Joel M. Hardyk: I Never Saw Another Butterfly: (Arr. Mark Hayes): Frauenchor mit Begleitung

In Czechoslovakia, there is a strange walled-in fortress called Terezin. During World War II, it was used as a concentration camp for Jews from all over Europe. Fifteen thousand of these children passed through the Terezin camp between 1942 and 1944; of these, only about 100 lived to tell about it.

The poems selected for this suite are representative of the poetry written by the children during their stay in Terezin. They reveal the children's horror and disbelief at living conditions in the ghetto, their longing to leave, their childish humour, beauty not seen by adults, and conviction of survival.

I. At Terezin (poem by Teddy)
II. I'd Like to Go Alone (poemby Alena Synkova)
III. The Little Mouse (poem by Miroslav Kosek, Hanus Lowy and Bachner)
IV. The Garden (poem by Franta Bass)
V. The Butterfly (poem by Pavel Friedmann)

Translated into English by Jeanne Nemcova.