Karel Svenk’s Terezin Hymn was written in 1942 as the closing to his first all-male cabaret presented in Terezin, “The Lost Food Card.” Sung in Czech, it is a short work that came to be an anthem of the prisoners. Survivors of the camp remember the tune to this day, singing it at yearly reunions. The piece itself is a simple work for chorus and piano accompaniment with four verses. While the whole piece evokes a march in tempo, the actual mood of the music progresses from somber to a more uplifting spiritedness. Fittingly, the range of the voices expands to higher octaves with each ensuing verse. This shift is reflected in the lyrics as well; the first half of the work laments their current situation, while the second half expresses bright hopes for the future.

Here is an excerpt featuring an English version of the final verse. The lyrics are as follows:

Days will come, days will go,

Always moving restless crowd,

We can’t write with only thirty words allowed.

Wait for we will see a newer dawn

Must rise to lift the heart,

The time will come to pack our bags

And home we’ll joyfully depart.

We will conquer and survive

All the cruelty in our land,

We will laugh on ghetto ruins

Hand in hand!!!