITNESSES!

Were you imprisoned in Theresienstadt or do you know people who were imprisoned in the city (1941-45)?
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