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Terezin, Czech Republic

Today we went somewhere that isn’t exactly “fun” travel, but important to see. We went to see Terezín, a concentration camp about an hour outside Prague.

Built in 1780, it began as a fortress to protect an access road during the Prussian-Austrian war. It was later converted to a garrison town. It was also used as a prison for a while, even holding Gavrilo Princip , whose assassination of Archduke Ferdinand started WWI.

During WWII, the Nazis moved the residents of the town out and converted the larger part of the town to a Jewish concentration camp. They called it a “ghetto” and used it in propaganda films to try to show that the Jews were happy living there. The camp was largely a transitional working camp and a stopping point before they were sent on to extermination camps like Auschwitz. Because many of the people there had not been held for long they looked relatively healthy. At one point the Nazis welcomed in the Red Cross for inspections (with something like 6 months advance notice). To prepare for the inspection the Nazis moved out the sick and elderly, did “renovations” like putting in new bathrooms that looked pretty but had no plumbing, and even put in playgrounds. Unfortunately the Red Cross inspectors fell for it all and reported that all was well at Terezin. Over 140,000 men, women, and children went through this camp. Over 35,000 died while in the camp (largely due to disease and starvation) while most of the rest were killed in extermination camps.

The smaller portion of Terezin was used to hold political prisoners, mostly non-Jewish. In 5 years 32,000 men and women were held here. Approximately 2,000 died while in the camp, many others died after being shipped to other concentration camps.

The camp was liberated in May 1945. Unfortunately, there was a large typhoid outbreak so the prisoners were held in isolation before being released. Many were not released until August 1945 and many died of typhoid and other disease while awaiting release. After the war, many of the previous residents of the town moved back. The town currently has a population of about 2,000.

It was a bit odd to see this concentration camp site that is an active town. The residents have left many of the barracks empty and unkept, but they live and work right beside them. A bit surreal.

The rest of our day was spent eating from street vendors, shopping, and walking around the old town the last time. We ended with dinner on the old town square and walking along the river to see the castle lit up at night.

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