From the first weeks in 1941 that prisoners were interred in Terezin, there was music. The Nazis initially forbade such activities, but this did not hold any music enthusiasts back. Secretly gathering in attics and other discreet places, solo repertoires were presented and folk songs were sung among audiences eager for distraction from their new, disturbing lives. In time, more complex performances could be arranged. However, the first few months marked an absence of instruments and organization, which would later be alleviated by the inauguration of the Freizeitgestaltung, or the Administration for Free Time Activities, in 1942. Through this administration, which covered a span of arts, sports and intellectual interests, efforts could be made to organize everything from rehearsal times to instrument allocations, program and poster printing to music critiques, and the acquisitions of books and scores.

• Music in Repression gives further detail about the lives and activities of musicians in Terezin.



• Composers First lists the composers of Terezin, with biographies of the four most prominent.



• The Musical Legacy is a list of compositions written between the fortress walls, with a number of listening examples.



• Opera as Protest discusses Viktor Ullmann's satirical opera Der Kaiser Von Atlantis.



• The Music Today gives perspectives on the performance of Terezin works in recent years.