Mica Engravings

Further Information

These framed mica engravings are part of the Bob Norton Collection. The frame is an addition of Bob’s in order to display the mica engravings which were given to him by a relative. The two pieces of mica were taken and engraved by a distant relative of Bob’s named Ani Lenhart.

Ani had lived in Prague, and was imprisoned by the Nazis in Theresienstadt Concentration Camp and Ghetto around the end of 1943. Ani had been arrested because she was Jewish, however her arrest came late as her husband was not Jewish and had protected her for as long as he could.

Once taken to Theresienstadt she was used as a forced labourer and had to split mica which had been mined in the locality. Had Ani been caught stealing small pieces of mica she would have faced severe penalties, including possible execution. The engravings were a form of resistance by Ani and a record of her being held in the camp. They show the Star of David, representations of the camp including its barbed wire, and are dated 1945. The engravings contain the name ‘Terezin’ as this is the original Czech name for the town which became the Theresienstadt Ghetto. The Nazi regime renamed Terezin to Theresienstadt on their arrival.

Ani survived Theresienstadt, and was liberated in May 1945. 

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