There are a number of reasons why the circumstances of life in the Nazi concentration camp, Theresienstadt, may have been conducive to the outpouring of creativity in music that has been associated with this particular camp. Certainly, as Zdenek Lederer (124) noted, a "feeling of Jewish solidarity pervaded the Ghetto." Additionally, the German authorities created circumstances in which, Lederer (125) said, "cultural life prospered. The standard of cultural activities reached its highest level partly as an involuntary result of the embellishment." The establishment of a Cultural Department made possible the creation of "a focal point of artistic achievements, and a weapon of spiritual and intellectual resistance" (Lederer 125).
George Berkley (146) said that Terezin provided for ambitious cultural projects, including Raphael Schacter's operas, The Bartered Bride and The Kiss, as well as his rendition of Verdi's Requiem. Wolfgang Lederer produced Die Fledermaus. These are examples of the kinds of cultural activities that were common in this particular camp. While the transports of Jews and other residents to the death camps were ongoing, the fact of the matter is that Theresienstadt was a "show village" in which Jewish intellectuals and artists were gathered together and filmed and put on display to groups such as the Red Cross. Catholics as well as Jews were incarcerated in this camp, which Berkley (166) says was beautified so that it would be impressive to outsiders, who would leave the camp with the sense that though difficult, the lives of the inmates were tolerable and that they were not in any risk of being killed.
It is also important to recognize that many talented musicians in the camp used their skills to maintain morale and to help others adapt to the circumstances of their imprisonment (Berkley 181-182). Music was also capable of making a political statement. For example, Bernard Kaff presented Mussorgs...