František "Franta" Bass (1930 – 28 October 1944) was a Jewish Czech poet and child victim of the Holocaust.
Franta Bass | |
|---|---|
_Bass.jpg) | |
| Born | 1930 |
| Died | 28 October 1944 (aged 13–14) |
Bass wrote poems while in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. His work was published in the ghetto's secret magazine, Vedem. It was later featured in the book, I Never Saw Another Butterfly (1994), a compilation of art and poetry by children of Theresienstadt.
Life edit
Bass was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He was Jewish.[1]
Bass was forced into the Theresienstadt Ghetto on 2 December 1941. While there, he wrote poems that referenced his experiences. His poems were published in the Vedem, a secret magazine that was created by teenage boys in the ghetto.[2]
Bass was sent to Auschwitz on 10 October 1944. He was murdered there on 28 October 1944.[3][4]
His poems were featured in I Never Saw Another Butterfly, a compilation of art and poetry by children of Theresienstadt.[1]
Poems edit
"The Garden" edit
A little garden,
Fragrant and full of roses,
The path is narrow
And a little boy walks along it.
A little boy, a sweet boy,
Like that growing blossom.
When the blossom comes to bloom,
The little boy will be no more.
"I Am A Jew" edit
I am a Jew and will be a Jew forever.
Even if I should die from hunger,
never will I submit.
I will always fight for my people,
on my honor.
I will never be ashamed of them,
I give my word.
I am proud of my people,
how dignified they are.
Even though I am suppressed,
I will always come back to life.
"Home" edit
I look, I look
into the wide world,
into the wide, distant world.
I look to the southeast,
I look, I look toward my home.
I look toward my home,
the city where I was born.
City, my city,
I will gladly return to you.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Volavkovà, Hana; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, eds. (1993). I never saw another butterfly: children's drawings and poems from Terezin concentration camp 1942 - 1944 (Expanded 2. ed.). New York: Schocken Books. ISBN 978-0-8052-1015-6.
- ^ "Vedem | Homepage". www.vedem-terezin.cz. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ "Holocaust Education Companion Guide - Poem: I Am a Jew by Franta Bass" (PDF). Holocaust Memorial Center.
- ^ Rosenberg, Rabbi James (2016-05-27). "My hope that we never forget 'The little boy'". Jewish Rhode Island. Retrieved 2023-12-06.