Zdenka Nikolovska Obituary, Death – Having passed away at the age of one hundred, Zdenka Fantlová was a survivor of the Terezín (Theresienstadt) ghetto, which was located in Czechoslovakia that was seized by the Nazis.
Additionally, she survived Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and a number of other concentration camps. She was a crucial witness to the spectacular musical and theatrical activity in Terezín, and she was featured in the documentary The Music of Terezín, which was broadcast on BBC2 in 1993.
Additionally, she wrote a book titled The Tin Ring, which was published for the first time in 1996, detailing her experiences during the Holocaust. The fortress town of Terezín, located around 40 kilometres to the north of Prague, was first constructed in 1780 with a capacity of 5,000 individuals.
However, during the second world war, it was transformed into a ghetto by the Nazis, where it was crammed with more than 50,000 Jewish captives and served as a holding post prior to further transportation to the east.
By the 20th of January in 1942, Zdenka had arrived there. Since her boyfriend, Arno, had been dispatched there a few days earlier, she had been looking forward to it with great anticipation.
A Jewish administration was in charge of running Terezín while it was under Nazi authority. Considering the large number of musicians and artists that were housed within the prison, performances were planned and promoted. According to Zdenka,
“We were quite ignorant of what was in store for us; only the Germans knew what was going to happen.” It was because they were aware that we were going to be executed that they let us to go with the execution, and we were just dancing under the gallows.
Zdenka, who was working in the kitchen, was working alongside Karel Ančerl, who would later become the conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. The cabarets that she performed in were written by the humorist Karel Švenk, and she also participated in a play called Esther, which was designed by František Zelenka and performed at the National Theatre in Prague.
She was treated to a performance by the pianist and composer Gideon Klein following a practice. It was in the semi-darkness when he played Chopin’s Etude in C minor. He went up to the stage and played it. When I first saw this man, I believed he was playing for me.
It appeared to be incredible, and it was, but in Terezín, such things are not out of the question. As it turned out, she was successful in locating Arno in Terezín, and she was able to accompany him to a concealed cellar. “We hurriedly entered, shut the door, and, of course, everything else,” she said. Yes, you may call it whatever you like.