• Full size panel in a separate window.

In their own words...

"We have a small girls’ group in Velhartice and when we were offered the project Neighbors Who Disappeared by the basic school I asked the girls if they wanted to set about dealing with it. They did and so we set off to follow the traces of the neighbors who disappeared."

"President Vaclav Havel received us at the Prague Castle in October 2000."

"Why did we choose Lili’s story? When Lili was leaving for Prague she was as old as the girls. We also enjoyed the narration of Alena’s grandmother. I think it is important for the girls to consider that children of the same age had totally different worries, that their fate was hard and came unfortunately to such a tragic end."

Ivona Synackova
Girl's Christian Group Leader
Velhartice, Czech Republic

Petr's Notes

This is the only panel in the exhibit that was not produced under the auspices of a public school, but rather by a girl's Christian group. The girls located an astonishing notice from their town's city hall, dated 1942:

City Administration - Velhartice
To: Grocers and candy-store owners

Whereas complaints had been lodged regarding the distribution of food items prohibited for Jews, especially sweets, I am bringing to your attention once again a Decree by the Ministry of Agriculture dated October 23, 1941, Section 362 of the Code of Regulations, regarding the distribution of specified food items to Jews.

The law states as follows:

Any act of distributing either in exchange for cash or otherwise fruit of any kind, fresh, dried, or otherwise preserved, including dried nuts, and also including jams and marmalades, cheeses, sweets, fish and all products manufactured from fish, including canned fish products

  IS PROHIBITED FOR JEWS.

This prohibition on distribution applies equally for producers, manufacturers, processors, merchants, as well as consumers.

I am here notifying you that any violation of the above mentioned regulation is punishable according to Section 9 of the Enabling Legislation; and that adherence to the regulation will be enforced by the City in the strictest possible way.

Velhartice, June 19, 1942

/S/[illegible]
For the Mayor