Theresienstadt

Theresienstadt was a Nazi concentration camp established in what was then Czechoslovakia. It was created in November 1941 in the town of Terezín, which the Nazis renamed Theresienstadt. The camp served multiple purposes for the Nazi regime. Primarily, it was used as a ghetto for Jews from Czechoslovakia and later from other parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. The SS authorities presented Theresienstadt as a Jewish self-governing settlement, a "model ghetto," to the outside world, particularly during the Red Cross visit in 1944.

However, life within Theresienstadt was far from ideal. Overcrowding, disease, starvation, and harsh living conditions were rampant. While some prisoners were able to maintain a semblance of cultural and intellectual life, engaging in art, music, and education, this was against the backdrop of immense suffering and the constant threat of deportation. From Theresienstadt, thousands of Jews were transported to extermination camps in occupied Poland, most notably Auschwitz-Birkenau. The conditions in Theresienstadt were deliberately designed to create a controlled environment for Jews before their final extermination, and also to deceive international observers about the true nature of the Holocaust. By the end of the war, over 33,000 people had died in the ghetto itself, and more than 88,000 had been deported to other camps. The camp was liberated by the Soviet Red Army in May 1945.