Intellectual speaker series brings lecture on internment camps

By Elliot Novess
Western Herald

Rudolf Mrázek’s lecture “Penal Colonies and Nazi Camp Culture” Monday evening at Western Michigan University’s Fetzer Center revealed how oppression turned into opportunity for many intellectuals subjected to life in internment camps.

A crowd loyal to history attended Mrázek’s talk about his studies of Boven Digoel in the Dutch East Indies and the Nazi internment camp in Theresienstadt, Chechnya. These camps existed in the early 20th century. People in these camps created and studied culture to elevate them selves from the conditions.

“Under all that pressure, you believe in enlightenment,” Mrázek said. “One believed in being modern.”

Mrázek’s interest in these two internment camps is personal. As a child in Prague, neighbors of his family were interned at Thereisenstadt. Mrazek said he knows first hand what it is like to be kept from reading a particular book or writing a paper on a subject taboo to a culture.

“I lived in Prague and loved it,” Mrázek said. “But if you wrote a short paper of German or Russian history you would go to jail.”

In these internment camps a world just the opposite of that could be found. Books with subject matter considered taboo for the outside world were available to those in the internment camps.

“The books burned outside were in the libraries of Theresienstadt,” Mrázek said.

Once within the confines of the internment camps intellectuals had a means which they never had before to think, learn and reflect. Gaining knowledge was important psychologically to intellectuals in either camp.

“If you have an education you will never be overpowered,” Mrázek said.

Fashion was also a big part of the culture in both internment camps. Mrázek recalled examples of barbers and sewing machines being in these camps. Good appearance showed the camp’s guards that prisoners still had their dignity.

The prisoners who sought enlightenment gave Mrázek the inspiration to research and write his books. Lewis Pyenson, WMU Graduate College Dean, crossed paths with Mrázek though a common interest in Indonesia.

Before returning to the University of Michigan, where Mrázek is a history professor, he will be conducting a master’s class on history for 10 select students.

Mrázek’s talk was apart of an intellectual speaker series put together by the WMU Graduate College.

Ronald Kramer’s speech titled “Bombing Civilians: The Normalization of War Crime,” at 5 p.m. Feb. 18 in Brown Hall is next of the series.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=14406

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Feb 2 2010. Filed under Breaking, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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