Trap with a Green Fence (Treblinka, slovo jak z dětské říkanky)

Abstract

About the Author: RichardGlazar (1920–1997), was born in Prague in a Czech Jewish family as Richard Goldschmid. He started studying economics until Czech universities were closed in November of 1939. Then he found a job in agriculture in the countryside. That did not save him from deportation to Theresienstadt first, and then to Treblinka, where hewas assigned towork.He tookpart in the TreblinkaUprising and succeeded to escape together with Karel Unger.While walking across Poland theymade up a story of a false identity in case they would be captured. Their story was believable enough to be sent as forced labourers to a steel industry inMannheim,Germany. They remained there until the liberation. After the endof thewarGlazar returned to Prague and reunitedwith hismother. All of his other relatives perishedduring thewar.Hewent back to study economics and languages. He married and worked as a civil servant at a ministry. During Stalinist antisemitism (Slánský trial) 1951–1953, he quit his job and went to work in the steel industry again. In the 1960shebecamea librarian in theCzechoslovakAcademyof Sciences and published two books about urbanism. After the Prague Spring and during the Russian invasion in 1968 he fled to Switzerland and took a copy of the finished manuscript of his bookTrapwithaGreenFencewithhim.Hebecameknown throughhis appearance in the documentary Shoah by Claude Lanzmann. In 1963 and 1971 he testified against Nazi perpetrators in Treblinka trials in Düsseldorf. In the 1990s he often spoke in public about his experiences in the concentration camp Treblinka and at one such lecture he was asked to publish his book. In 1995 he returned to Prague. After the death of his wife he committed suicide due to his traumatic experiences from the war.