Theresienstadt aka Terezín Ghetto

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

Theresienstadt

Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination camps. Its conditions were deliberately engineered to hasten the death of its prisoners, and the ghetto also served a propaganda role. Unlike other ghettos, the exploitation of forced labor was not economically significant.^[1]

From the USHMM Encyclopedia:^[2] "The Theresienstadt "camp-ghetto" existed for three and a half years, between November 24, 1941 and May 9, 1945. During its existence, Theresienstadt served three purposes:

1. ...transit camp for Czech Jews whom the Germans deported to killing centers, concentration camps, and forced-labor camps in German-occupied Poland, Belorussia, and the Baltic States.
2. ...ghetto-labor camp. The SS deported and then incarcerated there certain categories of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews, based on their age, disability as a result of past military service, or domestic celebrity in the arts and other cultural life.....
3. ....holding pen for Jews in the above-mentioned groups. It was expected that the poor conditions there would hasten the deaths of many deportees, until the SS and police could deport the survivors to killing centers in the East."

Sources

1. ↑ Theresienstadt Ghetto Wikipedia contributors, 'Theresienstadt Ghetto', 13 January 2024, 11:59 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theresienstadt_Ghetto&oldid=1195331080> [accessed 3 February 2024]
2. ↑ Author(s): United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC "THERESIENSTADT" accessed 3 Feb 2024. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/theresienstadt