Home for children and youth. Some rooms were used for cultural performances and theater productions. A library for the youth was located in L216.

THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S LIBRARY

I should like to give you a short report of the Young People's Library which opened this week in L 216. The idea of setting up such a library arose five months ago in the circle of teenagers who had previously looked after the cultural youth program. It only became possible to put this into practice a few weeks ago by amalgamating the private libraries L 216 and Q 609, the Dresden barracks library for the young, and a contribution from the Ghettobiicherei. This nucleus, about 2,000 volumes, was increased by books from i~vi~~ m_emher.s who had to hand over at least two books in return for borrowing one, or one book if they wanted to read in the reading room. Now the library contains about 35,000 volumes and interest among the youth of Terezín is constantly growing. Valuable books are only available in the reading room. Others may be taken out. The library contains Czech and German literature, boys' books, various scientific texts, and books on Judaism and Zionism.
The library also contains a permanent exhibition of visual art. Every evening there is a program at the library, either a musical evening, a lecture or a slide show. It has never happened before in Terezín, that by combining something private, something public has been created.

Herbert Maier