Ellen Wertheimer and her friend Klara Levi were both survivors of Theresienstadt. This card was given by Ellen to Klara shortly after the camp was liberated in May 1945. The image is of camp barrack 9, where Klara lived. The German inscription reads, with a hint of wry humor: “And warm congratulations!”

The card has two flaps with hidden pictures: in the first, dated June 1, 1945, a woman weighs potatoes from a well-stocked bin; under that, dated a year in the future, is the same woman at leisure under a palm tree. The back is inscribed in German: “With memories of Q418, Yours, Ellen, Terezín, June 1, 1945.” Q418 was the café in Theresienstadt, a gathering place where inmates attended performances by the many talented prisoners. A. G. Adler, a survivor of the camp and its main chronicler, called it “the saddest coffeehouse in the world.” The optimism reflected in this card is all the more palpable, given that both giver and recipient had just survived the horrors of the camp.